ONE TREMENDOUS TEAM TO RULE THEM ALL
KENNOL victory at Long Beach Tucker and Bouchut complete an amazing week-end with New Track Record, Pole Position, Fastest Race Lap and Podium! And still leading the 2010 Championship! « This is one of the toughest circuits we’ll run all year and to be able to set a track record and back it up with a podium finish is incredible. » said Tucker. At the same time, teammate Ryan HUNTER-REAY was winning the INDYCAR race!
▌A POSITION AT THE TOP OF THE CLASSIFICATION
LONG BEACH, Calif. – After setting a track record in qualifying, Level 5 Motorsports’ No. 55 Le Mans Prototype Challenge entry continued its history making run in the American Le Mans Series by posting a podium finish on the challenging Long Beach, Calif., street circuit. The second-place finish allows owner / driver Scott Tucker and veteran Christophe Bouchut to maintain their position atop the point standings. « It was a great day for the Microsoft Office 2010 Level 5 crew, » Tucker said. « This is one of the toughest circuits we’ll run all year and to be able to set a track record and back it up with a podium finish is incredible. »
I knew we would be fast but definitely not that fast!
Christophe BOUCHUT
▌A NEW RECORD FOR CHRISTOPHE BOUCHUT
Christophe Bouchut, in a thrilling qualifying session, set a blistering lap in the Level 5 Motorsports LMPC entry to earn the top qualifying spot. Bouchut drove the No. 55 ORECA FLM09 LMP to a new track record with a lap of 1:17.084 edging Gunnar Jeannette by less than two tenths of a second just before the closing of the session. « The Level 5 crew makes sure the car is ready every race, » Bouchut said. « It is our job as drivers to keep the car out of trouble and run a smart a race. We did that again today. » The team was determined to be the class of the field once again.
Bouchut, the most successful endurance sports car racer in the field, waged a furious battle with Gunnar Jeannette and even got edged at the checkered flag. Bouchut set the race’s fastest lap in the LMPC class on lap 56, but the stellar effort was not enough to regain the lead. The Long Beach street course has long been considered one of the most challenging on the American Le Mans Series schedule. True to form, the course was slick and passing opportunities were rare. « The track got pretty dirty as the race wore on, » Tucker said. « Combine that with how narrow it is and you’ve got your hands full. »
To run a smart a race…
« To have Christophe – the most successful sports car driver in the field – in one car and Ryan — who’s really a standout in the IndyCar Series – in the other is fantastic, » said Tucker. « We’ve won races together and proven that not only can we perform well individually, but we’ve really jelled as a team. You can’t overstate how important that is to a team’s success. Right now, the three of us are really clicking. » And Ryan HUNTER-REAY was also running in the week-end’s INDYCAR race, and won!
« This is our first year in the series, but we’ve been pretty good right out of the box till now » Tucker said.
