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Scott Tucker, Level 5 carry momentum into Road America

#95 Level 5 Motorsports HPD ARX-03b: Scott Tucker, Luis Diaz

#95 Level 5 Motorsports HPD ARX-03b: Scott Tucker, Luis Diaz

Michael C. Johnson

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. — Fresh from their fifth P2 win from six races in the 2012 American Le Mans Series, in a strategically smart and close-fought race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Scott Tucker and Level 5 Motorsports now head to the scenic and popular Road America track in Wisconsin for the team’s home race.

#95 Level 5 Motorsports HPD ARX-03b: Scott Tucker, Luis Diaz
#95 Level 5 Motorsports HPD ARX-03b: Scott Tucker, Luis Diaz

Photo by: Michael C. Johnson

Both Level 5 Motorsports HPD ARX-03b cars will be entered for the four-hour race. Tucker and Christophe Bouchut will compete in the No. 055 while the Kansas City resident will do double-duty with Luis Diaz in the No. 95. As winner of the P2 category last year, in the final race for the team’s Lola-Honda, Road America counts as one of the five time national driving champion’s favorite tracks. As Scott will also be racing a Level 5 Motorsports entry in the Cooper Tires Prototype Lites and IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge series as well as the ALMS, the busy driver will have a substantial number of laps under his belt to help bring the team quickly up to speed.

The David Stone-led crew will be making the short journey from its Madison, Wis., headquarters to the classic circuit for the seventh round of the season, the Road America Road Race Showcase. The 4.05 mile, European-style layout is popular with almost everyone in the field, and features a series of single corners without tricky or technical combinations – including the notorious “Kink” – with useable curbs which can help to reduce lap time.

This is the highest speed (States side) track visited by the teams and speeds of around 160mph (260kph) are reached three times a lap. With an expected P2 lap time of around 1m 55s, track time will be at a premium in the practice sessions leading up to the race so the team will be working hard to optimize their set up as quickly as possible.

“It’s quite a difficult track to set up a car for,” said Stone. “It’s long and you need to have a good set up for both slow and high speed corners, bumps and curbs as well. It takes time to set up the car but we’ve got good data from previous years and are confident that we’ll be strong from the outset of Thursday’s test session.”

#055 Level 5 Motorsports: Scott Tucker, Christophe Bouchut
#055 Level 5 Motorsports: Scott Tucker, Christophe Bouchut

Photo by: Michael Tan

Mexican driver, Luis Diaz, has not been able to drive for the team since Le Mans due to a change in drive-time regulations introduced by the series’ regulatory body, IMSA. However, with three longer races scheduled from the last four of the season, the popular 2009 ALMS P2 Champion can’t wait to return to the cockpit: “I'm very excited to be back in the No. 95 car with Scott Tucker and Level 5,” said Diaz. “Obviously it has been frustrating having to watch from the side lines during the last few races because of the regulations, but it has also been a productive experience to be able to help the team and get involved in different aspects of the weekend with the engineers and the drivers.

“But now I'm ready to get back behind the wheel and go fight for the top spots. Road America has always been one of my favorite race tracks and I've had a lot of success there, so there's really no better place to return.”

Source: Level 5 Motorsports

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