As the 2012 American Le Mans Series enters its final stages, Level 5 Motorsports and the entire field take on a new challenge: the 2012 American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patron VIR 240. The ninth and penultimate round of the series at the glorious Virginia International Raceway (VIR) venue at Danville, Virginia is a new venue for the ALMS, but there will be little time to worry about that as Scott Tucker and Christophe Bouchut hunt down their second consecutive P2 Championship title.
There are just 12 points separating Tucker and Bouchut at the head of the leaderboard from their nearest rivals, Conquest Endurances David Heinemeier Hansson and Martin Plowman. With the VIR race being four hours in length, strategy as well as speed and performance will come into playall areas in which Level 5 Motorsports has proven itself to excel during the season.
Kansas City resident Tucker will once again be sharing the No.055 Level 5 Honda Performance Development ARX 03b with his French team mate Christopher Bouchut. Supporting them in their quest for championship success will be the Mexican pairing of Luis Diaz and Ricardo Gonzalez in the teams Honda-powered No.95 car. In addition to his ALMS commitments, Scott Tucker will additionally be racing his Level 5 entries in the Cooper Tires Prototype Lites and IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama series around the 3.27-mile, 17-turn Virginia road course.
More than half the field of 63 drivers comes to VIR with the advantage of having competed there before and Scott Tucker is one of several drivers to have that distinct advantage. With Christophe, he has raced at VIR in the Grand Am Rolex Series in a Daytona Prototype and, prior to that, in the Ferrari Challenge Series. Luis Diaz won the 2005 VIR Grand-Am Rolex Daytona Prototype race, and it is only Ricardo who lacks track knowledge but he has proved already this year that this fact doesnt hold him back.
Scott Tucker is keen to return to the track which styles itself as Americas Motorsports Resort. Its a fast and flowing track which should suit our HPD cars well, but its also quite narrow in parts and that can be unforgiving, particularly in traffic. Its a great facility but our focus has to be on the best result possible for our championship; we cant wait to get out there.
VIR was once a working farm and plantation dating back to the early 1800s, and it opened in 1957 as one of the countrys first permanent road racing circuits. The track hosted automobile and motorcycle racing until 1974 when a downturn in the economy saw the facility close. It lay fallow until 1998 when it was taken over and developed by the current owners, re-opening in 2000 as the current facility, a racing venue that provides entertainment and recreation for the entire family.
The next round of the ALMS championship is the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrn VIR 240 from Virginia International Raceway. The four-hour race is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Sept. 15. ESPN2's broadcast begins at 5 p.m. ET on Sunday, Sept. 16. Full, live coverage starts at 2:15 p.m. ET on ESPN3.
