Studio KDD

Scott Tucker and his Level 5 Motorsports teammates recently began the final quarter of a racing year that has included numerous podium appearances, multiple car changes, incredible accomplishments and yet still room for improvement. Tucker, owner and driver for Level 5, has been a leader for the team despite the rookie status he maintained merely months ago. His tight, balanced driving has earned him top honors in the American Le Mans Series as Rookie of the Year and Champion Driver in 2010. His races often end with stints on the podium, and his career has only just begun.

Clean off a mind-blowing triumph at their 24 Hours of Le Mans debut, the Level 5 Motorsports team, belonging to driver Scott Tucker and including also Christophe Bouchut and Joao Barbosa, headed to Bologna, Italy with their Microsoft Office-sponsored Lola Honda. What appeared to be another useful triumph for the team became a bittersweet day after some late-race malfunctions prevented another historic victory to the Wisconsin-based team.

All three drivers delivered again impressive performances behind the wheel. At first maintaining a sixth place spot on the grid of LMP2 competitors, they moved to the lead with less than two hours remaining. Bouchut manned the final leg of the race, taking the wheel with just more than an hour to go. The victory was theirs, just an official checkered flag from being official. But 25 minutes before the end, Bouchut's voice crackled over the radio to announce gear selection problems.

The vehicle was caught in 4th gear due to a gear actuator failure. Bouchut, experienced in the motorsports business and one of the most successful endurance drivers on the planet, was able to persevere through to the checkered flag using only 3 gears. Eventually, the team gained a third-place finish. Where they first relished a 15-second lead, they now faced the reality that the win they nearly grasped was no more-and it was taking a while to sink in. "That's racing," Tucker said. "Still, ending up on the podium with this competitors is incredible. Sadly, it isn't sinking in right now because we were so close to a win here."

Despite the fact that victory eluded them, they gained useful experience in a tricky field of opponents, and they experienced a large performance increase driving the Spyder, the vehicle they changed to from the 2010 Lola Coupe after the 24 Hours of Le Mans. "It was the first time we drove the Lola-Honda Spyder and it definitely proved to be the right choice," Barbosa said. "We were much more competitive than in the previous races. We still have to work on speed and qualifying pace, but we were strong heading into the race. That took us to the lead. There's a few more races to go, so hopefully we can continue to improve this package."

Enhancement seems hardly a possibility if you think about the podium standing the team had already done at this point throughout the year. With any losses being less due to driver performance than mechanical issues, a clean car seemingly guaranteed Level 5 top finishes. With the win ever-present in their minds, the team looked ahead to carrying on with the ALMS season with races at Lime Rock Park and Mosport International Raceway in Ontario.