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Le Mans / ALMS
ALMS: Level 5 Confirms Sebring Driver Lineup
Ryan Hunter-Reay, Joao Barbosa rejoin full-season drivers Scott Tucker, Christophe Bouchut and Luis Diaz in team's two HPD ARX-03b's...
Level 5 Motorsports will return to Sebring with the same lineup that delivered a win there last year. (Photo: John Dagys)
Level 5 Motorsports confirmed Friday its driver lineup for the 60th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. The Scott Tucker-owned squad will field a pair of HPD ARX-03b cars for the entire 10-round American Le Mans Series season as the team seeks its third consecutive victory in America's oldest endurance race.
Tucker will again be in both of the team's LMP2 entries. He's joined by Christophe Bouchut and Joao Barbosa in the Dunlop-shod No. 055 machine, with IndyCar star Ryan Hunter-Reay and Luis Diaz completing the driving force in the No. 95 entry.
It's the identical lineup the team had at Sebring last year, when Tucker, Diaz and Hunter-Reay scored victory in the new-look LMP2 category.
“We were very proud of our wins and championships last year and thought the continuity, especially in the driver lineup, would be important as we head to Sebring and begin our ALMS title defense,” Tucker said. “Christophe and Luis did a great job for us last year and both Ryan and Joao were a part of our success as well. It made the most sense to continue with our proven lineup for Sebring.”
While running virtually unopposed throughout the 2011 season, Level 5 will face new competition this year with both Conquest Racing and Black Swan Racing expected as full-season entries, with the possibility of two to three additional teams joining later in the year.
“I’m very happy to be back with Level 5 Motorsports and Scott Tucker for the 2012 season,” Bouchut said. “At Sebring, and especially Le Mans, where there will be 18 cars in LMP2, we know the competition will be tough. Also, with new cars coming in the ALMS, it will make it tighter than last year. So we have to be on top of what we’re able to do in order to win the championship again.”
The No. 95 HPD, meanwhile, will see the return of Andretti Autosport driver Hunter-Reay, who turned a best time of 1:50.515 in testing earlier this week, and Mexican ace Diaz, who is on-board for the full-season in the team's second car.
“I’m looking forward to the season,” Diaz said. “Certainly I think with all of the news that has happened during the winter, there’s a very good grid in the P2 class. It’s a good category and the HPD is a great car to drive. The American Le Mans Series is one of the best series in the world. I’m happy to be with a strong and competitive team in Level 5 and looking forward to the season with Scott.”
The team is fresh off a three-day private test at Sebring, where both Barbosa and Hunter-Reay got their first taste of the new LMP2 machine. More than 1,500 miles were completed, nearly doubling the mileage from the earlier ALMS Sebring Winter Test, which had both old and new cars in action.
Production delays of the HPD ARX-03b, due to last month's snow storm in Europe, has resulted in the team's second new car not yet getting on-track, but team manager David Stone is confident it will be ready for the next wave of testing beginning on March 10.
“This year's race is shaping up to be a big one with a lot of fast cars and drivers in LMP2,” Stone said. “So many things can happen; it's of course a 12-hour race and at Sebring, which is especially demanding on the cars. I feel like we have a good base in that we've now tested here for five days, with the earlier test this month and the three days here this week.”
John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at
Tucker will again be in both of the team's LMP2 entries. He's joined by Christophe Bouchut and Joao Barbosa in the Dunlop-shod No. 055 machine, with IndyCar star Ryan Hunter-Reay and Luis Diaz completing the driving force in the No. 95 entry.
It's the identical lineup the team had at Sebring last year, when Tucker, Diaz and Hunter-Reay scored victory in the new-look LMP2 category.
“We were very proud of our wins and championships last year and thought the continuity, especially in the driver lineup, would be important as we head to Sebring and begin our ALMS title defense,” Tucker said. “Christophe and Luis did a great job for us last year and both Ryan and Joao were a part of our success as well. It made the most sense to continue with our proven lineup for Sebring.”
While running virtually unopposed throughout the 2011 season, Level 5 will face new competition this year with both Conquest Racing and Black Swan Racing expected as full-season entries, with the possibility of two to three additional teams joining later in the year.
“I’m very happy to be back with Level 5 Motorsports and Scott Tucker for the 2012 season,” Bouchut said. “At Sebring, and especially Le Mans, where there will be 18 cars in LMP2, we know the competition will be tough. Also, with new cars coming in the ALMS, it will make it tighter than last year. So we have to be on top of what we’re able to do in order to win the championship again.”
The No. 95 HPD, meanwhile, will see the return of Andretti Autosport driver Hunter-Reay, who turned a best time of 1:50.515 in testing earlier this week, and Mexican ace Diaz, who is on-board for the full-season in the team's second car.
“I’m looking forward to the season,” Diaz said. “Certainly I think with all of the news that has happened during the winter, there’s a very good grid in the P2 class. It’s a good category and the HPD is a great car to drive. The American Le Mans Series is one of the best series in the world. I’m happy to be with a strong and competitive team in Level 5 and looking forward to the season with Scott.”
The team is fresh off a three-day private test at Sebring, where both Barbosa and Hunter-Reay got their first taste of the new LMP2 machine. More than 1,500 miles were completed, nearly doubling the mileage from the earlier ALMS Sebring Winter Test, which had both old and new cars in action.
Production delays of the HPD ARX-03b, due to last month's snow storm in Europe, has resulted in the team's second new car not yet getting on-track, but team manager David Stone is confident it will be ready for the next wave of testing beginning on March 10.
“This year's race is shaping up to be a big one with a lot of fast cars and drivers in LMP2,” Stone said. “So many things can happen; it's of course a 12-hour race and at Sebring, which is especially demanding on the cars. I feel like we have a good base in that we've now tested here for five days, with the earlier test this month and the three days here this week.”
John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at
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