The Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course opened its 48th season of racing this weekend with the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series EMCO Gears Classic presented by KeyBank. Supercar Life Racing's Scott Tucker and Christophe Bouchut battled through three hours of hard-fought endurance racing to take ninth position in the sixth round of the Rolex season, locking in their fifth Top 10 finish.
When the green flag dropped at 5:00 p.m. EST, pole winner Jon Fogarty of GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing surged ahead, leading the rest of the Daytona Prototype field going into turn one. Starting on the eighth row, Supercar Life's Scott Tucker was the first behind the wheel of the No. 55 Supercar Life BMW-Riley Daytona Prototype. Tucker maintained a steady grip on the No. 55 and quickly began chasing down JC France in the No. 59 Brumos Porsche.
As the field made their way into turn nine, Michael Shank Racing's Mark Patterson was merely hit from behind, sliding into the gravel trap, causing the first full-course caution of the race. Fogarty's No. 99 GAINSCO Pontiac Riley made its first mandatory pit stop during the yellow, allowing second-place Mark Wilkins to take over as the new class leader on lap three. Tucker, passing France in the No. 59, launched a full assault that quickly advanced the No. 55 five spots and landed Supercar Life Racing in tenth position.
At the front of the pack, a three-way battle raged between Wilkins, SunTrust Racing's Brian Frisselle and Krohn Racing's Nic Jonsson. By lap 20, Frisselle was breathing down Wilkins' neck, just .5 seconds behind. Closing in on the leaders himself, Tucker turned in a fastest lap time on lap 22, posting 01:22.698 for the Supercar Life Racing team.
Darren Law in the No. 58 Brumos Porsche, who had been working his way up the ranks after starting in tenth position, drove into the No. 1 spot when Wilkins and the other two front runners pitted. On lap 29, it was Tucker's turn in the pits; the No. 55 refueled and got new tires. His stint behind the wheel had been fast and consistent; he beat his qualifying time and was in twelfth when he passed the No. 55 off to teammate Bouchut.
"The car is running well so far," Tucker said. "Our execution was perfect when handing the car off to Bouchut. We're running a good race; I'm hopeful for another Top 10 finish."
Three-time FIA GT champion and winner of both the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Supercar Life's Frenchman reentered the race in the No. 13 position. On lap 38 a second caution waved: Mike Forest's No. 13 Lennox Pontiac Riley bumped into Law's leading No. 58 Brumos Porsche; the resulting debris brought out the yellow flag.
Law pulled the No. 58 into the pits for a driver change during the yellow. Max Angelelli of SunTrust Racing then moved into first with Burt Frisselle, Timo Bernhard, Alex Gurney and Ricardo Zonta rounding out the Top Five.
At the restart, Bouchut wasted no time mounting his charge on the Top 10. On lap 45, he muscled his way into the No. 11 position, turning in a fastest lap time of 01:20.440 as he passed Scott Russell and Andy Wallace in the No. 09 and No. 2 cars.
Bouchut posted yet another fastest lap time on lap 52 (01:19.793); Though he remained in eleventh for the next 13 laps, he consistently turned in times that were 1.5 seconds faster than the cars jockeying for tenth. On lap 65, another caution waved: The No. 2 Gentleman Jack of Childress-Howard Motorsports had lost power in turn 11 and had to be pulled off track.
The yellow gave Bouchut the chance he needed to work his way forward into tenth position, now behind Michael Valiante of Michael Shank Racing in the No. 6 Ford Riley. Driving the No. 01 TELMEX Lexus Riley, Scott Pruett, who was in third, made his move as well, taking over as class leader and pushing Angelelli back into the pack. As the field went green, Memo Gidley made a pass on Bouchut, moving into tenth position and knocking the No. 55 back to eleventh.
Undeterred, Bouchut continued to work his magic, posting the fastest lap time for Supercar Life Racing during the race. The No. 55 clocked in at 01:19.134-the fifth fastest lap time of the day. On lap 88, he put Gidley's No. 77 McDonalds Ford Dallara back in its place. Passing the No. 77, the No. 55 cracked back into the Top 10 and pushed Gidley back into eleventh. Two laps later at station seven, the No. 77 car's transmission failed, resulting in the fourth and final caution of the race.
Only 20 minutes remained for the sprint to the finish line when the race restarted for the fourth time. Just 10 seconds back from the race leader, Bouchut was in fine form. On lap 96, David Donohue, who had been in eighth, dropped back, allowing Angelelli and Bouchut to advance positions. The Supercar Life Racing team was now in ninth position, a mere one-tenths of a second behind Angelelli, now in eighth.
As the checkered flag dropped on lap 111, Pruett and TELMEX Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates celebrated their second consecutive win of the 2009 season--a welcome reprieve from a nine-race losing streak. Teams Krohn Racing (01:19.159), GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing (01:19.067), Penske Racing (01:19.462) and Brumos Porsche Racing (01:19.950) rounded out the Top Five.
Supercar Life Racing finished the race in ninth position, the fifth Top 10 finish for the team this season and an astounding advance over its eighth-row starting position.
"I am very pleased with our performance today," Bouchut said. "Once again, this team went above and beyond the call of duty, posting another Top 10 finish for the season. The crew did a fantastic job in preparing the No. 55 car for today's race."
"Christophe put in a thrilling effort at the end of the race," Supercar Life CEO Brian Weaver said. "He nearly made position eight happen chasing down Max Angelelli in the No. 10 SunTrust Ford Dallara. Bouchut's times were consistently faster, which allowed the No. 55 to reel Max in to within one-tenth of a second. Each race this season, the team has been in contention. As a sponsor, this is exactly what we look for."
The team will next switch gears as it heads to Road America to test the new No. 95 Daytona Prototype. The car arrived last Thursday at the team's headquarters in Madison, Wis., and is slated to play a big role in Supercar Life Racing's bid for the 2010 Rolex championship. The team plans to expand their horizons in the Grand-Am Series by piloting both the No. 55 and No. 95 Daytona Prototypes.
"This is a very exciting time for our team," Team Manager David Stone said. "Running the new DP at Road America this week will give us an idea on how we should continue to develop the car so that it is in top condition for the 2010 season."
Traveling to Elkhart Lake, Wis., the team will arrive at Road America Tuesday. Scott Tucker and the No. 55 Boardwalk Ferrari Supercar Life F430 will then compete in races seven and eight of the Ferrari Challenge Series, June 27 and 28. The Supercar Life Racing team will again hit the pavement in the Rolex Series July 19 at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala., during the Porsche 250 presented by Legacy Credit Union.
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