The Supercar Life Racing team secured seventh position following a commanding performance during the 28th running of the Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen-the fifth race of the 2009 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series season.
The action began Friday, June 5, as the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series, KONI Challenge Series and the NASCAR Camping World Series hit Watkins Glen's famed 3.4-mile course. After qualifying in the No. 10 spot for Saturday's six-hour headlining event, Supercar Life Racing drivers Scott Tucker and Christophe Bouchut were in good position to build on this season's Series success.
When the green flag dropped on Saturday at 2:15 p.m. EST, pole winner Scott Pruett of TELMEX Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates leveraged his starting position with an agile jump off the grid leading the 29-car field going into turn one. Starting on the fifth row, Bouchut was the first behind the wheel of the No. 55 Supercar Life BMW-Riley Daytona Protoype. Three-time FIA GT champion and winner of both the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Frenchman quickly advanced two spots, passing Ricky Taylor in the No. 13 Lennox Daytona Prototype to gain eighth position. By lap five, he was hunting down AIM Autosport's Mark Wilkins in seventh position; on lap eight, Bouchut found his chance, advancing two spots to move into sixth position.
At the front of the pack, Michael Valiante in the No. 6 Daytona Prototype cut class leader Pruett's lead to 3.5 seconds on lap 10. By lap 22, Valiante moved into the lead as Pruett lost his momentum; Bouchut moved the No. 55 into fifth. GAINSCO/Bob Stalling's Alex Gurney was running just behind Valiante in second. By lap 23, Gurney fell out of the Top Five and Bouchut claimed fourth position. It was a well-timed advance for Bouchut: When Valiante and SunTrust Racing's Max Angelelli, who was now in second position, made their first mandatory pit stop on lap 24, the No. 55 took over second place. Oswaldo Negri, Jr., who had been in third, simultaneously moved into first. One lap later, the No. 55 shot past Negri, Jr. to take over first position.
It was the SupercarLife Racing team's first time in the lead-a momentous achievement, considering this race marked Bouchut's first time driving a Daytona Prototype at Watkins Glen. This was also the first time the team had taken the lead in a 2009 Rolex race. Crew members and fans proudly cheered the No. 55 on.
Bouchut turned into the pits to refuel on lap 26 and rejoined the DP class in fourth position. On lap 34, caution waved for the first time; Shane Lewis' No. 21 Battery Tender/MCM Racing Pontiac GT had crashed into station eight. As teams cycled through the pits, Supercar Life Racing's pit strategy paid off, Bouchut reclaimed first position.
At the restart, an eager Bouchut, was handed a stop-and-go penalty for accelerating too quickly before the green flag waved. Bouchut served the penalty and returned to the track in fifth.
During laps 39-42, the No. 55 fell back into eleventh. On lap 43, another caution flag waved when Carlos de Quesada's No. 22 DP flew into the gravel trap at turn 13. Under the yellow, the Supercar Life Racing team was able to advance four positions to move into seventh, as David Donohue in the No. 58 Brumos Porsche took over as new DP class leader. But the No. 58 lost its position when Angelelli made an outside pass and moved into first-just as the race restarted on lap 47.
On lap 55, Bouchut turned in a fastest lap time of 01:42.925 for the first two hours of the race. Angelelli, meanwhile, was maintaining his firm lead over the rest of the Daytona Prototype class when the third full-course caution came on lap 59: The engine of Dane Cameron's No. 30 Racer's Edge/Marquis Jet Mazda RX-8 GT had cut out, and his car was stuck on course.
Supercar Life Racing team principal Tucker was next behind the wheel of the No. 55 as the field returned to green. Just five laps into his session, a fourth caution was called-debris had landed on the track's last turn. Tucker maintained tenth position as the race got underway once more and was posting a best lap time of 01:46.611, when TRG Motorsports' No. 67 Porsche GT3 slid off the track at turn 14 on lap 90, resulting in the fifth caution of the day. Having driven a perfect first round, Tucker returned to the pits under the yellow in twelfth position, handing off the No. 55 for Bouchut's second turn behind the wheel.
"We've done a fantastic job so far," Tucker said. "The car is running extremely well. We had a great run in first position early on, and there's a lot of race to go. This team is definitely looking for a strong finish. We are using these multiple cautions to our advantage and gaining position. Christophe and I are happy with our results out on the track."
In the fourth hour of the race, Bouchut clocked in a fastest lap time of 01:42.836. By lap 121, the No. 55 had regained tenth position. At the front of the pack, Penske Racing took their first lead of the race with Romain Dumas behind the wheel of the No. 12 DP. Nic Jonsson of Krohn Racing followed close behind in second.
The stop-and-go race of cautions continued as the six-hour event closed in on its last laps. On lap 123, 2009 Rolex 24 champion Donohue attempted to make an inside pass on Gurney in the No. 99 car; the two collided in turn 13, resulting in a sixth caution. This was a dramatic moment: The No. 99's GAINSCO team had finished in a Top 10 position in every race so far this season; the collision would damage their lead in the championship points standings if the car could not be repaired by the race's completion.
On green, it was a battle of manufacturers: Pruett, in a Lexus, Angelelli, in a Ford, and Timo Berhard in the No. 12 Porsche took the top three positions.
By lap 132, Bouchut had passed Jordan Taylor in the No. 10 car, taking over ninth position. On lap 138, Grand-Am officials confirmed that the No. 99 GAINSCO DP and No. 58 Brumos Porsche would not be returning to the race.
Bouchut stayed focused; the No. 55 continued to pick off drivers one by one, first passing Bill Auberlen of Orbit Racing in the No. 45 DP to take over eighth position, then powering into seventh twelve laps later.
With 60 minutes left on the clock, the teams of the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series shifted into sprint mode. Angelelli clocked in the fastest lap time of the race at 01:41.557 on lap 147. When Pruett, who was in the lead, pitted, third position Timo Bernhard passed Angelelli to take over as class leader. But Pruett regained his position out front on lap 154, and Angelelli pushed Bernhard back to third to reclaim second.
On lap 178, Pruett beat Angelelli's fastest race lap time, turning in a time of 01:41.426. The stage was set for a dramatic race for the finish, when, with just a little over a minute to go, yet another caution slowed the field: Stevenson Motorsports' No. 57 Pontiac GT landed in the gravel trap at turn 16. Both low on fuel, race leaders Pruett and Angelelli conserved as much as they could during the yellow.
The race ended under caution. Team Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates won their first race of the season, as Pruett's No. 01 TELMEX DP captured the checkered flag and turned in a time of 01:41.426. Angelelli and SunTrust Racing (01:41.440), Penske Racing (01:41.949) and Michael Shank Racing's No. 6 (01:42.060) and No. 60 (01:41.846) rounded out the top five.
The Supercar Life Racing team finished the race in seventh position. The six-hour endurance race was on the books with 188 laps, seven cautions and 16 lead changes.
"It was a solid race for us," said Team Manager David Stone. "We used our pit stop strategies well, helping us move up to our finishing position of seventh place. Both Scott and Christophe did a great job keeping the car out of trouble during this long event."
This was the fourth top 10 finish for the team in the Rolex Series so far this season.
"I like the challenge of a longer race," Bouchut said. "A six-hour race takes extreme mental toughness; the crew had to be on their toes the entire time. They stayed on top of the car like true professionals, and I couldn't be more proud to be a part of this team."
The race weekend continued for the Supercar Life Racing team. On Sunday, the team participated in an all-day open test session at the track, along with many other DP and GT class teams. The Rolex Series championship battle continues next when the teams head to Lexington, Ohio, for the EMCO Gears Classic on June 20.
Catch Supercar Life Racing on SPEED TV at the following dates and times:
Rolex Series:
Friday, July 10 at 9:30 a.m. EST (Race 5 at Infineon Raceway)
Saturday, July 4 at 2:00 p.m. EST (Race 7 at Daytona International Speedway)
Ferrari Challenge Series:
Friday, June 19 at 8:30 a.m. EST (Race 4 at Road Atlanta)
Friday, July 10 at 9:30 a.m. EST (Race 5 at Infineon Raceway)
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