DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The Level 5 Motorsports team, led by team owner and starting driver Scott Tucker, secured a solid third-place podium finish in the 48th edition of the grueling Rolex 24 At Daytona, to successfully kick off the 2010 GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 season.
Tucker started the race in extreme conditions - a heavy downpour - and Ryan Hunter-Reay finished the round-the-clock event in the No. 95 Crown Royal Level 5 Motorsports BMW Riley, giving the team its second-ever visit to the podium. Its first came at Watkins Glen International in the Crown Royal 200 in August 2009.
Level 5 Motorsports' other car, the No. 55 Crown Royal BMW Riley co-driven by Tucker, came home ninth in DP competition. Tucker is the only driver in the illustrious history of the Rolex 24 At Daytona to race two different Daytona Prototypes during the endurance event.
The third-place finish at Daytona finish pleased Crown Royal executives.
"A podium finish in an epic sports car endurance race like the Rolex 24 at Daytona is certainly a moment worthy of toasting responsibly with Crown Royal," said Rob Mason, Senior Brand Manager for Crown Royal. "We congratulate Scott Tucker and the entire team on a stellar performance to start the season."
Only the second appearance for Level 5 Motorsports in Daytona Prototype competition, the Rolex 24 podium put the No. 95 team in third place overall in the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series standings heading to Homestead-Miami Speedway in March.
Tucker, Christophe Bouchut, Hunter-Reay, Lucas Luhr and Richard Westbrook celebrated their podium finish in Victory Lane at Daytona International Speedway, the "World Center of Racing," Sunday afternoon
"I am tremendously proud of the effort put forth by this Crown Royal Level 5 Motorsports team," Tucker said. "I've really got to take my hat off to all of the guys -- Ryan and all of the rest of the drivers did a fantastic job, as did the team and the organization. The competition here at Daytona is so tough. I'm really proud of everybody and all the work that they've done."
Bouchut, Tucker's regular teammate during the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series season, relished the podium finish for the Crown Royal Level 5 Motorsports team.
"This was certainly a very good start to the season for this team," Bouchut said. "I'm very happy for the team."
During the television broadcast of the race, SPEED analysts continually praised Tucker for putting together an impressive lineup of talent for both Crown Royal Racing Level 5 Motorsports cars. Tucker, Bouchut, Sebastien Bourdais, Sascha Maassen and Emmanuel Collard co-piloted the No. 55 BMW Riley.
"Scott is obviously a visionary who wanted to win this race badly. That's why he put together such a great group of drivers," said Level 5 team manager David Stone. "He did a fantastic job in putting this team together for the biggest sports car race of the year."
The No. 95 BMW Riley led the race three times for 11 laps during the 24 hours.
Hunter-Reay took over for Westbrook for the final two hours of endurance event. He was able to make up one position and finished behind the No. 9 and the No. 01 BMW Riley of Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates.
"I feel great. I've been up for two days and I could still keep going," Hunter-Reay said after the race. "The team did an awesome job. We did what we could do, and the guys on the team did a great job. I'm really happy to finally be on the podium. Watching this in Victory Lane is what feeds your appetite to come back. I'm just happy to be here with the Level 5 guys, and I've got to thank Scott Tucker for making it all happen."
The ninth hour, however, proved to be the most interesting and competitive for the Crown Royal Level 5 team. On lap 277, Westbrook waged an intense battle with the No. 75 Krohn Racing Ford Lola and the No. 59 Brumos Porsche for the lead for approximately 20 laps.
When Westbrook came into the pits and Luhr jumped into the seat of the car, the team encountered a problem with the seat belt. The No. 95 BMW Riley lost a lap in the pits and dropped from second place to seventh place, from seconds off the lead to more than two minutes off the lead.
"The reason why we got two laps down was because of a seat belt," Hunter-Reay said. "We got some tape caught in the belt and it wouldn't close. It's amazing that something as simple as a belt can keep you from winning this race."
Westbrook concurred.
"We really deserved better than we got," Westbrook said. "If it weren't for the seat belt mishap, we could have stayed on the lead lap. I'm not sure if we could have won the race, but we certainly didn't disgrace ourselves. For me, I'm just unbelievably proud and happy and grateful to Scott Tucker and the team for giving me this chance. I loved every minute of it."
After making up three positions on the track, on lap 329, the No. 95 BMW Riley experienced another problem, a brake issue, that cost it more than four minutes in the pits. That dropped the No. 95 four laps down and into sixth place with 13 ½ hours remaining.
The team remained four laps down for the remainder of the race.
"You can't say enough about the effort of the guys in the pits and how they kept us out on the track," Tucker said. "This was a total team effort, from the drivers to pit crew, everybody. This is a really long race, and everybody performed at the highest level."
With the race beginning under downpour conditions, the No. 55 BMW Riley got off to a solid beginning after taking the green flag from the sixth position. Bouchut, in grand style, advanced to third by Lap 50, just 9.3 second behind the No. 01 of Scott Pruett.
After several pit stops and driver changes, the No. 55 made its way back to fourth in the race's eighth hour, on Lap 183, just 10.5 seconds off the lead. At the same time, Hunter-Reay stood seventh in the No. 95.
It was at lap 241, however, that the No. 55 dropped from contention when Bouchut pulled into the pits and then into garage after contact with the No. 75 Krohn Aviation Ford Proto-Auto Lola. The No. 55 BMW Riley lost numerous laps after a 67-minute stay in the garage area.
The No. 55 BMW Riley finally retired to the garage area during the race's final hour on lap 673 when its Dinan BMW engine failed, with Collard behind the wheel.
The No. 9 Action Express Racing Porsche Riley, driven by Joao Barbosa, Terry Borcheller, Ryan Dalziel and Mike Rockenfeller, won the Rolex 24 At Daytona. The No. 95 BMW Riley finished four laps behind the leaders.
The Crown Royal Level 5 Motorsports team returns to the track March 6 at Homestead-Miami Speedway for the Grand Prix of Miami, the second of 12 races for the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series in 2010.
"This was a very good start for this Crown Royal Level 5 Motorsports team," Tucker said. "It should give us a lot of steam and momentum heading to Homestead-Miami. We're looking forward to that race with great enthusiasm."
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