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Oct 11

Scott Tucker Wins Third Straight Prototype Lites Race

A very busy Scott Tucker, slated to compete in a total of six different races this week, got off to a strong start with a win in the Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Championship on Thursday. The win was Tucker’s third straight in the Lites 2 class.

Tucker will drive both the No. 33 and the No. 055 Microsoft Office 2010-sponsored HPD ARX-01g racecars on Saturday for Petit Le Mans – the famed 1,000-mile or 10-hour endurance race that marks the conclusion of the American Le Mans Series season.

He will also be tackling five support series races: the Cooper Tire Prototype Lites double-header, two rounds of the IMSA GT3 Challenge by Yokohama series and Friday’s SCCA Pro Racing Trans-Am event with Level 5’s Ferrari 458 Challenge car. This makes Tucker the busiest driver in the paddock.

Despite the other events on the schedule, the ultimate focus will be on delivering success on Saturday as Level 5 seeks to solidify its runner-up position in the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup LMP2 championship standings.

Level 5, which is searching for back-to-back Petit Le Mans victories after their LMPC win at Road Atlanta last year, has already locked up this year’s ALMS LMP2 drivers and teams titles to go with their 2010 accolades in LMPC, which included the inaugural drivers championship and Rookie-of-the-Year honors for Tucker.

Qualifying for the 14th annual Petit Le Mans powered by Mazda is scheduled for 2:35 p.m. ET on Friday, September 30 and will be available in the U.S. on ESPN3 or outside the U.S. on americanlemans.com. The 1,000-mile/10-hour endurance race is set for Saturday, Oct. 1. The race will air on ABC at 4 p.m. ET on Sunday, Oct. 2. Live coverage will be available in the U.S. on ESPN3 or outside the U.S. on americanlemans.com beginning at 11:15 a.m. ET on Saturday, Oct. 1.

Stay informed at Scott Tucker Racing. Free reprint available from: Scott Tucker Wins Third Straight Prototype Lites Race.

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1
Oct 11

Scott Tucker and Level 5 Motorsports Targeting LMP2 Victory in Petit Le Mans

In a race often known to be as grueling as the Twelve Hours of Sebring or even the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Level 5 Motorsports heads into the 14th annual Petit Le Mans powered by Mazda, the final round of the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrn season, as one of the teams best positioned for victory.

The famed 1,000-mile or 10-hour endurance race will see the Scott Tucker-led organization return to a two-car operation with a brace of new Microsoft Office 2010-sponsored HPD ARX-01gs as they take the fight to the top LMP2 teams from Europe which have descended upon the famed Road Atlanta circuit for the penultimate Intercontinental Le Mans Cup race of the season.

Following their impressive fourth place overall finish and P 2 Class win at Laguna Seca in the debut of its new cost-capped prototype and Tucker’s third consecutive SCCA National Championship earned last weekend in Road America, Level 5 enters the Road Atlanta enduro with plenty of momentum from the past two weeks of racing.

Tucker will be driving both the ILMC-designated No. 33 HPD and the No. 055 cars on Saturday and will also be tackling five support series races, beginning on Thursday. The now four-time national driving champion will be seeking continued success in the Cooper Tire Prototype Lites double-header, as well as the two rounds of the IMSA GT3 Challenge by Yokohama series in his Kelly Moss Motorsports-prepared Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car.

He’s also scheduled to participate in Friday’s SCCA Pro Racing Trans-Am event with Level 5’s Ferrari 458 Challenge car. As one of the busiest drivers in the paddock, Tucker will have to juggle a packed schedule each day with the ultimate focus being delivering success on Saturday as Level 5 seeks to solidify its runner-up position in the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup LMP2 championship standings.

Level 5, which is searching for back-to-back Petit Le Mans victories after their LMPC win at Road Atlanta last year, has already locked up this year’s ALMS LMP2 drivers and teams titles to go with their 2010 accolades in LMPC, which included the inaugural drivers championship and Rookie-of-the-Year honors for Tucker.

Qualifying for the 14th annual Petit Le Mans powered by Mazda is scheduled for 2:35 p.m. ET on Friday, September 30 and will be available in the U.S. on ESPN3 or outside the U.S. on americanlemans.com. The 1,000-mile/10-hour endurance race is set for Saturday, Oct. 1. The race will air on ABC at 4 p.m. ET on Sunday, Oct. 2. Live coverage will be available in the U.S. on ESPN3 or outside the U.S. on americanlemans.com beginning at 11:15 a.m. ET on Saturday, Oct. 1.

Stay informed at Scott Tucker Racing

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Oct 11

Level 5 won’t face the challenge of nighttime racing again until 2012

Level 5 Motorsports, one of the world’s most prolific racing organizations, is in the midst of rounding out the 2011 racing schedule, with just three short-but very important-races left to tackle. The SCCA Runoffs, the ALMS Petit Le Mans and the 6 Hours of Zhuhai in China are sure to be high-profile, intense competition races. But one thing they’re not: an entire day long.

The mother of all endurance races is the 24-hour enduro. With two on the 2011 books for Level 5 Motorsports, owned by Scott Tucker, the team had to be prepared for a grueling day-and night-of racing. The Intercontinental Le Mans Cup series offered the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France, in June, and the Grand-Am Rolex sets up the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway, which was Level 5’s first race of the 2011 year, in January.

Having made podium at both super-endurance races, the Level 5 drivers (which also include Luis Diaz and Christophe Bouchut) have clearly mastered some of the unique challenges a day-long competition presents. One of the most obvious: driving in the dark. After focusing on a well-lit road all day, drivers are often challenged to keep a competitive pace when it gets dark, especially on tracks that aren’t well-lit. At the Daytona International Speedway, almost all of the track is lit by floodlights, so drivers adjust more easily. But in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the course occasionally goes through secluded highways in France.

“It takes a little while to get adjusted,” Tucker said. “But the track is still there; you just have to get used to it.” When making the transition from day to night, teams make sure to check that the headlights are working perfectly, and the rest is up to the driver. “You sort of become one with the road,” Tucker says. “It’s the same way a blind person’s other senses are heightened; your other senses eventually take over, and soon enough you’re matching the lap times from earlier in the day.”

Many of the newest Le Mans Prototype models regularly approach 200mph in race situations, which is amplified when driven at night. “There’s nothing like driving at night,” Tucker says.

Tucker and his Level 5 team secured an invitation to the 24 Hours of Le Mans when they won their LMP class in 2010 at the ALMS Petit Le Mans. Taking the wheels of LMP2 cars for the 2011 season, the team will again look for their invite to 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2012-hopefully, with an LMP1 class designation. This weekend, the team competes in the SCCA Runoffs, but the race they’ve really been focused on all season has been Petit Le Mans. They recently added a new car to their Microsoft Office-sponsored entries, a cost-capped Honda chassis with modified fuel injector and other specifications that ultimately allow the car to run with more power at a lighter weight.

So far, the car has proven unbeatable; it’s debut at Monterey was flawless, and the weeks leading up to Petit Le Mans are just additional opportunities for the drivers to acquaint themselves with the new set of wheels. With an LMP2 win at the top of their to-do list, the next time Level 5 Motorsports makes the transition from night to day could be in an LMP1 class at the 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Looking to find the best racing team , then visit www.level5motorsports.com to find the best team in the leauge.

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26
Sep 11

Scott Tucker, Marino Franchitti Set for Petit Le Mans

Madison, Wis. – Having secured a successful debut of its new HPD last weekend, Level 5 Motorsports has tabbed prototype veteran Marino Franchitti as the team’s fifth and final driver for its upcoming two-car attack at the 14th annual Petit Le Mans powered by Mazda.

Along with Franchitti, three-time national driving champion Scott Tucker and 2009 American Le Mans Series LMP2 champion Luis Diaz will drive Level 5’s No. 055 Microsoft Office 2010-sponsored HPD ARX-01g in the 1,000-mile/10-hour marathon at Road Atlanta, which serves as the season-ending round for the American Le Mans Series Presented by Tequila Patrn.

“I’m very excited to be joining Level 5 Motorsports for Petit Le Mans,” Franchitti stated. “Having driven every iteration of the HPD up until this new model, I can’t wait to get in the new ARX-01g next week. Level 5 is no doubt a top team that’s putting all of the resources they need behind this program. It’s very good to be coming back in with a top ride in one of the biggest endurance races of the year.”

The Scot is the brother of three-time IZOD IndyCar Series champion Dario Franchitti, is one of the most experienced drivers at the wheel of the HPD family of prototypes. In 2007, Franchitti was a part of the initial year of development of the ARX-01a with Andretti Green Racing before moving onto a two-year stint with Dyson Racing, also in LMP2.

Franchitti once again returned to drive the Honda-powered prototypes in 2010 with Highcroft Racing as the third driver for its ARX-01c effort in the American Le Mans Series and 24 Hours of Le Mans, earning the overall pole position at the Twelve Hours of Sebring and wins at Laguna Seca and Petit Le Mans. His efforts helped propel Highcroft to drivers’ and teams’ championship.

Most recently, Franchitti earned a runner-up result in this year’s Twelve Hours of Sebring with Highcroft’s HPD ARX-01e LMP1 car. He also played a crucial role in the development of HPD’s 2.8-liter twin turbo V6 engine, which powers Level 5’s new LMP2 cars.

“A car is a car and guys like Scott [Tucker], Christophe [Bouchut] and Joao [Barbosa] are good to drive it to the maximum that it’s capable of,” Franchitti said. “But especially me, having driven every iteration of it now, and Luis as well with being involved, it certainly helps with bringing experience.

“It’s also great working with [engineer] Rick Mayer, who I worked with before and [engineer] Jeff Braun. There’s a lot of people that I’ve worked with before that are on the team. To me, it seems like the ultimate situation. I’m really excited to get back out there and into the American Le Mans Series and back into a prototype.”

Franchitti is searching for his third consecutive Petit Le Mans LMP2 victory. He will have his first opportunity to sample the HPD ARX-01g early next week during a two-day test at Road Atlanta. Level 5 anticipates having its second car, the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup-designated No. 33 HPD for Tucker, Christophe Bouchut and Joao Barbosa, also on track.

The 2011 American Le Mans Series Presented by Tequila Patrn season concludes on Oct. 1 with the 14th annual Petit Le Mans powered by Mazda at Road Atlanta. The race will air on ABC at 4 p.m. ET on Sunday, Oct. 2. Live coverage will be available in the U.S. on ESPN3 or outside the U.S. on americanlemans.com. Rogers Sportnet One in Canada and MotorsTV in Europe will also provide coverage. Ticket and schedule information is available on the ALMS schedule page.

Read more about Scott Tucker and Marino Franchitti and visit Scott Tucker Racing.. This article, Scott Tucker, Marino Franchitti Set for Petit Le Mans is released under a creative commons attribution license.

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25
Sep 11

A Look at the World of Racehorse Breeding in the UK

UK breeders boast centuries of tradition in the breeding that yields superior colts. Currently the UK breeds many Thoroughbreds each year, and a lot of them have excellent racing careers. Quality breeding professionals work hard to match parents appropriately in order to facilitate proper placement of foals with the best racehorse trainer possible, and to ensure that the horses have successful racing careers.

The origins of the Thoroughbred breed date back to the 17th century when breeders crossed Arabian stallions with native British mares. As a matter of fact, all Thoroughbred pedigrees can be traced back to Byerly Turks, Darley Arabian, or Godolphin Arabian horses. The outcome of these efforts has been a long-legged, taller breed that is capable of quickly traversing distances regardless of their length, as well as the contemporary era’s phenomenal racehorses. Thoroughbreds have passed these traits on to more breeds, such as the Standardbred and the American Quarter-Horse.

Responsible Thoroughbred breeding professionals work to produce foals featuring sturdy bones able to tolerate running on tracks, solid hooves able to withstand significant loads, attitudes which combine a competitive spirit with a receptiveness to instruction, and muscle density capable of generating great speed. These young horses possess a genetic edge which helps them succeed in race events. Because they are inherently talented, training is simpler and victories on the racetrack are easier to come by.

Additional benefits come with breeding racehorses in the UK. Breeders’ prizes funded by the Horserace Betting Levy Board reward those who use high quality breeding stock to produce outstanding foals. Similarly, the Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association supports its members in a variety of ways and aims to promote the responsible breeding of talented foals.

However, no matter how well-bred the foal is, it will get nowhere without an experienced racehorse trainer. The right trainer will use the horse’s natural talent and competitive nature to shape it into a winner. While pedigree is important, it is the trainer’s job to take that raw potential and transform it into a fit and enduring competitor with a real chance to win.

The world recognizes UK Thoroughbred breeders for producing high-quality racehorses. Temperate weather and accessibility to veterinary facilities are essential in terms of raising healthy young horses. Parents that are carefully chosen often give birth to offspring that is naturally talented, and with these foals, choosing the proper trainer will enhance this talent to create excellent track horses.

It is the racehorse trainers job to train a racehorse so it performs to the best of its ability at the races. To find out more about racehorse training visit www.jonjooneillracing.com.

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