The 2nd round of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup series brought the Scott Tucker-owned Level 5 Motorsports squad to Belgium for the Spa-Francorchamps 2011 race. The world famous course is recognized for being flat still providing individuals with complex curves to encounter whilst racing at more rapidly speeds compared to additional tracks.
Tucker together with his group, coming off wins at the 12 Hours of Sebring and also Long Beach Street Circuit, were psyched to be at the venue to see precisely what the weekend had to bring. The Spa competition was packed and serious; the Le Mans series and the Intercontinental Le Mans series pull in top notch talent from throughout the world to the legendary Spa track. "This is one of the greatest tracks in the world," Tucker says. "It's one of the faster tracks we run at. It's curvy but flat ... you're flat to the floor."Within its runs at the ILMS year opener in the 12 Hours of Sebring, the Lola Honda struggled in making top speed at the straightaways. For the Spa, all Honda cars were presented a 1.2 mm larger air restrictor as compensation. After 1st testing, says Level 5 driver Christophe Bouchut, the restrictor supplied small increases in speed, but it was uncertain pre-race just how much of a change the adjustment will make.
As it ended up, the restrictor didn't deliver the speed raise the Level 5 team had predicted, a disappointing end result that set the group in a slight disadvantage, though it wasn't over yet. In qualifying rounds, driven by Bouchut, the Honda completed 10th-not the result you would possibly expect given the fast track, the driver talent and the restrictor correction.
After he'd run the course, Tucker told members of the media his impression of the course: "It's as advertised: long and fast," he stated. "In the prototype, the turns are so fast, and there are a lot of G's, so it will be very physically challenging over 6 hours."
But 6 hours didn't really come as Tucker and the team predicted. After contact with a car thought to be No. 41, the Level 5 car entered pit for fuel along with destruction in the right back corner on the tail section. The area was changed out, and after fueling up, the car was back in line.
And then, just a few hrs into the race, Bouchut out of the blue spun into the barrels on the side of the track. Team manager David Stone thought that something in the rear end suspension had failed, but the crew might need to await formal inspection for the answer.
Though Level 5 Motorsports endured a unsatisfactory conclusion to its second ILMC appearance, driver strength of mind and ability were not in question. Merely days away from another FC race in California, they flipped its attention to its next chance.
Tucker together with his group, coming off wins at the 12 Hours of Sebring and also Long Beach Street Circuit, were psyched to be at the venue to see precisely what the weekend had to bring. The Spa competition was packed and serious; the Le Mans series and the Intercontinental Le Mans series pull in top notch talent from throughout the world to the legendary Spa track. "This is one of the greatest tracks in the world," Tucker says. "It's one of the faster tracks we run at. It's curvy but flat ... you're flat to the floor."Within its runs at the ILMS year opener in the 12 Hours of Sebring, the Lola Honda struggled in making top speed at the straightaways. For the Spa, all Honda cars were presented a 1.2 mm larger air restrictor as compensation. After 1st testing, says Level 5 driver Christophe Bouchut, the restrictor supplied small increases in speed, but it was uncertain pre-race just how much of a change the adjustment will make.
As it ended up, the restrictor didn't deliver the speed raise the Level 5 team had predicted, a disappointing end result that set the group in a slight disadvantage, though it wasn't over yet. In qualifying rounds, driven by Bouchut, the Honda completed 10th-not the result you would possibly expect given the fast track, the driver talent and the restrictor correction.
After he'd run the course, Tucker told members of the media his impression of the course: "It's as advertised: long and fast," he stated. "In the prototype, the turns are so fast, and there are a lot of G's, so it will be very physically challenging over 6 hours."
But 6 hours didn't really come as Tucker and the team predicted. After contact with a car thought to be No. 41, the Level 5 car entered pit for fuel along with destruction in the right back corner on the tail section. The area was changed out, and after fueling up, the car was back in line.
And then, just a few hrs into the race, Bouchut out of the blue spun into the barrels on the side of the track. Team manager David Stone thought that something in the rear end suspension had failed, but the crew might need to await formal inspection for the answer.
Though Level 5 Motorsports endured a unsatisfactory conclusion to its second ILMC appearance, driver strength of mind and ability were not in question. Merely days away from another FC race in California, they flipped its attention to its next chance.
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