Leawood, Kansas (PRWEB) May 12, 2014
With the Ferrari Challenge North America set to make its return to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca this weekend, 10-time national driving champion Scott Tucker took a moment to reflect on what it means to be successful at the famous road circuit.
"Laguna Seca is a great circuit,” said Tucker, who is among the most successful drivers in Ferrari Challenge series history. “The course has a couple of real challenging spots. But, we’ve learned to navigate those pretty well.”
Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca used to be known as simply Laguna Seca Raceway, but the history and the challenge of the much-storied racing track outside Monterey, California, hasn’t been diminished by a mere change to the name. The track, which first opened in 1957, has been a home to numerous auto racing events and motorcycle racing events over the decades. Laguna Seca has been the site of the Monterey Sports Car Championships, the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) Nationals, the American Le Mans Series (ALMS), as well as the Motorcycle Grand Prix, Can-Am, Formula 5000, and International Motor Sports Association (IMSA).
The racetrack has been through a number of changes over the years – mostly to keep up with the changing nature of safety regulations. Today, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca is a 2.2 mile, eleven turn paved road course that features a number of high-speed straightaways and a few tricky turns. Turn 2 is called the “Andretti Hairpin.” Turns 8 and 8a are a configuration known as “The Corkscrew.” But, for as challenging as the track may be to those skilled enough to take laps on its surface, Laguna Seca can’t keep competitive race car drivers away.
Scott Tucker’s most recent success at Laguna Seca came in May of 2013 in the American Le Mans Series. It turned out to be a banner weekend for Level 5 Motorsports, who started off by sweeping the front row in qualifying, then dominated the race for a 1-2 Level 5 Motorsports victory.
“We knew it was going to be pretty tough with our competitors having the same car,” said Tucker, who earned his 19th ALMS victory in the event. “We had a pretty good strategy with the Michelin tires and just the overall mood of the team was really good. Things went pretty well at the start. We had flawless pit stops and the race came to us.”
In addition to sweeping the ALMS honors, Tucker also claimed victories in the two Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda races, making it a perfect weekend for both driver and team. As usual, the Level 5 team principal was one of the busiest drivers during the race, completing double stints in both the No. 551 and No. 552 cars.
Tucker has also enjoyed podium finishes in a Boardwalk Ferrari entry in the Ferrari Challenge series at Laguna Seca. The team returns to the track this weekend for two races at the historic facility. Fans can keep up with all of the action at http://corseclienti.ferrari.com/2014en/championship/ferrari-challenge-north-america.