After a nightmare weekend at Long Beach, Level 5 Motorsports bounced back with victory at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca today by taking a 1-2 finish in the P2 class with their pair of HPD entries.

Marino Franchitti and Scott Tucker took the victory with Ryan Briscoe (also teamed with Tucker) taking second place.

“A great way for Level 5 to bounce back after Long Beach,” Franchitti said.

“This is what we needed going into Le Mans. The teams worked really hard, day and night. I think I picked up everything I could have from this track, gravel, dirt, bodywork.

“This was a tough race, the GTs are fast, and the class is getting really tough. The toughest part of the race was getting really nauseous right before getting in the car.

“I was fine all weekend but I got in the car and it just overwhelmed me. Luckily I was able to keep it together in the car and wait til I got out.

“I picked a lot of spots today, and I tried to keep myself in positions where I wouldn’t be in danger. That was going to be the only way we could win this race, we couldn’t get into trouble and break something that is what we needed.”

Their rivals at Extreme Speed Motorsports had a troubled day with the No.01 car delayed with a series of cut tires (caused by debris in the rear wheel well) and the No.02 car retiring with electrical issues.

“We knew it was going to be really tough. We had a pretty good strategy for the tires,” Tucker said.

“The overall mood of the team was really good. Things went really well at the start. We had some flawless race, we didn’t have a lot of issues. Ryan and Marino both drove perfect races. I was able to get in the 552 in the end, and get some more seat time.

I was really pleased with the performance, and with these guys. One of those weekends where things go well.”

Franchitti, Tucker and Ryan Briscoe will form the team’s line-up for this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. Briscoe in the interim will kick off his assault on this year’s Indianapolis 500 where he will campaign for Chip Ganassi Racing.