The world's most difficult motorsports event lived up to its reputation today as Level 5 Motosports drivers Scott Tucker and Christophe Bouchut fell victim to the perils of endurance sportscar racing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Their Team Kolles Audi R-10, with co-driver Manuel Rodrigues behind the wheel, crashed in the Porsche curves during the early morning hours, ending their run.
"That is just a shame," Tucker said. "You know these things can happen in such a long race. But we really felt we had settled into our pace with good, consistent lap times. We just needed to be around at the end to post a good finish."
After another incident during Rodrigues' first stint of the race sent the car to the pits with significant front end damage, the Kolles crew worked to repair for return to the track. Successful stints by Tucker and Bouchut in the ailing car during the night went for naught with the second crash at 4 a.m. Following his accident, Rodrigues walked away from the car - which is not allowed under ACO rules - and the team was subsequently disqualified.
After rolling off 12th in a field of 55 of the best racecars and drivers in the world, the No. 14 Audi R-10 had been setting lap times that equaled their qualifying speed - demonstrating the blistering speed of the race that would go into the record books as the fastest-paced 24 Hours of Le Mans ever run. The team was running as high as seventh place in the early going.
"The race speeds were incredible," Tucker said. "With 55 other cars out there on a tight circuit, it was really challenging. That is why this race has the reputation it does."
The second Team Kolles Audi R-10 entry, driven by Christjan Albers, Christian Bakkerud and Olive Jarvis, managed to work into the top 10, until their race was also cut short with a gearbox failure late in the event. 
The much-hyped Peugeot effort that dominated qualifying and pre-race publicity was also unable to survive the grueling race over the 8.48-mile road circuit. Taking the overall honors were Audi Sport North America in first, followed by Audi Sport Team Joest in second and third, meaning an all Audi R-15 sweep of the podium.
"It was great to see the Four Rings on the podium," Tucker said. "It was a thrill to be here with Audi and we're proud to see the guys get another win."
Covering a record 397 laps for 3,366 miles -- nearly the distance from London to New York -- the 2010 running of the legendary race proved there is indeed no more difficult test in motorsports. And, with Audi posting nine wins in the last 11 years at Le Mans -- including three for the R-10 -- there is no doubt they have become the class of the field in international endurance racing.
Next up for Tucker and Bouchut will be a return to the American Le Mans Series where they sit atop the standings for the Le Mans Prototype Challenge. The Larry H. Miller Dealerships Grand Prix will be held July 11, 2010, at 4:30 p.m. ET. Television coverage will be carried by SPEED.
Last year's winners completed 382 laps over the 8.48-mile street circuit, which was 3,254 miles at an average speed of 216 135.4 mph.
Team Kolles has two R-10s competing in this year's race and, with Audi-factory support, the team has all of the elements needed for a successful run.
The green flag for the 24 Hours of Le Mans is scheduled to wave at 9:30 a.m. ET Saturday, with the checkered flag scheduled to drop at 9:30 a.m. ET Sunday. The SPEED Channel will televise the first four hours of the race live. Broadcast coverage will continue from 6 p.m. ET until the race's finish with extended coverage throughout the weekend on SPEEDTV.com.
"Sure there is a bit of a friendly rivalry in the paddock between our two R-10s," said Tucker, the only American to ever race the Audi R-10. "But Audi and the whole Team Kolles organization are working very well together -- as demonstrated by our strong qualifying effort. But it's a long race and we know we've got to maintain our focus on posting a positive result on Sunday."
His blistering lap of 3:19.711 gave Peugeot their fourth consecutive Le Mans pole.
With this tough street course, the weather and racing at night, there is a lot for a driver to deal with in this race."
The only other is Marco Andretti, Indy Racing star and grandson of the legendary Mario Andretti.
While Tucker is making his Le Mans debut, Bouchut brings tremendous experience in this race. He has 17 starts including a win in 1993. Along with his his wins in the Rolex 24 At Daytona and the 24 Hours of Spa, Bouchut has an endurance-racing record that puts him among the all-time greats.
Here's a great video about the Audi R-10:
Following a successful - and grueling - test session at Circuit Paul Ricard in France, Level 5 Motorsports owner / driver Scott Tucker now turns his focus to the famed 24 Hours of Le Mans. This will be his first appearance in the endurance classic, which gets underway in less than two-weeks. SPEED caught up with Tucker after the test with Team Kolles in the Audi R10 TDI.