Rolex 24 at Daytona photos now posted

Presenting Magnus Racing, the 2011 version!

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Magnus Racing Charges Through the Field for Fourth

January 30, 2010 (Daytona Beach, Fl.) – The Rolex 24 at Daytona is an exercise in dealing with adversity, and the no. 44 Magnus Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup encountered its fair share as it completed 674 laps from the start to the finish of the Florida endurance classic.

Making his twelfth start at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, Craig Stanton, from Long Beach, California, put the Magnus Racing Porsche into the lead in the first hour after a strong qualifying effort which saw the car qualify in third. While different pitstop cycles began to play out, the car continued to battle for the lead throughout the first couple of hours until an unscheduled stop to repair damage when Richard Liletz from Austria hit debris, putting the car two laps behind the leader. A further eleven laps were lost six and a half hours into the race when the car’s header developed a crack, requiring it to be replaced.

Rejoining the track at roughly 11:00 PM EST, all the drivers cycled through and consistently chipped away at their deficit as other cars faltered. Sunrise saw the Magnus Racing Porsche up to sixth position, with more progress coming as two other cars ran into mechanical problems in the final three hours.

Crossing the finish line in fourth position, the team improved on its finish of fifth in Magnus Racing’s inaugural Rolex 24 at Daytona in 2010. Impressively, the team has now finished in its first two twenty-four hour contests in the top-five, and Team Owner John Potter is excited about Magnus Racing’s prospects for 2011.

DRIVER QUOTES

John Potter

It’s a great result for the team and I’m really proud that we were able to run as strong as we did, it was a great way to start the year. But what I’m most excited about is how I think we are going to do this year. We have a great team with great personnel, the 2011 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup is a strong car, and I think Craig and I are going to make for a very strong driving lineup this year.

Craig Stanton

I’m ecstatic that win, lose, or draw, our guys put their best effort into this program. They really brought their A++ game to this race and it really showed throughout the weekend because the car was so good and so easy to drive. What I’m taking away from this race is a lot of confidence that these guys are going to give us a great car all year and we will be able to contend for a championship.

Richard Lietz

The car was perfect from the first practice I had in the car. We should have won this race, but finishing fourth is still a strong result. It was bad luck, we run the curbs a thousand times and one time it damages the car, but everyone worked really hard to get the car back on track and the guys did a good job to drive up to fourth.

More information about Magnus Racing can be found at www.magnusracing.com. Any organization interested in learning more about how to be involved with one of the most unique and visible teams in the Grand-American Rolex Sports Car Series can e-mail info@magnusracing.com. All press inquiries can be directed to press@magnusracing.com.



Magnus Racing charges through field before daybreak in Daytona

January 30, 2011 (Daytona Beach, Florida) – It was a long night for the team in green, as Magnus Racing would find itself in a race against the clock to claw back time lost in the pits making repairs to the no. 44 Magnus Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.

Shortly before 11:00 PM ET, with Craig Stanton at the wheel, the car came to a stop between NASCAR turn four and the pit line entry. The car had been struggling with a broken header throughout Stanton’s stint at the wheel, and threw off the fuel mixture enough to make the car come up a few hundred crucial yards short of the pits. Being towed to the garage, the Magnus Racing crew sprang into action and needed ten laps to replace the broken header, returning the car to action with John Potter at the wheel in thirteenth position, thirteen laps behind the leader.

Cycling through all of the team’s four drivers through the night, the Magnus Racing Porsche was consistently one of the fastest GT-class cars in the field, clicking off trouble free laps and making steady progress through the field. Slowed only by a routine brake change, the team’s progress was finally stopped by a nearly three-hour full course caution period for fog. Emerging from the fog in seventh place when the race went green again, Marco Holzer moved the no. 44 Magnus Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup into sixth place shortly before 9:00 AM EST.

With six and a half hours of racing remaining, the team expects all of its drivers to be behind the wheel at least one more time before the checkered flag falls at 3:30 PM EST.

DRIVER QUOTES

Richard Lietz

The car felt perfect during my stints. The power was good and it is fast and very fun to drive. But the traffic is something else, it’s the worst traffic I have ever seen in Daytona. At times it seems very dangerous, but this is what it is all about. We just have to not have any more problems and we can still get a good result.

Craig Stanton

All of the guys did a great job through the night. John, Richard, and Marco were able to go really fast but keep the nose of the car clean and minimize time in the pits. The handling of the car has definitely changed a bit since we had to pull the swaybar off, but everyone has found a way to make it work and post competitive times. There’s still a lot of racing left so the goal is still to just be smooth and consistent and work out way forward.

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Magnus Racing leads early going at Rolex 24 at Daytona

January 29, 2011 (Daytona Beach, FL) – Starting from the third position for the 2011 Rolex 24 at Daytona, Craig Stanton showed from the drop of the green that the no. 44 Magnus Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup had some serious speed as he needed four laps to move into the lead of the GT class battle.

Once clear of the rest of the field, Stanton began to extend an advantage throughout the opening stages before pitting under yellow and handing the car over to John Potter. Potter enjoyed a trouble-free stint running in the top ten as several teams ran alternate fuel pit strategies and handed the car over to Austrian Richard Lietz during a full course caution.

Lietz stint would be the first time the Magnus Racing Porsche encountered difficulty as, while running in second position, he ran over debris that was left on the track in the bus stop from previous incidents. The debris broke the rear swaybar of the car, requiring Lietz to pit under green. The Magnus Racing crew jumped into action and needed two laps to remove the swaybar, which was dragging under the car, and send Lietz back on his way.

Lietz continued through another stint before handing the car over to German Marco Holzer. Holzer’s stint was trouble free and he turned the car back over to Craig Stanton at around 9:00 PM ET. As of 9:30 ET, Craig Stanton had the Magnus Racing Porsche running in ninth position, two laps behind the GT class leader.

DRIVER QUOTES

Craig Stanton

The car was so hooked up in the beginning of the race, it was so fun to drive and an awesome feeling to lead the Rolex 24. It wasn’t the prettiest drive I’ve ever done but it got the job done and I didn’t have to push the car that hard, which shows just how good it is. The whole Magnus Racing crew really deserves a great result for how hard they have worked on this car because it is really a rocket. Especially with the new pavement, the car is really a joy to drive.

John Potter

My stint was uneventful, except for the odd Daytona Prototype, but things are going really well. It’s a long race and there is still a lot that can happen, as we saw when Richard ran over the debris. As we learned last year it’s a long race and we have plenty of time to make up lost time and lost positions if we just keep out of trouble and keep the car underneath us.

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