Magnus Racing Returns to Podium Form at Laguna Seca

MONTEREY, Calif. (November 16, 2019) – After a season of consistency in which Magnus Racing and the No. 44 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO have finished in the top-10 in every event, the team would finally return to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship podium for the first time in six months, taking third during Sunday’s round at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Having last taken a podium at the 12 Hours of Sebring in March, Sunday’s result would mark the team’s second podium of the year, closing out the sprint season championship for drivers John Potter and Andy Lally on a high as they head to the final event of 2019 in October.

“This was a great way to close out our sprint season,” stated Magnus Racing team owner John Potter. “The team has worked hard all season, and while we’ve had great pace throughout the summer, we were finally able to have everything come together today. Laguna Seca has always been a good venue for us, and the streak continued today with another podium. Andy drove incredibly, I was very happy with my stint, and we all should be really strong for the upcoming finale at Petit Le Mans.”

Making a strong start, John Potter would take the green flag for the two-hour, forty-minute race holding and embark on one of his strongest drives to date. Balked by the two Lexus teammates throughout much of his run, the Utah resident put his veteran experience to use, managing his tires while awaiting on opportunity to make his way by. When an opportune moment presented itself, John would make his move and elevate himself to eighth, making up lost time to the field in front of him and and finally catching the No. 33 AMG whom he pushed hard in the closing laps of his stint. With the race set for an all-green flag affair, Potter’s drive through the field would prove critical, putting teammate Andy Lally in a prime position for the final two hours.

Following a clean stop by the crew, Lally would make immediate work of the field in front of him, advancing to seventh within the opening laps and beginning an upward march reminiscent of some of his greatest drives. Throughout his middle stint, the Long Island native would demonstrate the incredible pace of his machine, pushing hard and picking off the field one-by-one, moving up to fourth by time the final round of pit stops came.

Following yet another strong stop by the team, the focus shifted to a podium finish, with Andy giving chase to the No. 9 Porsche. As the laps wore on, it was clear the Magnus Lamborghini had the pace, but the tricky nature of Laguna Seca would make it tough to pass. Finally, with 25 minutes remaining, Andy would pull off the move to secure the team’s spot on the podium, not putting a foot wrong until the end and crossing the line in third.

For Lally, it was the highlight to a season that has shown considerable promise and finally beginning to show its true potential.

“The guys deserved this one,” stated Lally. “As consistent as we’ve been, this team is driven by an incredibly competitive group of people, all of whom have wanted to see the results we knew were capable of. It wasn’t really a breakthrough race because we knew we had the car and the team, but everything finally came together. I’m looking forward to Petit Le Mans and confident our momentum can continue.”

While the “sprint” season comes to a close with the weekend’s festivities, one round remains in the overall championship, with the upcoming Petit Le Mans wrapping up the 2019 season. A 10-hour event that has seen the team come heartbreakingly close to victory in previous years, the combination of Potter, Lally, and endurance driver Spencer Pumpelly presents one of their best opportunities, taking place on Saturday, October 12.

Magnus Racing Secures Top Ten at VIRginia International Raceway

ALTON, Vir., (August 25, 2019) – Magnus Racing celebrated their ninth consecutive top-ten finish in the 2019 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship on Sunday at VIRginia International Raceway. Drivers John Potter and Andy Lally would start from a strong position and run error free in a chaotic GT-only race to show an impressive drive to finish sixth.

“We had a very strong car all weekend,” stated Magnus Racing driver and team owner, John Potter. “We performed well throughout practice and gained a lot of ground during the race. It’s unfortunate contact from another car hurt my stint, but I’m glad we were able to recover and fight for a strong finish.”

The team excelled in the practices leading up to race day, dominating one of the sessions in wet conditions while other competitors in the GTD field struggled to stay on course. John Potter would put in a strong qualifying effort, his best in three years to start eighth in a tightly packed field.

The start saw Potter avoid contact in a dicey field, wisely giving up position to keep the car intact. His other competitors would not fare so well, and contact while racing brought several of the cars back into pit lane for repairs or penalties. Potter’s decision to hang back paid off, and his patience would bring him back those positions shortly into his stint. As he charged onward, contact from another car spun the No. 44 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO, but Potter continued, determined to gain any lost track position.

After Potter completed his minimum drive time, Andy Lally took over, with a quick stop putting him within 18 seconds of the No. 57 Acura of Katherine Legge. While a caution flag would have been helpful to close the gap, it would never come. However, within 19 minutes of racing, Lally would shrink the gap to 9.7 seconds. As he closed out the stint, he had caught up completely to Legge, applying heavy pressure before making his final pit stop.

With one hour remaining, Lally rejoined the race with a full tank of fuel, immediately resuming his battle with Legge over eighth position. With 38 minutes remaining, Lally would make the pass, setting his sights on the No. 12 Lexus of Townsend Bell three seconds ahead. He made quick work of Bell before a full course caution with 18 minutes remaining bunched the field back up together.

“John did an excellent job in qualifying to get us in a strong position to have some good battles,” said Lally. “We had the pace all weekend to fight for position and the race played well into our hands. A top five would have been great, but we’re proud of sixth place at a track that has always had a bit of bad luck ready for us.”

The next round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will take place in three weeks’ time, taking the competitors to sunny California to race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Practice begins Friday September 13^th, and the race taking place Sunday the 15^th.

Swapping Colors in Search of New Results for Magnus at Road America

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (July 31, 2019) – Enjoying a remarkably consistent 2019 season that has seem the team finish in the top-10 at every event, Magnus Racing will arrive at this weekend’s eighth round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with a new color scheme in the hopes of further improving their fortunes. While consistency has been the key for drivers John Potter and Andy Lally, currently just seven points shy of second in the championship, a singular podium at Sebring has left the team in search of improved results. Looking to shake things up after the popular reception of the team’s Saturn V rocket livery at Lime Rock, the team will swap their 2019 dark-grey and blue-trim livery in favor of the reverse, running a base blue for funsies at Road America.

“Since we were already altering the livery after Lime Rock, we figured why not keep playing with it,” stated Magnus Racing team owner John Potter. “We’ve enjoyed a dark grey base for four years now, but we figured why not try something different since we’re at it. Road America has been a race of mixed fortunes for us, but we’re hopeful this could be a good weekend depending on the usual range of factors. It’s a tight fight for second in the championship, and we’re eager to see where these final few races take us.” 

Taking to the 14-turn, four-mile circuit in their No. 44 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO, the large hills and fast corners of the Wisconsin circuit provide one of the most exciting venues for wheel-to-wheel racing on the calendar. While it remains to be seen just how the Lamborghini will fair among the GTD field, a series of improvements over recent races has left the team more confident than ever on their chances.

For Andy Lally, a return to one of the sport’s iconic tracks is always an exciting one.

“Road America is high on everyone’s list, it’s a great place for proper racing,” stated Lally. “Even though our results haven’t shown it, the team has made big strides in the last few races and this could be the place where it finally all comes together.”

Practice begins this Friday, August 2, with the race taking place on Sunday at 2:35PM ET. Live coverage can be found on the NBC Sports App, or with same-day coverage at 6PM ET on NBCSN.

Magnus Racing Braves Sweltering Temperatures at Lime Rock Park

 

LAKEVILLE, CONNECTICUT (July 22, 2019) – Participants of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship endured the hottest race of the year at Saturday’s Northeast Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park. Racing on track temperatures over 115 degrees, Magnus Racing drivers John Potter and Andy Lally finished eighth, continuing their perfect streak of top-10 finishes this season. In celebration of the 50^th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, Magnus Racing paid special tribute with a one-time car livery on their car, changing the traditional black, blue, and silver livery of the No. 44 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO to a livery matching the Saturn V rocket, complete with a car number change to No. 11. 

“Lime Rock Park always brings challenging conditions, and this year was no different,” stated team owner and co-driver John Potter. “We had great pace, and the team gave us the perfect set up to run competitively without burning off the tires too quickly. We were quick in the pits, and that crucial execution gained us two spots and put us in the position to fight for more positions up the field. All in all we enjoyed the event and have to once again thank everyone at IMSA for accommodating our commemorative effort, as well as of course the fans for an incredible show of support. We were blown away with how well received our tribute was.” 

The opening half of the race saw very little action, with the field taking the green flag and spreading out to maintain starting order for most of the stint. John Potter started the race for the Magnus Racing Lamborghini, expertly managing his tires during this stint to keep his lap times competitive and keep the car in position, close to the competition. 

Andy Lally took over on lap 51, and quick work from the team in pit lane gained the No. 11 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO two spots upon race reentry. Within twenty minutes, the Magnus Racing rocket gained another position, running in eight, 18 seconds behind Jack Hawksworth in the No. 14 Lexus. The Northeast Grand Prix continued to run incident free for all until the final stint, as competitors throughout the field fought aggressively for position. 

The GTD and GTLM cars came alive in the final 40 minutes, with each car completing their final stop and prepared for a sprint to the checker flag. Lally made his final stop from eighth place, and rejoined with fresh Michelin tires, again gaining four seconds on his gap to Hawksworth. With each lap, he inched closer to the Lexus, but in the end it wasn’t enough to race for the position. 

“Those final stints showed how competitive GT racing can be in IMSA,” said Lally. “The temperatures inside the cockpit were ridiculously hot, but the racing was a lot of fun. You have to take great care of your tires while also fighting for position. Lime Rock Park is a shorter track that offers very little rest, demanding the best from the field. I feel like we put on a good show today.”

The eighth place finish marks the team’s sixth top-10 finish in six races, continuing their streak of consistent finishes during a competitive season. The Northeast Grand Prix will air tape delayed on NBC Sports on Saturday, July 20 at 9:00PM ET.

Magnus Racing Completes Quiet Weekend in Canada

BOWMANVILLE, Ontario, Canada (July 8, 2019) – Following a relatively quiet weekend at the historic Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Magnus Racing and drivers John Potter and Andy Lally would finish eighth following a series of late yellow flags that prevented them from moving further up the order.

“All in all it was an uneventful weekend, but we showed a lot of strengths,” stated team owner and co-driver John Potter. “We were near the top in just about every practice session, so we know the potential was there, we were just a little unlucky with some of the yellow flags but overall we can’t be too disappointed. We’re well positioned for the rest of the year.” 

With the high speeds of Canadian Tire Motorsport Park creating a notoriously challenging layout, the team showed well throughout practice, including second-place results during both Friday sessions.

With John Potter taking on starting duties, a steady drive throughout the opening stint would keep the Utah native on pace with the lead pack, gaining several spots in the process and placing the car securely in the top-10 by time pit stops cycled through. With Andy Lally getting in to close the race, a strong drive forward would advance him to eighth, and primed for a potential top-five based on his pace.

Unfortunately, a late red flag would eat up much of the time remaining in the race, with Lally left with no choice but to settle for the position. 

A recap of the highlights from CNBC’s coverage can be found here.