Magnus Racing leaves Lime Rock in the thick of the fight for the GT Championship

May 30, 2011 (Salt Lake City, Utah) – In the thick of the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series GT class championship, the Magnus Racing duo of John Potter and Craig Stanton came to Lime Rock looking for a strong result to keep their No. 44 Magnus Racing Porsche in contention. With a very compressed schedule – practice, qualifying and the Rolex Series race were all run on Monday – it would be a very busy day for the Magnus Racing crew and drivers.

In the morning qualifying session, Potter would put in a solid qualifying effort with hopes of better fortune in the race. Unfortunately, the race got off to a poor start when contact between Daytona Prototypes at the start led to a bottle-neck, creating contact between Potter and the No. 69 Mazda RX-8, leading to a cut tire for Potter. Although the race went quickly under full course yellow, Potter would go down a lap as he pitted for a new tire and the Magnus Racing crew inspected the right rear suspension of the Porsche for damage.

When the race went green again, Potter was able to avoid further trouble during what would end up becoming a long stint. With the forced early stop, the Magnus Racing team opted to leave Potter in the car as long as possible, hoping a yellow flag period would help get the No. 44 Porsche back on the lead lap with the aid of a wave-bye.

Unfortunately, the rest of the race was caution free and a fairly uneventful affair for the team. Potter turned the car over to Stanton just past the one-hour mark, and Stanton was able to pick up one position late in the race to bring the car home in ninth place.

Additionally, Magnus Racing also fielded a car in Saturday’s Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge for drivers Bill Sweedler and Leh Keen. Sweedler, making his debut for Magnus Racing, had never driven the team’s Porsche Cayman before yet quickly acclimated himself on his home track. After a consistent and strong series of practice and qualifying rounds, Sweedler was also a victim of opening lap contact as he was collected by a spinning car entering the famed Big Bend corner. Unfortunately for the team, the damage was too substantial to repair during the race.

“We expected a challenging weekend, but it’s hard to have both of our cars run into trouble on the opening lap,” said Potter. “But that’s how it goes sometimes. I hate it for Bill and Leh – Bill was making good progress in each session in the Cayman and we know Leh is extremely quick in that car. I think they definitely would have surprised some people and put on a great show in the Continental race and it’s such a shame that their race was over so quickly.”

While his own GT race did not go as well as he would have liked, Potter takes a long view of the season championship.

“It’s not really a surprise that the Daytona Prototypes tripped up the GT field,” he said. “When they aren’t running into us, they are running into each other but still causing problems for the GT cars. Going down a lap here is really hard and without any yellows we didn’t have a chance to get back on the lead lap. But after that we stayed away from trouble and we were still able to get a top ten. It’s not a great result but as close as the championship is each of these points will be really important.”

Stanton, who had little trouble in the Porsche during his one hour and forty-five minute stint despite the high heat, echoed Potter’s thoughts.

“When we find ourselves in a position like this, where we are in trouble early, we just have to bring the car home and grab as many points as we can,” said Stanton, the 2004 Rolex Series GT champion. “Ninth means we still bring some points home and stay within shot of the championship.”

Potter and Stanton are now eleventh in the GT class championship, but are a scant nineteen points behind championship leaders Bill Auberlen and Paul Dalla Lana after five races in the Rolex Series championship. They are back in action this weekend at the Sahlen’s Six Hours at the Glen, to be held at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York.

 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 Adds Sweedler and Keen to CTSCC Entry, Pays Up to Autohaus Motorsports at Lime Rock this weekend

May 24, 2011 (Salt Lake City, Utah) – Before taking to the track for this weekend’s Memorial Day Classic at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Magnus Racing’s John Potter will have a little bit of business to take care of.

At last weekend’s race at VIRginia International Raceway, Autohaus Racing claimed the bounty that Magnus Racing had put on the Turner Motorsports BMW M3 of Bill Auberlen and Paul Dalla Lana. The $25 bounty will be awarded to Autohaus Motorsports’ drivers Bill Lester and Jordan Taylor in the form of a $25 discount on the purchase of any used race car from Magnus Racing.

“Who doesn’t want a discount on a Porsche?” said Potter.

Potter and Stanton are looking to rebound from a frustrating race at VIRginia International Raceway which saw the No. 44 Magnus Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup finish a disappointing 15^th after running solidly in second place. Despite the result, Potter and Stanton sit only sixteen points out of the GT class championship lead after four races of the 2011 GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series season.

“We didn’t get the result we wanted in Virginia, but it is still early in the season,” said Potter. “Luckily we have a great staff and crew that keep giving Craig and I a car that is competitive each weekend. Lime Rock isn’t a track that suits the strengths of the Porsche, but if we have a good strategy and are able to stay out of trouble we can bank on a solid finish in the points like we got last season.”

At last year’s Memorial Day Classic, the Magnus Racing Porsche survived a late race incident in which Stanton was tagged by another car in Lime Rock’s Big Bend corner with a few minutes remaining to finish in seventh place.

Joining Magnus Racing this weekend will be Bill Sweedler and Leh Keen, who will be competing in Saturday’s Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge race in the No. 44 Magnus Racing Porsche Cayman.

Sweedler, a veteran of sportscar competition, has over six podium finishes in the American Le Mans Series, including at the most recent Long Beach round, as well as having competed at this year’s Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona. A long-time Porsche specialist, this will be Sweedler’s first race with Magnus Racing and the Porsche Cayman.

Keen is no stranger to Magnus Racing and the Porsche Cayman – in addition to routinely stealing food from Magnus Racing’s hospitality area, Keen co-drove the Cayman in the 2010 CTSCC season with John Potter and scored a second-place at Mid-Ohio. For Sweedler, who lives in nearby Westport, CT, the CTSCC race is a welcome opportunity to get back behind the wheel on his home course.

“Since Leh and I are racing together in the ALMS this season, we decided that since there was such a long break between Long Beach and Lime Rock, that this would be the perfect race for me to tune up and get back in a car,” said Sweedler. “Lime Rock is my home track and I always look forward to racing at it – even more exciting is getting back to racing on the original layout. I’m looking forward to racing with Magnus Racing this weekend after competing against them in the ALMS.”

Keen and Sweedler’s No. 44 Magnus Racing Porsche Cayman will be supported by Battery Tender, Muck-Off and Vital Fluids. Keen and Sweedler are also teammates in this year’s American Le Mans Series, driving a GT-C class Porsche.

“We’re obviously very happy to have Leh and Bill joining us this weekend in Lime Rock,” said Potter. “Leh hangs around so often and eats so much of our food most of the crew still thinks he drives for us, so he is like part of the family. We’ve gotten to know Bill through our involvement in GT-C, and our crew will give them a competitive race car this weekend that Leh obviously knows very well. It will be exciting to see how they do in Saturday’s Continental race.”

The Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge race at the Memorial Day Classic will be run on Saturday, while the Rolex Sports Car Series race will be run on Monday and shown live on SPEED Channel at 2:00 PM ET. Fans of Magnus Racing can follow the team throughout the weekend on Facebook (facebook.com/magnusracing) and twitter (@magnusracing).

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.

Promising day in VIRginia ends in frustration for Magnus Racing

May 14, 2011 (Alton, VA) – The day started with a spin and ended with a bang for the no.44 Magnus Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup at Virginia International Raceway, site of the fourth round of the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series.

In monsoon-like conditions, John Potter took the green flag in tenth place but was nudged into a spin on the opening lap exiting turn five. The time lost would be minimal as the race was quickly put under yellow-flag conditions for nearly an hour due to the amount of standing water on the circuit.

While the teams circled around under yellow, the team elected to pit when the minimum driver requirement for Potter was met and Craig Stanton got in the car. When the race finally did return to green flag conditions, Stanton steadily moved the Magnus Racing Porsche through the field. With several yellow flag caution periods, the team played their strategy to perfection and Stanton’s Porsche ran in third place as the track continued to dry. The team kept Stanton out on rain tires as long as possible – a real challenge as the tires were well past their prime and the conditions left the windshield of Stanton’s Porsche covered in red clay.

The team finally called Stanton into the pits with an hour remaining in the race for slick tires, and the speed was back in the Porsche. Stanton was up to second and with 30 minutes remaining in the race was in a strong position to challenge for the victory.

While battling for position, Stanton hit mud exiting turn seventeen and went off course, falling well down the order. After another yellow, Stanton had another off-course excursion that sent the Magnus Racing Porsche into the stationary TRG Porsche of Spencer Pumpelly, breaking a radiator and effectively ending the day for the team. The crew, used to working miracles, was able to replace the radiator and sent Potter out to complete a few more laps but the car would cross the line in fifteenth.

“Certainly it’s frustrating to run so well and be in a position to win only for things to slip away right at the end,” said Potter. “The guys gave us a great car and with these challenging conditions we were very, very fast. The real disappointment is we aren’t taking points away from here, and that hurts our championship hopes.”

Stanton couldn’t mask his disappointment after running at the front of the field throughout the afternoon. The Magnus Racing Porsche excelled in wet and muddy conditions that Stanton described as ‘like an off-road race.’

“It’s one of these deals where the conditions were so bad but I was pushing really, really hard because the Magnus Racing Porsche was so good,” said Stanton. “I feel bad for the team to lose out on a podium finish. It hurts John and me in the championship, but the boys did a great job all week to give us a great car and they deserve another podium. But we will press on and we will get the team a result that they deserve.”

Potter and Stanton are now tied with six other drivers for seventh in the GT championship standings, with 100 points – sixteen behind the championship leader.

The team will have a short turnaround as the next race on the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series calendar is the Memorial Day Classic at Lime Rock Park on May 29-30.

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 to Offer $25 Bounty on Turner Motorsport for VIR

Ganassi isn’t the only team with a price on them.

May 8, 2011 (Salt Lake City, Utah) -- Following GRAND-AM’s recent announcement to reward $25,000 to any GRAND-AM Daytona Prototype team who can beat the mighty Chip Ganassi Racing team at this weekend’s Bosch Engineering 250 at Virginia International Raceway, the fourth round of the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask no. 16, Magnus Racing has decided to add their own stake in to the program by offering an astounding $25* to anyone who can beat Turner Motorsport in the GT ranks.

Having won every sprint race during the 2011 GRAND-AM Rolex GT season, the no. 94 Turner Motorsport BMW M3 has proven to be a strong force in the GT class. All too aware of the benefits of Turner’s light, agile chassis combined with strong V-8 power, the gang at Magnus Racing has pooled their resources to give a strong incentive to the entire GT paddock.

For Owner and Driver John Potter, all too aware of the expenses involved in racing, the cost vs. reward of challenging the no. 94 was well worth it.

“Anyone who’s ever been to Danville, Virginia, knows that $25 will go a long way in that city,” stated Potter. “Turner Motorsport has done a good job running as strong as they have, but it’s time this nonsense came to an end. While I would love to keep it for ourselves by taking the top step of the podium, we will happily reward anyone in GT racing who can help us achieve it.”

For Craig Stanton, co-driver of the no. 44 Magnus Racing Porsche GT3 Cup car, the opportunity to race for $25 is about as much as any modern professional racer can ask for.

“I’m legally forbidden to discuss the details of my contract, but let’s just say my portion of those $25 winnings would go a long way,” stated Stanton. “Everyone at Magnus Racing has worked incredibly hard to make this Porsche as competitive as it can be, and I’m glad to see the team step up with this incentive.”

Potter and Stanton are currently second in the GT class standings, two points behind the Turner Motorsport BMW after three races. Potter also sits second in the Bob Akin standings for Pro-Am drivers in the GT class. VIR was the site of the team’s strongest race in the 2010 season, when Stanton charged through the field in the final hour to cross the finish line in fourth.

The Magnus Racing no. 44, along with the entire Rolex Series, can be seen on Saturday, May 14, at 5PM ET on SPEED. Fans of Magnus Racing can follow the team on Facebook (facebook.com/magnusracing) and twitter (@magnusracing) on their quest to collect their own $25 bounty.

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.

*$25 in value, not necessarily cash.



Knocked to the back, John Potter marches forward in IMSA GT3 Challenge at Miller Motorsports Park

May 2, 2011 (Salt Lake City, Utah) – For a brief moment, John Potter considered presenting a snowmobile to tech for the weekend’s IMSA GT3 Challenge as on-track proceedings for the Utah Grand Prix were cut short on Friday as snow fell on Miller Motorsports Park.

Better weather was in store for Saturday and the first of two IMSA GT3 Challenge races of the weekend, but Potter might have had more fun on his snowmobile as his race wouldn’t last the scheduled 45 minutes. After qualifying seventh, two cars come together in front of Potter, leaving him nowhere to go, damaging the right front suspension of the No. 22 Magnus Racing Porsche 911 GT3 – the team’s ‘Party Barge’ – and ending Potter’s race.

The poor result would result in more headache for Potter, as the second IMSA GT3 Challenge of the weekend, run on Sunday, would be gridded based on the results of the first – meaning Potter would start Sunday’s race in last place. This time, however, Potter avoided the carnage at the start and passed eleven cars on the opening lap before marching through the field throughout the rest of the caution-free forty-five minute race. Passing twenty three cars by the time the checkered flag fell, Potter would finish in eleventh place, only three seconds from breaking into the top-ten.

 “I'd say the highlight of the weekend was the second race, where we passed 23 cars, and eleven of them on the first lap... and only two of those cars were backwards!” said Potter. “I can see why Porsche really enjoys this series, as they must sell a lot of spare parts to everyone after every race. It's a really mixed group of drivers out there and every lap is an adventure. This weekend definitely provided a lot of interesting moments, but I'll have to take a second look at my life insurance policy before we come back."

Potter will be back in the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series in two weeks at Virginia International Raceway in Alton, VA. Potter and his teammate, Craig Stanton, are currently second in the GT-class championship standgins three races in to the 2011 season, while Potter sits second in the Bob Akin standings for Pro-Am drivers in the GT class.

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 sports car racing can e-mail info@magnusracing.com. All press inquiries can be directed to press@magnusracing.com.