Potter and Stanton narrowly miss podium in thriller at Road America

June 25, 2011 (Elkhart Lake, WI) – The Magnus Racing crew collectively held their breath as Craig Stanton charged forward in the final ten minutes of Saturday’s Rolex Sports Car Series 250 Driven by VisitFlorida.com. After having to pit for a splash of fuel while leading the race, Stanton re-entered the race in sixth position right behind a titanic battle for the lead of the GT race.

The no.44 Magnus Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup had started the race with John Potter at the wheel who fell to eighth as he was out drag-raced by the Turner Motorsport BMW M3 at the drop of the green flag. Potter drove a strong opening stint but the green-flag running for him was cut short by an extended yellow flag period caused by the huge crash between Gunther Schaldach and Joe Foster in turn one.

During the lengthy caution period, the team performed their mandatory driver change and put Stanton at the wheel and elected to pit again for fuel in an attempt to get the Porsche home without another stop.  When the green flag finally fell again with under an hour left, Stanton was in 14^th position but quickly began charging forward. Other teams began to pit early in order to get ensure they had enough fuel to make the end, but Stanton’s strategy looked like it might pay off as with ten minutes left he was up to the lead. Only two laps later, however, Stanton would have to pit as the fuel light came on in the cockpit of his Porsche – setting up one of the craziest finishes in GT competition in a long time.

Re-emerging in sixth, Stanton was immediately thrust into a five-way battle for second, with the leading Camaro of Jordan Taylor a ways up the road but running out of gas. Stanton slipped into fifth with two laps remaining with a daring pass of Jonathan Bomarito’s Mazda, and then grabbed fourth on the final lap when the Camaro ran out of fuel. Exiting turn 14, Stanton had a run on the Porsche of Spencer Pumpelly as he too ran out of fuel, but Stanton would cross the finish line 0.654 of a second behind to finish the race in fourth position.

Potter, whose second-year team is solidly in the championship battle, enjoyed watching the battle after turning the car over to Stanton.

“I hope it looked as exciting on TV as it looked here in person,” said Potter following the race. “It was disappointing that we didn’t get the yellow we were looking for to get the win but Craig was definitely on a mission in the last ten minutes. It’s a shame we fell just short of our second podium but it was a really great finish and great for our championship as we finished ahead of everyone who is ahead of us in the standings. This is a great momentum builder and I’m proud of the guys for pulling off a strong finish after things looked like they weren’t going our way.”

Stanton, the fittest man in motorsports, needed a moment to catch his breath after the final few laps.

“That was wild,” said Stanton. “This is one of those races that you remember for a long, long time.  I knew we were gambling on fuel and the car was so good, if we had gotten even a short yellow we were going to win. I couldn’t believe that the guys got the fuel in the car so quickly and I could see the lead battle in front of me when we got back on track. The guys worked too hard to give up so I just put my head down and I was going to try like crazy to get back up there.”

Potter and Stanton are now fourth in the GT class standings (or seventh, depending on how you score the ties), at 144 points, 15 points behind the championship leaders after seven of the twelve Rolex Sports Car Series races.

In two weeks, Magnus Racing will be back in action at the Continental Tire Sports Car Festival Powered by Mazda at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, CA on July 8-9. The race will be shown tape-delayed on SPEED Channel on Sunday, July 10, at 4:00 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.

Magnus Racing enters second half of GRAND-AM season at Road America

June 20, 2011 (Salt Lake City, Utah) – Six events down, and six to go, and things are far from over in the GT class of the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series.

Magnus Racing’s duo of John Potter and Craig Stanton currently sit 13^th in points in the GT class, but with a very tight championship battle, are only 17 points behind points leaders Bill Lester and Jordan Taylor from Autohaus Motorsports – the team that collected Magnus Racing’s $25 bounty at VIR.

This weekend’s Rolex Sports Car Series 250 Driven by Visit Florida will at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, is an event that Potter and Stanton are looking forward to. As one of America’s legendary road courses, the fast corners and long straightaways of Road America will be well suited to the No. 44 Magnus Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. With the series having not visited the facility since 2001 all the teams are essentially starting from scratch, but luckily for Magnus Racing, Road America is a track that their drivers can’t wait to get to.

“I raced at Road America a lot back when I was starting in racing with Skip Barber, and it is one of my favorite race tracks,” said Potter, who took a podium at the GT3 Challenge race in Montreal that ran in support of Formula 1’s Montreal Grand Prix. “I can’t wait to get on track there in the Magnus Racing Porsche and to get the car through the kink for the first time. We are definitely looking at Road America as a place where we can get ourselves a win or a podium and get close to the points lead again.”

Stanton has been successful at Road America as well, with a win at the track in 2003 in the American Le Mans Series’ GT2 class which he followed with a second place the following year, each time in a Porsche.

“Road America is such a great race track,” he said, having recently won yet another endurance karting event near his home in Southern California. “I always tell people that my favorite race track is the next one, and I really mean it for Road America. It is so fast and with all of those fast corners you really need to be on your game and have a car that will be balanced throughout the whole stint. Thanks to the Magnus Racing crew, our car was so good at Watkins Glen, which is fast and flowing like Road America, and I know it will be just as good here.”

The Rolex Sports Car Series 250 Driven by Visit Florida will be shown live on SPEED Channel on Saturday, June 25 at 12:00 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.

Podiums, Hot Chicks, and Chicken ‘n Waffles – It’s been a crazy year so far at Magnus Racing

June 16, 2011 (Salt Lake City, Utah) – Magnus Racing was founded by John Potter, joined by a few other like-minded individuals, who wanted to go racing and had the stated mantra that Magnus Racing would  be a competitive sportscar team that wasn’t afraid of a little fun.

Halfway through the 2011 season, Magnus Racing has enjoyed a lot of success but they’ve had a lot of fun on the way – as anyone who regularly follows the team’s dialogue on its website (subscribe to our releases at magnusracing.com), Facebook (facebook.com/magnusracing), or twitter feed (@magnusracing) will tell you.

The team finds itself embroiled in a tight championship battle in the GRAND-AM Rolex Sportscar Series’ GT class. Coming out of the gate swinging, Magnus Racing led a large portion of the prestigious Rolex 24 at Daytona, and one month later scored its first Rolex Series podium at the Grand Prix of Miami.

The team, also running a limited schedule in the American Le Mans Series GT-C category, showed serious pace in two races thus far in the series. Qualifying second at the 12 Hours of Sebring, the team was leading the race comfortably before a prototype took them off course and sent the car behind the wall for repairs.  One month later at the Long Beach Grand Prix, Potter and Stanton proved at the end of the race that they wouldn’t be intimidated when they finished on the podium, taking a third in GT-C, their second podium in only three ALMS races. This past weekend, John Potter brought the season’s podium count to three, finishing second in the IMSA GT3 Challenge race that ran in support of the Formula One Montreal Grand Prix.

Although unofficial, the team also earned the Most Popular award at the Long Beach Grand Prix when it entered a partnership with local restaurant chain Roscoe’s House of Chicken ‘n Waffles and debuted the now infamous Roscoe’s livery on their Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Serving chicken and waffles and with hospitality girls provided by Roscoe’s and Pit Bull Energy Drink, the Magnus Racing pit was packed throughout the Grand Prix weekend.

When GRAND-AM announced its $25,000 bounty on the Ganassi team to stop their dominance in Prototypes, Magnus Racing went a step further and announced its own $25 bounty on the Turner Motorsport team in the GT ranks, which was awarded to Autohaus Motorsports in the form of a $25 discount off a used racecar from Magnus Racing.  Of course, not to be forgotten as well was the team’s new standard of umbrella girls at a GRAND-AM event by bringing out the hottest chicks seen thus far in the series this year,  presented at the Sahlen’s Six Hours at the Glen, where the team finished 5^th with help from Bryan Sellers.

All of this activity has led to an exponential growth in website traffic and social media presence, with fans of the team having unparalled access to team photos, stories, and insight to the team throughout race weekends. The team has also unveiled numerous groundbreaking twitter hashtags to the sports car community, including #GoJohnGo, #GoCraigGo, #PartyBarge, #tigerblood, #zeeGermansaremachines and #FeartheChicken. The Magnus Nation can now also register to receive press releases on the team’s website.

“It’s been a really fun year so far, and I can’t believe it’s halfway over,” said Potter. “Our goal was to contend for a championship, and we have been competitive all season. We’ve led Daytona and Sebring, we’ve challenged for podiums at almost every race, and we’ll get our first win soon. And we are having a lot of fun each time we hit the track – this is the most fun I’ve had with all of the teams I have driven with since I started racing sports cars.”

Magnus Racing hits the track next at the Rolex Sports Car Series 250 Driven By Visit Florida. Not only is it the race with the longest name in the Rolex Series, but it will be the first time Magnus Racing competes at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. The race will be shown live on SPEED Channel on June 25 at 12:00 PM ET.

More information about Magnus Racing can be found at www.magnusracing.com, and fans of Magnus Racing can follow the team on Facebook (facebook.com/magnusracing) and twitter (@magnusracing). 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.



Potter Scores Third Podium of 2011 in Montreal

June 13, 2011 (Montreal, QB, Canada) - When John Potter took part in the round of the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge Series presented by Yokohama held at his home track at Miller Motorsports Park, he vowed to check his life insurance policy before returning to the series. One month later, everything must have checked out as Potter took a second place finish during this weekend’s historic Canadian Grand Prix event, the fifth round of the championship and run in conjunction with the FIA Formula One event.

Driving at the famed Circuit Gilles Villeneuve for the third time in his career, Potter was consistently towards the top of the practice and qualifying charts, eventually gridding seventh in a very closely packed top-10.

However, just minutes before the event, the race would take a turn as the skies opened up over the circuit, creating a series of rain showers which forced the sanctioning body to declare a “wet race” in which all cars would switch to Yokohama wet weather tires.

For Potter, who has had considerable wet weather experience thanks to his experience in GRAND-AM and ALMS competition, the change in conditions would actually work favorably for his patient and precise driving style. Understanding just how critical attrition would be with a notoriously aggressive field, John demonstrated great maturity as he never put a wrong en route to his podium finish.

With the 25-car field set up for a crazed opening lap in the wet, John marched forward as he overtook five cars in the tricky conditions. As cars slid wide, backwards and forwards across the circuit, John managed to keep the Magnus Racing Porsche on track for the whole race as he took an unchallenged second place behind race winner Cooper MacNeil.

For Potter, a continued showing in his impressive 2011 form is proof of just how strong his team is.

“I know my insurance broker cleared me for GT3 Challenge, but said nothing about the rain, so when it the came down I was pretty apprehensive,” stated Potter. “Luckily this is one of my favorite circuits, and my experience in previous wet races has told me to just stay patient and calm, and it paid off. I was well advised today that discretion was going to be the better part of valor, and it completely played out. I have to give full credit to the guys, they did a great job getting the car ready, and we had a really strong and balanced car this weekend. I’m really looking forward to coming back here in August.”

John Potter and Magnus Racing will next compete on Saturday, June 25^th in the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series at the famed Road America circuit in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Live coverage of the race will be shown on SPEED at 12:00 PM ET.

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’s trio of Potter, Sellers and Stanton wade through rainstorm to finish fifth in Sahlen’s Six Hours at The Glen

June 5, 2011 (Watkins Glen, NY) – Looking to put their championship hopes back on track, the Magnus Racing duo of John Potter and Craig Stanton – joined on this weekend by veteran Bryan Sellers – enjoyed a strong race at Saturday’s Sahlen’s Six Hours at the Glen to bring the no. 44 Magnus Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup to finish fifth in the GRAND-AM Rolex Sportscar Series’ GT class.

From tenth place, Stanton started the race in rainy conditions and was immediately marching forward. Picking up spots steadily as the rain continued to fall, Stanton led the race twice as differing pitstop strategies played out over the first hour and thirty minutes. As the rain let up, Sellers took over the Magnus Racing Porsche, enjoying a solid stint before handing over to Potter. Potter ran a solid stint in the top five before handing the car back to Stanton.

Sellers then jumped in the car for the anchor leg, stopping for fuel and changing left-side tires for the final 45-minute stretch to the finish. A caution period with only ten minutes remaining caused Sellers to lose one spot with a lap remaining, and finished in fifth.

“Things went really well for us today,” said Potter, who scored his team’s fourth top-five result of the season. “We were in a position to get on the podium at the end of the race but things didn’t fall with the yellows and the wave-bys. The guys did a great job all day and it’s a good result for us to get back on track. We’ve had a couple of rough races but today’s run was closer to what this team is capable of and keeps us within shot of the championship.”

Stanton was also thrilled to score decent points and lead the race after he led the opening portion of last year’s Six Hour contest.

“Today was definitely challenging with the weather conditions that we had,” said Stanton. “I wish it had rained more because the car was so good in the rain. I really enjoyed the car today. Last year the boys gave us a great car here and the car today was every bit as good. We were able to race to the front and stay there all day, and we just didn’t have the luck with our strategy lining up with the yellow flags and wave-byes. But we are still in a good championship spot and Road America will be a great circuit for us.”

Sellers, who recorded his best result at the Sahlen’s Six Hours at the Glen with Magnus Racing, was equally upbeat about the team’s performance.

“"It was a pretty good day for us,” said Sellers.  “There’s nothing better than being at the finish of a long race fighting for position. That whole last stint I put everything I had out there. It was qualifying laps, lap-after-lap to keep ahead of the Camaro. Unfortunately, we caught the last yellow and the restart changed the scenario. Oliver was just too fast at the end and he was able to go deeper under braking than we were and he got us. The battle was a lot of fun and it was an honor to be asked to take the checkered flag for the Magnus Racing.”

The championship battle with half of the season completed remains tight as ever, with Potter and Stanton now 17 points behind the leaders but sitting in a tie for 13^th position. The next Rolex Series race is June 25 at the legendary Road America circuit in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, which will be the first time the Magnus Racing team will visit the track.

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.

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