2012: Grey Skies Ahead!

Even if Armageddon is Coming, At Least It Will be in Style

With a season that included seven podiums (including their first Rolex Series podium, as well as   75% of all ALMS races competed in), the debut of not one, but two Magnus Racing Porsches in  Forza Motorsport (including the “regular” and “straight outta the LBC” versions); the $25 bounty on “Anything Resembling a Yellow BMW”, setting a new standard for umbrella girl hotness, an  explosion of fan access to team insight, photos, and information, and being named dailysportscar.com's as “Best Sense of Reality” in 2011, Magnus Racing’s 2011 has  been a year of excitement, growth, and their accompanying shenanigans.

After successful tests at Daytona International Speedway in early December, Magnus Racing has nowhere to go but up in 2012, the team’s third full-season of GRAND-AM competition. With new team members, its first multi-car entry, new media ventures, and the"official" announcement ofthe team's adoption greyscale livery for the year, the team is primed to seek top results in the coming season.

Planning to spend the upcoming season focused on race wins and the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series GT Championship, Team Owner/Driver John Potter re-teams with his 2009 Continental Tire Sports Car Championship co-driver Andy Lally, a three-time Rolex Series champion (2001 SRP II, 2004SGS, 2006 Rolex GT), three-time Rolex 24 winner, as well GRAND-AM’s all-time mileage and podiums leader.

“We’re extremely happy to welcome Andy in to our camp for 2012, and consider it a huge statement about our organization to see him come on board,” stated Potter. “Andy is not only a tremendous talent, but he provides a great spirit and leadership with him. We had a great time together in 2009, and considering his relationship with most of our crew, he’s already a part of the family.”

For the upcoming 50th Anniversary of the Rolex 24 at Daytona, rounding out the line up for the familiar no. 44 will be two-time ALMS GT2 class winner Richard Lietz, as well as Porsche SuperCup and ADAC Volkswagen Polo Cup winner Rene Rast. Lietz, who has competed with Magnus Racing at every Rolex 24 event competed in, has gelled nicely with the team in previous races, and in his third year is considered a regular part of the family. Rast, a native of Germany, will be competing in his first ever Rolex 24 at Daytona, but should be well adept to this style of racing having competed in numerous European endurance events.

“We’re happy to bring Richard back for his third year with the team,” stated Potter. “In his previous two races, he’s been reliable, precise, and without any major incidents that he could control. Teaming him with Andy and myself should prove really strong. René comes with a strong recommendation from Porsche Motorsport, and looking at his career history I can see why. He’s young and clearly a star on the rise, and I think between all of us we should have a really formidable entry.”

2012 will also bring the team’s first multi-car entry as they pair up with the no. 4 Children’s Tumor Foundation/Racing4Research Porsche GT3 Cup, with a lineup featuring Daytona veterans Daniel Graeff, Ron Yarab, Ryan Eversley, and driver/in- race reporter Justin Bell.

“It is a very big honor to run with CTF as our second car for the 50th Rolex 24,” stated Potter. “It’s a great cause, run by some phenomenal people, and a great sign to the strength and ambitions of our team. Daniel, Ron, and Ryan all drove impressively at the test, and it will greatly strengthen our program to have such a great group joining us. Our team has quietly been built on a strong foundation of people, and we look forward to bringing these programs together.”

The team is looking forward to the month of January and the 50th anniversary of the Rolex 24. For the first time in team history, the program will feature a full webcast from behind the scenes as well. Featured on both magnusracing.com as well as racing4research.org, “Magnus Racing- Live at Daytona” will feature a consortium of hosts and special guests who will literally be live from the pits throughout the race, explaining to the fans what’s happening, as well giving fans an opportunity to live chat with team personnel and drivers. Additionally, the team will be producing several behind the scenes videos, which will be released throughout the duration of the event, giving fans an up close and personal perspective of the Magnus family.

Another new feature will be the team’s official change of color to grey. With a grassroots, family atmosphere that is almost unheard of in this level of professional motorsports, green seemed a logical color for Magnus Racing during the first two years, if for no other reason than no one else was running that color. However, as a novelty, the team switched to grey in the middle of 2011 as a partial joke in the hope for better luck, and remarkably there seemed to be a universal love of the new color, causing it to become the team’s benchmark colors for 2012.

While the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Championship will the primary focus of the team in 2012, Magnus Racing does maintain its ambition to compete in other series and championships, and with that, our fans can expect more news to come over the next several weeks.

To learn more about Andy Lally, visit www.andylally.com, or follow him on twitter at @andylally.

Fans of Magnus Racing can stay up to date with the team on facebook.com/magnusracing and on 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 sports car racing can e-mail info@magnusracing.com. All press inquiries can be directed to press@magnusracing.com.