Magnus Racing Secures Top Ten at VIRginia International Raceway
Tuesday, August 27, 2019 at 07:33PM 
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 13th, and the race taking place Sunday the 15th.
