October 1, 2010 (Braselton, GA) – Stepping into the competitive GTC category of the American Le Mans Series in the final race of the season, the Magnus Racing team was expecting a challenge to bring their No. 77 Magnus Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup on pace in time for Petit Le Mans.
After a closely-fought qualifying session, Andrew Davis wheeled the car to third on the grid – just off the front row and very close to the pole position. While starting position means little over the course of a ten hour endurance contest, the team is confident that their Porsche is set up to be fast over the duration of the race. Davis, as well as co-drivers Ryan Eversley and John Potter, posted competitive times throughout the final Petit Le Mans practice sessions.
However, controversy soon swept the Magnus Racing pits as team owner Potter contended that Davis made a promise that he would qualify the Magnus Racing Porsche on the pole position for Sunday’s race. Davis had no recollection of making the statement, while Eversley could barely hide his disappointment.
In any event, all three drivers are looking forward to the green flag for Sunday’s Petit Le Mans, which will be broadcast on SPEED Channel at 11:00 AM ET. Magnus Racing will post updates throughout the race on the team website at www.magnusracing.com, as well as on their Facebook page at facebook.com/magnusracing, and on the team’s twitter account (@magnusracing).
DRIVER QUOTES
John Potter:
It’s been a great week for us and our car has gotten better in each session. We still have a ten-hour race to go, but we are happy with how things have gone. Andrew and Ryan are great teammates and we are really excited to close out the season with what is going to be a really challenging race. It sure would have been good to start on pole, though, like I was promised…
Andrew Davis:
We’ve made good progress over the course of the week – the car is better and faster each session. Qualifying was tight and we didn’t quite have the car over a single lap, but we have one of the strongest cars and one of the strongest driver lineups. I’m proud of the team and the guys have worked really hard, and I appreciate the opportunity to join the Magnus Racing squad. And I did not promise anyone the pole!
Ryan Eversley:
It’s been a great Petit Le Mans week for us so far, with the Magnus Racing crew putting together a really good car that is really well setup. We are going to be very competitive. It’s just too bad that Andrew let us down by not putting it on pole – now Potter and I have to pick up the slack.