The Magnus Porsche flies on its way to 4th placeApril 26, 2010 (Alton, VA) – Throughout the first hour of his stint behind the wheel of the No.44 Magnus Racing Porsche GT3 Cup at the Bosch Engineering 250 at VIR, Craig Stanton had one objective on his mind – conserving his car. It was a move that paid off, because in the final hour Stanton used the car up as he marched from ninth in the GT class to a stunning result of fourth place.
Team owner and leader of Magnus Racing, John Potter, started the race in the No.44 Magnus Racing Porsche GT3 Cup. From the drop of the green, he battled throughout the opening stint with several other cars – keeping the car safe and intact but definitely putting pressure on everyone ahead. His stint at the helm was a clean one and served notice that the Porsche was going to go forward.
A quick pitstop by the crew of the No.44 car for fuel, tires, and a driver changed helped the Porsche gain track position. With Stanton now behind the wheel, things stayed relatively trouble-free and unexciting for the team until the final hour of the race, but Stanton remained within striking distance of the rest of the GT-field.
“We had taken really good care of the car – the tires and brakes were in great shape, and I could tell that most of the other cars around us were in trouble,” said Stanton. “The crew did a phenomenal job of preparing the car, and we knew that after practice and qualifying that it was going to be a really fast car. We also knew, however, that if we were trying to race everyone else too soon, we would run into tire problems later on. With the rules changes that GRAND-AM gave the Porsches, it helps us with speed but hasn’t quite helped our tire wear, so we still had to look after that.”
With a couple of well-executed passes on restarts, and a gutsy last-lap pass in the Rollercoaster, Stanton brought the car home in fourth place – a season-best result for Magnus Racing in the GRAND-AM Rolex Sportscar Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No.16. The team’s previous best was a fifth, at the season opening Rolex 24 at Daytona.
“I am really glad that we were able to get a great result for our team this weekend,” said Potter. “I had a really fun stint behind the wheel, and had a really fun time watching Craig go through the field and pick off the Mazdas one by one. I never thought I would see that this season, but he found a way to do it. The Porsches are more competitive now and we are looking forward to the next few races, which will help play to the strengths of our car and our team.”
The result moved Potter and Stanton to 11th overall in the driver’s championship, and moves Magnus Racing to fifth in the Team Championship.
The Continental Tire Sports Car Series’ Bosch Engineering VIR 200 will be shown on May 1 at 1:00 PM EST on SPEED Channel. The next race on the GRAND-AM schedule is the weekend at Lime Rock Park, May 28-31. The Rolex Sportscar Series race from Lime Rock will be shown live on SPEED Channel at 2:00PM EST. Magnus Racing fans can see photo galleries of the weekend at www.magnusracing.com, or facebook.com/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 Sportscar Series can e-mail info@magnusracing.com. All press inquiries can be directed to press@magnusracing.com.