The No. 44 Magnus Racing Porsche Cayman races past the recently unveiled Magnus Racing East facility at New Jersey Motorsports Park
July 17, 2010 (Millville, New Jersey) – Taking a white car to a place called Dirty Jersey might make someone worried, so Magnus Racing team owner John Potter was pleased to see his No. 44 Magnus Racing Porsche Cayman cross the finish line in seventh place.
While in the previous races the Magnus Racing Porsche Cayman had finished the race with a substantial amount of body damage, it finished at New Jersey Motorsports Park with only a bent front bumper, broken tow hook, and a donut on the right side of the car as it advanced twelve positions over the course of the race. However, BMW M3 driver Charles Espenlaub felt the car had too easy of a time, as he hit the back of the Cayman twice during the cool down lap.
“That’s the least amount of body damage that we have ever had in a weekend with the Cayman,” said Potter afterwards. “By any measure that’s a pretty successful race in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge.”
On the heels of the second place that Potter and Keen drove to last month at Mid-Ohio, the car clearly had a good race pace as Potter – who was busy watching Real Housewives of New Jersey reruns in the recently unveiled Magnus Racing East facility before the race – advanced from his 19th position qualifying effort to as high as 10th before turning the car over to Keen with one hour remaining in the race.
Keen, over the final hour, was embroiled in a battle with several BMW’s and Camaros, culminating in an epic battle over the final minutes with the Camaro of Matt Bell. Using every available bit of road and then some, Keen’s battle dominated the television coverage but he was ultimately unable to overcome the horsepower deficit that the Cayman had to the V8-powered Camaro and he crossed the finish line in seventh place.
“There wasn’t much that I could do to pass the Camaro,” said Keen. “I did everything I could and there was no way I could come over the horsepower advantage. We were the first non-V8 powered car across the finish line, which shows what kind of disadvantage it was on this track. We can get close, but unless they make a big mistake, we can’t make a pass. But it was a good result and we brought the car back in one piece so I’m happy with how it went.”
Potter and Keen will team up again at next month’s Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres, on the temporary track in Trois-Rivieres in Quebec, Canada. The Garden State 250 from New Jersey Motorsports Park will be broadcast on Saturday, June 25, at 1:00 PM ET on SPEED Channel.
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-AM Rolex Sports Car Series can e-mail info@magnusracing.com. All press inquiries can be directed to press@magnusracing.com.