March 18, 2011 (Sebring, FL) – Driving at Sebring for the first time since 2008, Craig Stanton put his Magnus Racing / Flex-Box Porsche 911 GT3 Cup second on the GT-C grid for tomorrow’s Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring.
His lap narrowly missed the pole time set by Leh Keen by a scant 0.022 of a second. Keen, incidentally, raced for Magnus Racing in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge series throughout 2010. After a long week of testing, the Magnus Racing team was thrilled with their driver and with their front row starting position – especially as this was the team’s first trip to the notoriously difficult 3.7-mile Sebring road course.
Magnus Racing has one other start in the American Le Mans Series, at the 2010 Petit Le Mans, where Potter was joined by Andrew Davis and Ryan Eversley to finish third in GT-C.
John Potter, Magnus Racing Owner and Driver
“Qualifying only means so much in a twelve-hour race, but it is really great that Craig put in such a great lap and just missed the podium by a couple of tenths. And it also shows how good the car is. All three of us can run consistent laps and that is what is going to really matter tomorrow in the twelve hour.”
Craig Stanton, Magnus Racing / Flex-Box Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
“It’s great to give the guys a good qualifying position – but man I really wanted that pole! The whole team has worked really hard all week and it has been a long week, and everyone has been putting in a lot of work and very long hours to make the car so good. It’s great to be back at Sebring with such a great team. Tomorrow will be a great race and I think this team has a great chance to finish on the podium.”
Matthew Marsh, Magnus Racing / Flex-Box Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
“It was an extremely positive day for us to have the car qualify second for the 12 Hours of Sebring. I’ve been taking my time to adapt to the car and the circuit, since I haven’t been here before, and it is getting better and better each time I get in it. That Craig was able to jump in and just miss pole position shows the car is quite good and we can be at the front. “
The 59th Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring will begin tomorrow at 10:30 AM ET and finish when the checkered flag falls at 10:30 PM ET. The race broadcast will begin at 9:45 AM ET on ESPN3.com, with a live audio broadcast available at www.radiolemans.com.