August 17, 2011 (Salt Lake City, Utah) – Spirits are high for the team in green grey, as Magnus Racing travels to Montreal, Quebec, for this weekend’s Montreal 200 – the second to last race of the 2011 GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series.
Fresh off last weekend’s Canadian Tire 200 at the Glen where John Potter and Craig Stanton finished third for the second time this season, the duo are excited to get back in the no. 44 Magnus Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Potter has had his eye on the Montreal 200 since leaving the track after last season’s race.
“Last year, we jumped on an alternate pitstop strategy early on and because of that we led a Rolex race for the first time,” said Potter. However, he wasn’t just referring to leading the GT class – the Magnus Racing Porsche circulated the track ahead of the Daytona Prototype field as well while under yellow, causing GRAND-AM some headaches before they decided to wave the entire DP field past Potter. “We led the race for a few laps afterwards, and we were able to have a strong finish of fifth. A fifth would be nice, but we are aiming a little higher this time.”
Stanton is equally excited to return to Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, where he passed five cars over the final hour to help the Magnus Racing Porsche finish in fifth position.
“Montreal is a neat track that really suits the Porsche well,” said Stanton. “I really enjoy driving here and visiting Montreal, it’s a great city and the fans here are very knowledgeable and give us a lot of support. I also happen to like poutine, and some of the guys on the team are from Montreal and they know where to get the best poutine in the city. I’ll have to run a few extra miles to work it off, but it’s worth it.”
With their podium result in Watkins Glen, Potter and Stanton are currently fourth in the GT class standings, 19 points behind championship leaders Bill Lester and Jordan Taylor in the Autohaus Camaro. Also, with two races left to run, Potter sits second in the Bob Akin Award standings for Pro-Am drivers in the GT class.
The Montreal 200 start at 11:15 AM ET on Saturday, August 20, but will be shown tape delayed on SPEED Channel at 7:00 PM ET. The Magnus Nation can follow the team throughout the weekend on Facebook (facebook.com/magnusracing) and twitter (@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 Rolex Sports Car Series can e-mail info@magnusracing.com. All press inquiries can be directed to press@magnusracing.com.