Daytona Beach, Fl (January 28, 2013)- Following a long, hard-fought battle for top honors at this year’s 51st Running of the Rolex 24 at Daytona, Magnus Racing literally coasted to its fourth consecutive top-five finish at the endurance classic. Taking fifth place, the team would hold the distinction of being the highest finishing Porsche, finishing within seconds of the race-winning no. 24 Alex Job Racing Audi R8. The team’s sister no. 45 Porsche would also finish the race with a well-earned 15th.
“To be so close to victory and watch it fall away is definitely disappointing, but that is what makes this race such a challenge,” stated Magnus Racing Team Owner John Potter. “There were still a number of great moments to take away, including the fact that we were Porsche’s top finisher. We led a large portion of the race, and we’ve finished in the top-five at every Rolex 24 we’ve competed in. We still have good points for the season, and once again our crew showed tremendous ability with some fast stops.”
With Andy Lally qualifying the no. 44 Flex-Box Porsche 911 GT3 Cup on the front row, the team was off to a strong start when Lally assumed the lead just 30 minutes in to the twice-around-the-clock classic. Ripping off a repeated series of fastest laps, Lally would bring the car in for the first round of pit stops leading, handing the car over to teammate John Potter.
With Potter driving another faultless stint, the handover to Porsche factory driver Richard Lietz followed by Nicolas Armindo would lead to a fairly routine set of runs throughout the afternoon.
As the day would move on, the only weak point for the team would be the car’s front splitter. A carbon piece attached to the front nose, the splitter helps with the cars aerodynamic downforce as well as absorbing some of the constant impact with the ground, which during a 24-hour race can be constant.
Prepared as always, the team was well rehearsed for a splitter change, replacing the splitter no less than three times during the opening hours of the race, and doing it each time in only a matter of seconds, losing virtually no time in the pits. Thanks to some crafty engineering and change in driving style, the team managed to solve their splitter issues by time the night fell.
Driving through the night, the race would manage a fairly routine pace, with the no. 44 clearly in the thick of the fight. Not putting a foot wrong during the notoriously chaotic late-night hours, the no. 44 actually led for a large portion of the race, only sacrificing the top spot as pit stops cycled.
Following a two-hour caution for fog as the sun rose, the stage was set for an eight-hour race to the finish, with seven different cars still competing on the lead lap. Continuing to run a faultless race in the no. 44, the race between a tight lead pack was clearly going down to the wire.
When a caution came out with just over one-hour remaining, the final chapter of the 2013 event would emerge. With the entirety of the GT field pitting for what everyone assumed would be the penultimate pit-stop, Team Engineer Lars Giersing elected to put Richard Lietz in for the final run to the checkered flag. Unfortunately driver Nicolas Armindo would slightly overshoot the stall headed in to the pits, with the team having to push the car back a few feet in order to engage the fuel hose. This would cost the team a few seconds, dropping them down the running order as they merged back on to the track.
As the green flag fell and the final hour of the race emerged, the splitter issue returned. While the splitter was still visibly on the car, Lietz continued to feel the front end of the car losing significant downforce, slightly compromising his pace.
Ultimately, the race would come down to one final caution just minutes later. When the team’s no. 45 car blew a right rear tire on track, the resulting debris from tire and bodywork damage would bring out the yellow.
Knowing that most teams would likely need one more stop to make it to the end, Engineer Lars Giersing made the call to bring Lietz in for fuel as well as an opportunity to make final repairs to the splitter. Since GRAND-AM declared the caution period a “short caution,” it would mean that the stop would occur as the field took the green flag.
With the final hour of the race well under way, the no. 44 had fallen down the order, but also knowing that they’d be able to go the distance on fuel, hopefully. Pitting just out of the fuel window, Lietz would have the challenge of driving as fast as possible, but also saving fuel in the process.
As the race would unfold, the field in front of Lietz would slowly start to pit one-by-one. Gaining positions with each stop, the no. 44 looked poised for a possible win, sitting fourth with 20 minutes to go, and all three cars in front likely needing to make another stop.
With minutes left, the final make-up of the race began to take fold, but unfortunately not in Magnus Racing’s favor. The leading no. 24 Audi would duck in to the pits for one last “splash and go” of fuel, however driver Filipe Albuquerque was able to build enough of a gap that he was able to resume the race still leading.
With two laps left, the no. 52 Audi of René Rast, who won with Magnus just one year earlier, was able to pass the no. 44 on track. Meanwhile, the no. 13 Audi, sitting in second, decided to stay out and sputter to the finish line, relegating the no. 44 to fourth when Lietz took the white flag.
As the field took their final lap, the no. 13 Audi would eventually run out of fuel, however so would the Magnus no. 44 as it turned out. Richard Lietz was eventually able to limp the car around the track, literally coasting across the finish line to take the checkered flag in fifth.
“It’s so hard to win one of these, and we had such a great car all day,” stated Andy Lally. “The guys were just awesome, and any time you can finish this thing on the lead lap you did a good job, but it’s definitely painful to see this one get away.”
Meanwhile, the no. 45 B+ / Safecraft Restraints / Bckstgr / Eagle Technology / Camp Boggy Creek / Team Seattle / Fall Line Motorsports entry had an event-filled race that would ultimately lead to a top-15 finish for the group.
With GRAND-AM veteran Charles Espenlaub starting the race from the 10th row, a solid series of opening stints kept the no. 45 in early contention. In fact, an opportune caution period combined with off-setting strategy actually put the no. 45 in first during the early hours, putting the team well in-site of their top-10 aspirations.
Unfortunately, a slight mistake from driver Hugh Plumb in the early evening would change the day for the team. Suffering an on-going series of braking problems, Plumb locked-up heavily in the tricky turn-five, with the front end of the car sliding uncontrollably in to the outside tire barrier. While not a hard hit, the damage was still substantial enough to require an extended stop in the pits for repairs, with the car eventually resuming on track a few minutes later.
“The brakes were really sensitive,” stated Plumb. “I did everything I could with the bias to keep them from locking up, but eventually they just locked up in the wrong place and the car barely touched the tire barrier. It’s definitely disappointing but luckily the car kept going without major problem.”
The time on track, however, was short lived as driver Charlie Putman had the rough experience of having his hood pop-up on him while on course, leaving the driver completely blind. Luckily somehow the 2010 Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge GS champion was able to limp it back in to the pits.
Following the hood issues, the team decided to bring the car behind the wall to make thorough repairs to the no. 45 machine. Losing an additional 20 minutes, the team took the opportunity to perform a detailed examination and repair of the car, and while they would ultimately lose several laps, the stage was set for a clean run to the end.
For the next 16 hours, the plan worked. With each driver avoiding major mishap, the experience of all five drivers proved valuable, with the wounded no. 45 running flawlessly for the majority of the race. Taking advantage of high attrition, the team would slowly find themselves in the top-15 of the field.
With just under an hour to go, however, the team would be thrown one last challenge. With driver Charles Espenlaub driving to the finish, a blown right rear tire at top speeds would send the Florida native in to a wild ride, with Charles managing to avoid major impact and limping the car back in to the pits. Following a couple different trips through the pit to repair damaged bodywork, the car would eventually be sent on its way to take a steady 15th.
“The Magnus guys put on an absolutely great program,” stated Al Carter. “We were hoping for a top-10, but the problems we had early on got in the way. The guys worked their butts off to get us back on track without losing much, and I think to finish, and to finish in the top half, is a testament to what a great program this is. Overall, we had a great experience and I look forward to doing it again.”
Off the track, Magnus continued a successful run of charitable and interactive initiatives for their fans.
Running promotional programs for charities such as B+, Team Seattle, and Camp Boggy Creek, Magnus Racing entertained dozens of guests, as well as helped to raise donations in a number of ways.
Additionally, Magnus Racing was once again the darling of the paddock with the third edition of their movie poster theme for Daytona, this time launching The Lord of The Rolex, which at-track fans were treated to during the autograph session (as well as during internet giveaways).
Finally, Magnus Racing once again successfully ran their live webcast for 24 hours straight from the pits, giving fans a chance to not only see the pitside activity for all 24 hours, but also interact with team members and listen in to team radio. The stream was visited nearly 100,000 times during the course of the race, and from 115 different countries.
While the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series won’t return to track action until March 2 at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, the team is already back to work as they prepare for a number of tests and prep items for the remainder of the season.
Racing will resume in just five weeks time with GRAND-AM of the Americas presented by GAINSCO and TOTAL. Coverage can be seen on Saturday, March 2 at 5:30 PM ET on SPEED.