Magnus Racing Closes Pirelli World Challenge with Podium, Second in Championship

SONOMA, Calif. (September 19, 2017) – Finishing out their 2017 Pirelli World Challenge season on a high, Magnus Racing would enjoy a solid finish during the Grand Prix of Sonoma, with Pierre Kaffer closing out the season on the podium, and John Potter securing second-place in the series’ GTA Sprint Championship. 

“Overall, it was a good way to complete the season,” stated Magnus Racing team owner and driver John Potter. “It’s been a year of mixed fortunes for all of us, but there’s a lot of satisfaction with second in the standings for myself, and seeing Pierre take the podium in his final try was a great achievement. We have a lot of positive takeaways from the experience, and this was definitely a highlight day.”

Finishing out his debut in the series, Pierre Kaffer and the No. 4 Audi Tire Center Audi R8 LMS would enjoy his strongest weekend of the year. In a season that showed remarkable potential, a series of incidents and missteps would malign the German’s 2017 efforts, with a podium at the most recent SprintX round in COTA with co-driver Spencer Pumpelly proving his best result to date. Closing out the season with the traditional sprint format, where Pierre would drive solo, the twisty nature of the 2.2-mile, 11-turn circuit, would prove favorable for the Audi, with Kaffer given his best opportunity to date to show well. 

During Saturday’s Race One, the Audi would demonstrate a remarkable drive through the field indicative of a podium performance, but with championship leader Patrick Long in front of him, the veteran knew that unnecessary risk at the expense of a championship was something that couldn’t be justified, ultimately taking fourth. During Sunday’s Race Two, a more favorable outcome would prove true, with Pierre moving up to third early in the race, ultimately settling in where he’d finish, his first podium in the Sprint category.

“It was a great way to finish out the season,” stated Kaffer. “The team at Magnus Racing has done a great job all year, and I’m happy we were finally able to demonstrate it. It was a satisfying feeling to finally reward them for all of their efforts. I appreciate what John Potter and everyone behind the scenes has done all year, and really enjoyed the program.”

For John Potter, a relatively quiet weekend would actually prove successful, with the Utah resident clinching second in the series’ GTA Sprint Championship in the process. Entering the weekend finale with a healthy, but not insurmountable hold on second in the standings, the focus for John and the No. 44 Audi Tire Center Audi R8 LMS was simply on maximizing points for the weekend, with extra attention on avoiding unnecessary risk. During Saturday’s Race One, John would enjoy a steady drive to hold on to fourth, managing the gap to the field behind him, and effectively repeating the effort on Sunday.

The result would highlight a strong year for Potter, who in his first season of Pirelli World Challenge would take four podiums, and beating a strong roster of drivers in the standings with his consistency.

While the 2017 Pirelli World Challenge season has come to a close, Magnus Racing’s efforts are actually not finished yet, with a soon-to-be-announced program coming soon, and the team already hard at work in preparation.