LAKEVILLE, Conn. (July 23, 2018) – After an incredibly hard-fought day that saw everything from intermittent brake issues, intense battles for position, and even contact with traffic, Magnus Racing emerged from Saturday’s Northeast Grand Prix in Lime Rock Park with their best finish of the 2018 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season, taking second. Following a third-place finish at the most recent round in Canada, the runner-up placing at Lime Rock would mark two consecutive podiums for the team in what is proving to be a mid-season turnaround.
“This was an incredible day for everyone on the team,” stated Magnus Racing team owner John Potter. “As always, it was complete team effort. The crew not only did a great job of getting our car together for this weekend and finding a great balance, but their pit stops and strategy were excellent, leading to a faultless run for us. Andy’s drive at the end was exactly why everyone loves watching Andy race, and if I’m being honest I was pretty happy with my stint as well. We had a lot of braking issues during my stint but I was able to adapt and even improve. It was a great weekend and great to see so many fans, this was the kind of form we were all hoping for.”
Making a clean start, John Potter took the green flag for the No. 44 Audi Tire Center Audi R8 LMS with a strong awareness of the calamity that usually ensues with the tricky 1.5-mile circuit; the shortest of any on the calendar. Failing to disappoint, a first lap incident with some cars ahead would advance John further up the grid, however an intermittent braking issue would arise shortly after, causing Potter to back his pace up significantly. Effectively encountering an inconsistent “soft” pedal, to avoid incident the team owner would back up his braking distances throughout the middle of the stint, opting to manage the car under unpredictable circumstances.
Doing his best to adapt to the issue, the issue would resolve itself over time, allowing Potter to regain his old form, leading to an impressive second half of his stint. Driving some of the best laps in the category, John would gain time over the field for lap-after-lap, eventually catching the field in front by time pit stops would cycle through.
At that point, the Audi was in the hands of Andy Lally to the end, who would set a blistering pace to catch the field in front of him. By time the second round of pit stops would cycle, Lally was up to third, already priming the team for their second consecutive podium.
The most excitement, however, would come in the closing laps as Andy chased down a struggling Patrick Long for second. With Long facing a rear tire issue, a head-to-head fight between two of the sport’s most legendary drivers would engage for several laps, with Patrick doing everything he could to keep Lally behind while they both dealt with faster GTLM category traffic in the process.
Eventually, Lally would sneak his Audi inside of Long’s Porsche in to Turn One, setting the No. 44 up for an impressive pass along the outside of Turn Two.
With the leading car simply too far ahead, Andy would then focus on managing his tires to the end, crossing the finish line in second.
For Lally, another great result for the team was well earned.
“This was an incredible race,” stated Lally. “First off, John’s driving was phenomenal. To have the issues he had and not fall back very far was really heads-up on his part, and once that went away he was one of the fastest cars on the track. It was one of his best drives to date and he should be really proud. The guys did a great job in the pits as always, great strategy, and it was one of the best cars we’ve had. Racing with Patrick again was great fun, and the respect he showed on track was something half the field could learn from. This was exactly what we needed."
Land Motorsports’ Peter Baron also shared his thoughts.
“Always good to see an Audi up front and the 44 achieving back-to-back podiums,” stated Baron. “Tuning into the race I was hoping to fall asleep while watching in Germany, being six hours ahead after an overnight flight. The Magnus race was exciting enough to keep me awake. So for me it’s bittersweet. Happy for Magnus, but really want to sleep now.”
Still in the thick of their busy summer season, Magnus Racing and the entire IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will be back in just two weeks’ time, competing at the annual Continental Tire Road Race Showcase, held at the scenic Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Practice begins on Friday, August 3, with the race taking place on Sunday, August 5 at 2:30PM ET on FS1.
