Champions. From Ashes to Bricks.

Indianapolis, IN (July 30, 2012)- Just four weeks after suffering a devastating blow to the team’s title hopes in a massive cockpit fire, Magnus Racing emerged from Friday’s GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway as not only the inaugural winners of the Brickyard Grand Prix, but the first-ever winners of the GRAND-AM North American Endurance Championship.
 
“I’m not even sure what I’m supposed to say this is so overwhelming,” stated Magnus Racing Team Owner John Potter. “This team worked so hard to get the car ready after our fire at Watkins Glen. Literally every piece of the car had to be un-bolted and re-bolted to our second car to make it to our first test here three weeks ago, and since that time had to do a near full-rebuild to be ready for this race. It’s unbelievable how hard they worked, and it’s a perfect reward for such a great crew.”
 
For Andy Lally, the sentiment is the same.
 
“We just won Indy.” Stated the New York native. “After everything the guys went through the last four weeks, there was never a chance to sit back and think of how cool it would be to race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. When we took the white flag, all of a sudden it became real what we’d done. It’s a huge credit to the guys, and a great tribute to John who did an amazing job of driving, and a perfect job of putting this team together.”
 
Before the green flag ever fell on the 2.5 mile “roval” (oval track with an infield road course), the real race for Magnus Racing began following the most recent round at Watkins Glen International Raceway. When driver John Potter pulled off the road due to an electrical fire just 30 minutes in, the driver and team were left helpless to watch the cockpit of the no. 44 Porsche GT3 Cup turn in to a massive inferno, leading to extensive damage to the car as well as championship position.
 
With only days to get the car prepared for a series-sanctioned test at Indianapolis after Watkins Glen, the crew pulled an amazing 136 combined man-hours in a 72-hour period to get the car ready. Proceeding to test the car at Indianapolis in 105 degree heat, the car would return to the team’s shop for a complete and thorough re-build, resulting in a very full two-weeks for the crew before they’d even arrived at the track for the race.
 
Running the inaugural Brickyard Grand Prix as a one-day show (practice, qualifying, and race), John Potter, residing in Salt Lake City, would take advantage of their one-hour of practice before the race to qualify the car on the seventh row.
 
With the field set and the race about to start, a classic Indiana downpour of rain would emerge just minutes before the race start. Known for his propensity in the wet as evidenced at Homestead this year, Potter would take the green flag to a very wet and wild start to the inaugural event. With several cars making contact, spinning, or simply running wide in the treacherous conditions, Potter never put a wheel wrong, the only real drama being a smoking left rear rain-tire as a result of rubbing against bodywork.
 
Switching to dry tires early in the stint, engineer Lars Giersing took a gamble with Potter’s ability on a drying track, with Potter handling the conditions perfectly. By time the no. 44 would pit again under caution, the car would be handed over to Andy Lally, the team in serious contention with a competitive field.
 
Slowly working through the field as the race wore on, the three-hour event would take a critical turn before the halfway point, as yet another chance downpour would force everyone back in to the pits for rain tires. Driving a determined wet stint, Lally would continue to drive without error, and as the track began to dry, Giersing would once again make a critical decision to pit for dry tires before the rest of the field.
 
While Lally’s initial laps on slick tires would prove difficult, the strategy began to take form as Lally set lap-times quicker than the rest of the field, and when a timely caution would come out with an hour and twenty minutes remaining, Magnus Racing would advance to the front of the field as the rest changed for slick tires as well.
 
When yet another caution would come out with just under an hour remaining, the no. 44 would make their last stop of the day, and as the field cycled through the car would remain at the front with no stops remaining. This would put driver Andy Lally in a position to do what he does best, out-drive the field in a straight fight to the end.
 
With the no. 59 Brumos Racing Porsche of Leh Keen and the no. 70 SpeedSource Mazda RX-8 of Jonathan Bomarito hot on the heels of the 44, a fantastic three-way battle would ensue for the final 30 minutes. Surviving two re-starts and maintaining the lead, an incident involving the no. 66 of Joerg Bergmeister with less than five minutes remaining would bring out one final caution period, and without enough time for the field to resume to green flag racing.
 
Safely taking the white and yellow flags combined, Lally would drive one of the longest laps of his career to take the first ever Rolex Series checkered flag at Indianapolis, the first ever GT car to ever cross the famous yard of bricks at the finish. In addition to the victory, the team would also take the crown as the first-ever winners of the GRAND-AM North American Endurance Championship, a special title handed out for the best points finisher in a combination of the season’s three marquis events: The Rolex 24 at Daytona, The Six Hours at the Glen, and The Brickyard Grand Prix.
 
For Andy Lally, it was a great team effort.
 
“Lars made some excellent, excellent calls today,” stated Lally, who drove his first laps at Indy last year in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. “Great calls, perfect pit stops, and all in a car that had an unbelievable amount of man hours put in to it before it ever arrived. This is a great home for me here at Magnus, this truly is a one-of-a-kind team.”
 
For John Potter, his third-year team is definitely in its strongest form yet.
 
“It’s no secret that after Daytona, our season had gotten a bit frustrating,” stated Potter. “This team always kept their head down and focused on maximizing every result even when wins weren’t possible, and being crowned as the first ever North American Endurance Champions is a true testament to the complete quality of the team here.”
 
Beyond on-track results, Magnus Racing once again took fans directly in to their pit with their second ever pitside webcast. Broadcasting for 11-straight hours beginning with the first practice session in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge, the team enjoyed over 25,000 site visits during the day, with fans getting the chance to meet and interact not only with Magnus Racing personnel, but GRAND-AM Road Racing at large. Interestingly, their last broadcast was at Daytona, where they also won.
 
With the victory now behind everyone, the team now turns its attention to their next race in just two weeks time, with the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series competing on yet another NASCAR weekend, this one at the famed “short course” of Watkins Glen International Raceway. Live coverage can be seen on Saturday, August 11 at 6PM ET.

Magnus Racing Mid-July: The Calm Between Two Storms

Salt Lake City, UT (July 17, 2012)- Ten days after the conclusion of the busiest time of year for the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series, the crew at Magnus Racing are already back at work, with all minds now focused on crossing the most famous yard of bricks in the world.
 
Running an impressive five events over six weeks, one word can describe the entire experience: exhausting. While the challenge for Magnus Racing was no different than any other team in the Rolex Series, a handful of obstacles along the way certainly provided a unique series of difficulties for the team.
 
Following a fairly routine first two rounds in Detroit and Mid-Ohio, the team’s third event of the “summer run” came at the challenging Road America circuit in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Known for its long straights and fast corners, the team’s high hopes for turning their championship fortunes around took a terrible blow when driver Andy Lally suffered an engine failure 40 minutes from the checkered flag.
 
With only four days to transport the car to Watkins Glen and roll out for the first day of practice, the car had to travel 783 miles, go through its usual post-race and pre-race rebuilds, and most importantly, swap out for yet another Porsche engine.
 
Hoping the worst was over, no one could have predicted the unfortunate future for the no. 44 Porsche GT3 Cup just four days later. When an electrical fire caused the entire dashboard to catch fire only 30 minutes in to the Sahlen’s Six Hours at the Glen, driver John Potter was left with no choice but to hop out and watch his cockpit burn, with the resulting fire and extinguishing powder covering the car’s interior. For those who have not seen it, click here.
 
In response to several posts and inquiries, here are the details on the incident and team recovery:
 
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-It is difficult to diagnose the exact cause of the fire. It was clearly related to an electrical/wiring glitch, but with all of the wires fairly melted post-incident, no one at the team or Porsche could make a fair assessment.
 
 
-The smoke was fairly constricting for John Potter, so he’d elected to pull off in the NASCAR “short chute” for fear of passing out. The closest fire station was unfortunately several yards away, but on part of a fairly blind, downhill part of the circuit that wouldn’t have been safe to park.
 
-Every GRAND-AM vehicle runs a mandatory on-board fire extinguisher that can be engaged by a dashboard button. As opposed to many racing cars, the button is actually at the base of the windshield by the drivers’ side, so it was not visible by the on-board camera. John Potter did depress the button, and the system did its job by spraying his legs, as well as the engine and fuel cell. The system was not designed to spray the dash.
 
-When the car was brought back to the garage, the interior was covered in extinguishing powder, the dash was completely ruined, as was the lexan windshield. Surprisingly, the rest of the car was fine, short of a need for extensive cleaning.
 
-With only days between the Watkins Glen race and the Indianapolis test, truck driver Dan Lourenco immediately high-tailed it back to the team’s Babylon, New York shop, where he returned 12-hours later with a spare car; the same GT3 Cup that the team ran for the no. 4 Children’s Tumor Foundation entry at Daytona.
 
-With only 72 hours to get everything done and get to Indy, the eight crew members put in an impressive 136 man hours to remove every usable piece of the “primary” no .44, inspect it, clean it, and change it over to the backup.
 
-Following six weeks on the road, the team managed to get the car back in the trailer, off to Indy, and they didn’t miss one second of track time when they arrived.
 
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With an insanely busy six week period behind them, the team arrived for one last event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a two-day test.
 
While the worst was theoretically over, the 105-degree ambient temperature at Indianapolis certaintly didn’t make for a comfortable conclusion to the festivities. With boiling temperatures for both team and crew, the team held their own with the rest, consistently posting times near the top-five, and walking with a solid baseline and bullish attitude headed in to next week.
 
Taking last week to actually see their families and possibly even sleep, the team is back at the shop, making final preparations for the upcoming Indianapolis race on July 27.
 
For Team Owner John Potter, it’s a great testament to an incredible crew.
 
“What these guys have done is just remarkable,” stated John Potter. “I don’t know how many people realize just what goes in to a race weekend. You see it on TV for a few hours, or you come to a track for the weekend, but it’s hard to describe that the guys have already been there for days. It’s impressive what they did through June and July, and I can’t put in to words how appreciated it is.”
 
With the Brickyard Grand Prix just over one week away, the team is back in to gear and ready for another stretch. While not nearly as demanding as the month of June, the team will run another three races in four weeks starting next week.
 
This all begins next Friday, July 27, with the Brickyard Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. As the final round of the North American Endurance Championship, the no. 44 crew sits in second with a reasonable shot at top honors.
 
Stay tuned for more exciting announcements, including one very special way the team will be including everyone in the experience at Indy.

The Most Expensive Photo You'll See Today

...see ya at Watkins Glen!

 

 

 

photo credit: Efrain Olivares and his Charter Communications DVR

Magnus Racing Adds a Little Ginger for Six Hours at the Glen

Salt Lake City, UT (June 19, 2012)- With a super tight GT Championship unfolding in the Rolex Sports Car Series, Magnus Racing has enlisted the one-time help of Porsche’s very own Patrick Long for the upcoming Sahlen’s Six Hours at the Glen.
 
As the second longest event on the Rolex Series schedule, the traditional two-driver format will expand to three for the six-hour event taking place on Sunday, July 1st, and the Magnus gang looked no shorter than Long, the lone American factory-hired driver in the world.
 
Standing at 4’6”, Long carries an impressive roster of success in international sportscar racing. Beyond two class victories at the 24 Hours of LeMans, two class titles in the American Le Mans Series, a driver’s championship in the Pirelli World Championship, and a class victory at Sebring….  Long also drove to a class victory in the 2009 Rolex 24 at Daytona with Magnus’s very own Andy Lally.
 
So yeah, he’s good.
 
“Patrick is a great addition to our team,” stated Team Owner and Co-Driver John Potter. “His resumé speaks for itself, but equally important, he fits in well with our group. He’s incredibly professional, but I think he gets our style and that goes a long way.”
 
Currently sitting third in the championship with one round to go before the Six Hour, Long presents a great opportunity to gain valuable points.
 
“Patrick and I have very similar driving styles, and that’s a big plus,” stated Co-Driver Andy Lally. “He’s proven he knows how to win time and time again, and in a championship fight, he’s got a great reputation for making no mistakes which is just important.”
 
No stranger to GRAND-AM competition, Long looks forward to a great event with Magnus.
 
“The entire Magnus Racing organization has done a great job in its first few years of racing,” stated Long. “They’re known for having fun, but their victory at this year’s Rolex 24 proves they provide a quality product. It’s made of a great crew, fantastic engineering, and a terrible PR writer, I really look forward to joining the team.”
 
The Sahlen’s Six Hours at the Glen will take place on Sunday, July 1st, with live coverage on SPEED at 11AM ET.
 
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Magnus Racing will continue to provide updates and coverage throughout the week via their Facebook (facebook.com/RacingMagnus) and Twitter (@MagnusRacing), as well as via www.magnusracing.com. You can also follow Andy Lally on Twitter (@AndyLally).

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 sports car racing can e-mail info@magnusracing.com. All press inquiries can be directed to press@magnusracing.com.

Magnus Racing Returns After Extended Break

Salt Lake City, UT (June 19, 2012)- Following a massive mid-season “holiday” that included most crew getting over one day with their respective families, Magnus Racing returns to the track this weekend to take part in the Rolex 250 driven by VISITFLORIDA.COM, taking place at the historic Road America circuit in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, the seventh round of the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series Championship.

With an astounding one-week break following back-to-back events in Ohio and Detroit, the entire series now embarks on another series of successive events, beginning this week with the Wisconsin event, followed by the classic Sahlen’s Six Hours at the Glen the following week, and finishing just days later with a two-day test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

It’s been a very busy June, but everyone at the team has kept focus.

“It’s a busy month to say the least,” stated Team Owner John Potter. “Running four races in five weeks is definitely a tough task on everyone in the series, but we’re headed to some events that should really favor us.”

Following two solid points races at Detroit (sixth) and Ohio (fifth) respectively, the team heads to a series of circuits that should favor the no. 44 Magnus Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Beginning this weekend at Road America, the high streets and fast corners will present a strong opportunity for the team to capitalize on a good result last year. During the 2011 campaign, the team was in a possible position to win had strategy played out differently, and they literally lost out on a podium finish by mere inches.

This year, the team is in search of more wins and accruing highest points.

“Road America presents a really good place for our team to turn the Championship around,” stated co-driver Andy Lally, who is still in search of his first win at the circuit. “We’ve had really fast race cars the last few rounds, we just haven’t had the right breaks to show it. This weekend and next are a great opportunity for that, and we could use a little boost in the points.”

Currently sitting third in the Championship, the entire team is already at the track and focused for attack on the 4-mile permanent road course. Running a joint event with the NASCAR Nationwide Series, hopes are high.

“We’ve been very lucky we’ve gotten through the first half of June with good points and decent momentum, but certainly we know we can win again and we’re definitely all pushing,” stated Potter. “We’ve got a great team and the car to do it, let’s just hope for a little Wisconsin luck.”

The Rolex 250 by VISITFLORIDA.COM will take place this Saturday, June 19, with live coverage on SPEED beginning at 12PM ET.

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Magnus Racing will continue to provide updates and coverage throughout the week via their Facebook (facebook.com/RacingMagnus) and Twitter (@MagnusRacing), as well as via www.magnusracing.com. You can also follow Andy Lally on Twitter (@AndyLally).

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 sports car racing can e-mail info@magnusracing.com. All press inquiries can be directed to press@magnusracing.com.