Magnus Racing Makes Last-Minute Commitment to Grand Prix of Long Beach

Happy April Fools'. See you in Watkins Glen!

Tune-In: Magnus Racing Ready to Party at Twelve Hours of Sebring

Following our quest for the Holy Rolex, we at Magnus Racing have returned (mostly) to our regular programming for this weekend’s Twelve Hours of Sebring at Sebring International Raceway. Though it was the best finish at the Rolex 24 At Daytona for Aston Martin, our second-place finish at the season opening event made us quite hungry for a first-place result, giving us some extra motivation this weekend to get to the top step. The No. 44 Magnus Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 is ready, with John Potter, Andy Lally, and Spencer Pumpelly returning as our three drivers for the twelve-hour endurance race. This is the second race in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, beginning on Saturday, March 19 at 10:10 am Eastern. Watch live, flag to flag on Peacock. If you have the USA Network, you can watch from 3:30 pm to 10:30 pm Eastern.

If you missed your chance to pre-order our Magnus Racing and the Holy Rolex t-shirt, be sure to visit our online store to get your limited-edition shirt today. Only available while supplies last!

Following our quest for the Holy Rolex, we at Magnus Racing have returned (mostly) to our regular programming for this weekend’s Twelve Hours of Sebring at Sebring International Raceway. Though it was the best finish at the Rolex 24 At Daytona for Aston Martin, our second-place finish at the season opening event made us quite hungry for a first-place result, giving us some extra motivation this weekend to get to the top step. The No. 44 Magnus Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 is ready, with John Potter, Andy Lally, and Spencer Pumpelly returning as our three drivers for the twelve-hour endurance race. This is the second race in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, beginning on Saturday, March 19 at 10:10 am Eastern. Watch live, flag to flag on Peacock. If you have the USA Network, you can watch from 3:30 pm to 10:30 pm Eastern.

If you missed your chance to pre-order our Magnus Racing and the Holy Rolex t-shirt, be sure to visit our online store to get your limited-edition shirt today. Only available while supplies last!

Magnus Racing Finishes Second at Rolex 24, Glimpses Holy Rolex

And here concludes the tale of John Potter, King of Magnus and the knights and drivers of the No. 44 Aston Martin Vantage GT3—The Wise Sir Andy Lally, Sir Spencer Pumpelly the Brave, and Sir Jonny Adam, the not-quite-so-brave-as-Sir-Spencer-Pumpelly. Them and their trusty crew went on a great crusade to search for the Holy Rolex at Rolex 24 At Daytona and came in second place, instead receiving a very beautiful shrubbery. The runner-up finish brought Aston Martin Racing their best result at the famed event, leading to much rejoicing from the peasants throughout the land.

 “We’ve had to wait for too long to see an Aston Martin finish on the podium at Daytona, and Magnus Racing knows what it is doing when it comes to top-class GT endurance racing in the US,” said Huw Tasker, Head of Customer Racing at Aston Martin. “That the team decided to race with Vantage in 2022 is further evidence of its growing reputation and the overall success of the GT3 programme. The level of competitiveness for Magnus Racing throughout the race is proof that Aston Martin can contend for victory in the biggest endurance races around the world, and we look forward to working with them through 2022.”

The group set out for their sacred quest for the Holy Rolex on Saturday afternoon from ninth place with Potter competing against 21 fearful foe. Despite the 61-car field, the team rode the trusty steed to the top five within the first four hours and remained steady for the majority of the race. Record cold temperatures descended on Daytona International Speedway over the course of the race, but all at Magnus Racing remained strong and brave as they charged forward. As one does over the course of a 24-hour race with 61 cars, the Magnus Racing Aston Martin fell two laps down to tenth position in the GTD class but used the 16 caution periods to their advantage to reclaim ground given to them by the racing gods, getting back on the lead lap.

By the halfway point, the team was back in third place, and Sir Andy Lally took the class lead two hours later. Two hours before sunrise, Sir Spencer Pumpelly found himself in an intense duel while running in second place and spun off track in the Le Mans Chicane. He rejoined in fourth and continued to press on, keeping the car as close to the leaders as possible as the sun came up. Lally took over for the final run, running in third as the checkered flag neared. With flawless pit stops, the team was able to keep the car in position to fight for a podium. With less than 30 minutes on the race clock, the second-place car received a drive-through penalty, moving the Magnus No. 44 car up to second place, where the team finished, earning Aston Martin Racing their best win at the grueling event.

The Twelve Hours of Sebring is next up for the Utah-based team, March 16-19 at Sebring International Raceway. Magnus Racing is slated to only run the four endurance races in the 2022 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship calendar: the Rolex 24 At Daytona, Twelve Hours of Sebring, Six Hours of the Glen and Petit Le Mans.

Stand by for attack. The oil of many a valiant car shall be avenged. In the name of Beau Barfield, we shall not stop our fight until each one of our foes run behind us and the Holy Rolex returns to whom God has chosen.

Thus ends this chapter in Magnus Racer and the Holy Rolex. In case you don’t know why this release is worded in such a grand fashion, please enjoy the video below.

And Now for Something Completely Different: Magnus Racing and the Holy Rolex

And Now! At Last! 

Another poster completely different from a team that’s completely new and different and old and the same but not quite the same as this one is. It’s everyone’s favorite quest: Magnus Racing and the Holy Rolex. 

Behold! It is Magnus Racing! From the castle of Camelot, chosen team of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, defeator of the boring, Sovern of all GTD! We have ridden the length and breadth of the land in search of knights who will join us in our court at Daytona. Our purpose, our sacred task, is the Holy Rolex. A blessing! Barfield be praised!

With our trusty steed, the No. 44 Magnus Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3, we have ridden since the snows of winter covered this land, throughout the kingdom of America to Florida, in our search for the greatest knights in the land to join John Potter, King of Magnus Racing.

The wise Sir Andy Lally was the first to join Potter’s knights, but other illustrious names were soon to follow. Sir Spencer Pumpelly the Brave, and Sir Jonny Adam, the not-quite-so-brave-as-Sir-Spencer-Pumpelly.

They will fight with the strength of many men to acquire the Holy Rolex, and in the name of God, we shall not stop our fight ‘til each car is passed and the Holy Rolex returns to those whom Barfield has chosen! 

We hope you shall watch, and pray as we begin this holy quest at the Rolex 24 At Daytona. We begin on Saturday, January 29 at 1:40 PM Eastern, airing live on NBC, and streaming flag-to-flag on Peacock. Our foe are many, but we know we have total, unlimited power based on divine right. 

And to our competitors, we fart in your general direction!

Roar Before 24 Kicks Off Magnus Racing’s 10th Anniversary of Their First Rolex 24 Victory at Daytona, Begins Endurance Season with New Car, new Livery, and a Lot of the Same People, Plus Some Brits

Happy anniversary to us! Ten years after our first of two victories at the Rolex 24 At Daytona, we’re returning to Daytona International Speedway to start another attempt at getting ourselves some new watches. #HatTrick. If you’ve been paying attention, you are aware that we are now flying the Union Jack, racing a new Aston Martin Vantage GT3. After two seasons of partnering with other race teams, we’re excited to get back to the original team of Magnus Racing in what will be a fun season ahead. 

We’re quite pleased to confirm we are running in the four IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship endurance races that make up the Michelin Endurance Cup. In addition to our loyal chaps in John Potter, Andy Lally, and Spencer Pumpelly, we’ve brought in Jonny Adam, a factory driver for Aston Martin Racing to race alongside our American trio at Daytona and also teach us all the proper British manners and show us how to make a proper cuppa. 

Jonny Adam will likely be the most civilized and well-behaved of the group, though us Yankees will fix that in no time. This spry young fellow will be a good fit to our band of misfits, with some serious endurance time in the Aston under his belt. He’s a multi-year British GT Cup champion and has won the 24 Hours of Le Mans twice in class. This season, he’s celebrating his tenth year as an Aston Martin Racing factory driver, so be sure to give him a warm welcome! 

Andy first joined us in 2012 and has earned six wins and 26 podiums with us in various machinery at some of North America’s best tracks. He’s a three-time Grand-Am champion, and five-time Rolex 24 At Daytona winner, two under the Magnus banner. He’s been with us in Porsches, Audis, Acuras, and we’re chuffed to have him and his talent on our team for another season. In addition to racing with Magnus this year, you’ll also catch Andy in at least six of the road course races in the NASCAR Xfinity series throughout 2022. 

Despite a rumor that he may have committed manslaughter (relax, newbies, it’s a joke. You had to be there), we are also fortunate to have another season with Spencer Pumpelly.  He’s a former ST Champion, and a two-time Rolex 24 At Daytona winner. He’ll be competing in his 21^st Rolex 24 at Daytona this year, after completing his first at the age of four, of course.  In his free time, he spends his off time as lead guitarist in the Atlanta-based rock group, The Terrible Two.  He first raced with us in 2017 Pirelli World Challenge before moving over to our IMSA program in 2019. Despite being vegan (along with his #TeamATL pal, Andy), he has been a strong endurance lineup to our team, celebrating three podiums with us. 

Although we’d certainly never try, we’re happy that we can’t get rid of Andy Lally, and Spencer Pumpelly. John Potter, Team Somebody, also continues to stay in the driver’s seat. Coincidentally, like Magnus Racing, John too, is celebrating the 10^th anniversary of his first Rolex 24 at Daytona Victory, he’s excited to be embarking upon the new endurance season from the comfort of his home team. This will be his 13^th-or we’ll just say 14^th-season of racing at this level, and he hopes to add to his endurance-racing victories while competing at his favorite events of the season, all four of them. He’s especially grateful this year to the AMR and the crew and team administration for their hard and diligent work in the “off-season” to prepare the program for 2022.

“We are delighted that Magnus Racing has chosen to join forces with Aston Martin Racing for their 2022 IMSA programme,” said Huw Tasker, Head of Customer Racing. “We look forward to seeing what the team can achieve this year with their new Aston Martin Vantage GT3, particularly given their significant experience of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The addition of Magnus Racing to the AMR family is a testament to the continued growth of the Vantage programme in North America, and with four cars running in GTD at Daytona for the first time this year, these are exciting times for Aston Martin.” 

We had a jolly good show with the new car in December and have worked since to further prepare the car for the season ahead, starting with the Roar Before the 24. As is tradition, we’ll begin the 2022 festivities with the Roar, a three-day test for us to take our new motor car out for a spin and get ready for the exciting days ahead. The Roar will conclude with a qualifying race on Sunday, January 23 at 2:05 pm Eastern. This will be a 100-minute race that will determine the starting grid for the Rolex 14 At Daytona the following weekend. Just consider it as a very long qualifying session. The Motul Pole Award will air on Peacock, the new streaming home for IMSA. IMSA Radio will continue its coverage, of which you can listen online for free. For further event and schedule information, please visit the official IMSA WeatherTech schedule page. 

Our team of merry laborers is working hard at our annual poster reveal, so you’ll have to wait just a little bit longer. Stay tuned for FRIDAY on Rolex week, for your eyes only.