Magnus Racing Slips into Camouflage to Storm the Jersey Shore

July 18, 2011 (Salt Lake City, Utah) – It will be a new look Magnus Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup that rolls off the transporter in Milleville, New Jersey for the American Red Cross 250 at New Jersey Motorsports Park next weekend.

For the first time, the team will do away with its traditional white and green graphics for grayscale for the weekend. Team owner John Potter explained the decision.

“We need a turnaround, and maybe the green isn’t working out for us,” said Potter. When I started Magnus Racing, I selected green because no one else had a green car. Only later did I find out that green is apparently bad luck - so we are testing that theory this weekend. Plus, on the rare occasions I watch IndyCar and NASCAR races, cars in grayscale graphics tend to finish in second. I would really like another podium finish this year since our guys have worked so hard all season and we are in the hunt for the GT class championship.”

John Potter (l) and Craig Stanton

At last year’s GRAND-AM race at New Jersey Motorsports Park, Potter and Stanton enjoyed a strong run to finish sixth after the cool suit and helmet blower failed during Stanton’s stint at the wheel of the Magnus Racing Porsche.  In the high heat and humidity of New Jersey, the failures left the Fittest Man in Motorsports baking in the 145 degree cockpit of the Magnus Racing Porsche for almost two hours. Despite a pit-lane speed penalty, Stanton moved from ninth to sixth over the final hour with the aid of a lightning-quick pitstop by the Magnus Racing crew in the final hour.

The high heat this weekend, as well as fuel mileage strategy that has become a key factor in GT class as of late, will no doubt be factors in the American Red Cross 250 this weekend.

“I’m excited for the new look of our Porsche,” said Stanton. “We’ve been just a little bit off our game and maybe this helps us get rid of our bad luck and get back to the front. If it means the prototypes and GT cars can’t see us that would be great too, since New Jersey tends to have very physical races and lots of contact. It’s going to be hot again but bring it on – I’m ready.”

Potter and Stanton currently sit fifth (or eighth) in the Rolex Sports Car Series GT class standings at 200 points, 22 points behind leaders (and Magnus Racing alumni) Andrew Davis and Leh Keen.  Potter is also third in the Bob Akin Award standings for Pro-Am drivers in the GT class.

The American Red Cross 250 at New Jersey Motorsports Park will be shown live on SPEED Channel at 1:00 PM ET on Saturday, July 24. Fans of Magnus Racing can follow the team throughout the weekend on Facebook (facebook.com/magnusracing) and twitter (@magnusracing).

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 the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series can e-mail info@magnusracing.com. All press inquiries can be directed to press@magnusracing.com.

Magnus Racing duo earn seventh top-ten of 2011 Rolex Series season

July 10, 2011 (Salinas, CA) – Magnus Racing drivers John Potter and Craig Stanton scored another top-ten position on Saturday at the Continental Tire Sports Car Festival  powered by Mazda at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca when the no.44 Magnus Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup crossed the line in seventh position.

After qualifying in tenth, Potter enjoyed a trouble-free opening stint before turning the car over to co-driver Craig Stanton just before the 45 minute pitstop window closed. Aiming to stretch his fuel load as long as possible, Stanton was in fuel conservation mode but was able to move the Magnus Racing Porsche as high as the sixth position. The competitive nature of the GT field was obvious as third through ninth position ran in a train throughout a large portion of the second hour.

One by one, the GT field came into the pits but Stanton was able to stay out, leading two laps before his team brought him into the pits. Reemerging in 8^th position, the team’s fuel advantage was negated when the no. 23 Daytona Prototype dug a hole for itself in turn five and brought out an extended yellow flag period. On the ensuing restart, Stanton spun in turn two as he attempted to make up positions but was able to continue, losing only one position.

A separate incident brought out another full-course yellow and set up a ten-minute sprint to the finish. Stanton was able to make up two positions to cross the finish line in seventh place, salvaging a decent points position on the day.

“It was a bittersweet kind of race,” said Potter afterwards. “We had a great strategy and a better car than the result showed. But in the second half of the race the yellows didn’t help our strategy and we had an unfortunate spin at the end cost us a couple of positions. We had a podium car but it just wasn’t to be today.”

Stanton was frustrated with his late race off course excursion as he attempted to battle forward in the Magnus Racing Porsche. He then departed Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on his bicycle to watch his wife, Joy, compete in a rowing competition in Oakland.

“I was trying to make something happen on that final yellow, and it just didn’t work out,” said Stanton. “We had some lapped cars in front of us and I just got it wrong heading into turn two on that restart.  I think we were in a really good position with fuel mileage but we kind of lost our advantage with those last yellows. The guys gave us a great car that should have been on the podium.”

Potter and Stanton currently sit fifth (or eighth) in the GT class points standings at 200 points, 22 points behind leaders Andrew Davis and Leh Keen – two of Magnus Racing’s alumni.

The next Rolex Sports Car Series race is in two weeks when despite bankruptcy, fist-pumping, and cultural pillars like The Situation, the series will return to New Jersey and the New Jersey Motorsports Park. The American Red Cross 250 will be broadcast live on SPEED Channel on Saturday, July 24, at 1:00 PM ET.

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 the Grand-American Rolex Sports Car Series can e-mail info@magnusracing.com. All press inquiries can be directed to press@magnusracing.com.

Magnus Racing carries momentum to Monterey

July 5, 2011 (Salt Lake City, Utah) – Coming off a strong finish at Road America, where Magnus Racing’s John Potter and Craig Stanton narrowly missed getting their Magnus Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup back on the podium, the two are headed to a Northern California’s Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca with their eyes squarely on the prize – their first GT class victory of the year.

The duo currently sits fourth in the GT class points standings, fifteen points behind points leaders Bill Lester and Jordan Taylor in the Autohaus Motorsports Chevy Camaro. Potter and Stanton’s finish at Road America helped them to close the points gap, and was their fifth top-five and sixth top-10 finish of the 2011 season. This will be Magnus Racing’s first trip to Northern California, as the track was not a part of the Rolex Series schedule in 2010, and both are looking forward to jumping back in the championship battle.

“In terms of how competitive we expect to be, it’s a little bit of an unknown,” said Potter. “Certainly, with some of the slower corners, it should suit the V8 cars like the Camaros, Corvette’s, and BMWs well. The Porsches should do well in some of the faster sections and we should be able to make our tires and brakes last a bit longer. Thankfully the Porsche is pretty good everywhere we go and I know the guys will give us the strategy we need to win. I will also finally get a picture of my car coming down the corkscrew, which I can show off to my Mom.”

Stanton, who knows the mountain biking trails in the area almost as well as he knows the circuit itself, is looking forward to the trip up the coast from his Southern California home.

“For starters, it’s only about four hours from my house,” said Stanton. “Second, I can bring my bike and ride like a hundred miles on Sunday after the race. And third, I love the track! It’s a great track to race on and it’s so cool that after we got to race at Road America, we get to go to Laguna Seca. I don’t know if we can match the excitement level of Road America but we’ll be making things exciting in our Magnus Racing Porsche.”

The Continental Tire Sports Car Festival Powered by Mazda at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, CA will go green on Saturday, July 9 at 5:30 PM ET and will be shown tape-delayed on SPEED Channel on Sunday, July 10, at 4:00 PM ET. Fans of Magnus Racing can follow the team throughout the weekend on Facebook (facebook.com/magnusracing) and twitter (@magnusracing).

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 the Grand-American Rolex Sports Car Series can e-mail info@magnusracing.com. All press inquiries can be directed to press@magnusracing.com.

Potter and Stanton narrowly miss podium in thriller at Road America

June 25, 2011 (Elkhart Lake, WI) – The Magnus Racing crew collectively held their breath as Craig Stanton charged forward in the final ten minutes of Saturday’s Rolex Sports Car Series 250 Driven by VisitFlorida.com. After having to pit for a splash of fuel while leading the race, Stanton re-entered the race in sixth position right behind a titanic battle for the lead of the GT race.

The no.44 Magnus Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup had started the race with John Potter at the wheel who fell to eighth as he was out drag-raced by the Turner Motorsport BMW M3 at the drop of the green flag. Potter drove a strong opening stint but the green-flag running for him was cut short by an extended yellow flag period caused by the huge crash between Gunther Schaldach and Joe Foster in turn one.

During the lengthy caution period, the team performed their mandatory driver change and put Stanton at the wheel and elected to pit again for fuel in an attempt to get the Porsche home without another stop.  When the green flag finally fell again with under an hour left, Stanton was in 14^th position but quickly began charging forward. Other teams began to pit early in order to get ensure they had enough fuel to make the end, but Stanton’s strategy looked like it might pay off as with ten minutes left he was up to the lead. Only two laps later, however, Stanton would have to pit as the fuel light came on in the cockpit of his Porsche – setting up one of the craziest finishes in GT competition in a long time.

Re-emerging in sixth, Stanton was immediately thrust into a five-way battle for second, with the leading Camaro of Jordan Taylor a ways up the road but running out of gas. Stanton slipped into fifth with two laps remaining with a daring pass of Jonathan Bomarito’s Mazda, and then grabbed fourth on the final lap when the Camaro ran out of fuel. Exiting turn 14, Stanton had a run on the Porsche of Spencer Pumpelly as he too ran out of fuel, but Stanton would cross the finish line 0.654 of a second behind to finish the race in fourth position.

Potter, whose second-year team is solidly in the championship battle, enjoyed watching the battle after turning the car over to Stanton.

“I hope it looked as exciting on TV as it looked here in person,” said Potter following the race. “It was disappointing that we didn’t get the yellow we were looking for to get the win but Craig was definitely on a mission in the last ten minutes. It’s a shame we fell just short of our second podium but it was a really great finish and great for our championship as we finished ahead of everyone who is ahead of us in the standings. This is a great momentum builder and I’m proud of the guys for pulling off a strong finish after things looked like they weren’t going our way.”

Stanton, the fittest man in motorsports, needed a moment to catch his breath after the final few laps.

“That was wild,” said Stanton. “This is one of those races that you remember for a long, long time.  I knew we were gambling on fuel and the car was so good, if we had gotten even a short yellow we were going to win. I couldn’t believe that the guys got the fuel in the car so quickly and I could see the lead battle in front of me when we got back on track. The guys worked too hard to give up so I just put my head down and I was going to try like crazy to get back up there.”

Potter and Stanton are now fourth in the GT class standings (or seventh, depending on how you score the ties), at 144 points, 15 points behind the championship leaders after seven of the twelve Rolex Sports Car Series races.

In two weeks, Magnus Racing will be back in action at the Continental Tire Sports Car Festival Powered by Mazda at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, CA on July 8-9. The race will be shown tape-delayed on SPEED Channel on Sunday, July 10, at 4:00 PM ET. Fans of Magnus Racing can follow the team throughout the weekend on Facebook (facebook.com/magnusracing) and twitter (@magnusracing).

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 the Grand-American Rolex Sports Car Series can e-mail info@magnusracing.com. All press inquiries can be directed to press@magnusracing.com.

Magnus Racing enters second half of GRAND-AM season at Road America

June 20, 2011 (Salt Lake City, Utah) – Six events down, and six to go, and things are far from over in the GT class of the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series.

Magnus Racing’s duo of John Potter and Craig Stanton currently sit 13^th in points in the GT class, but with a very tight championship battle, are only 17 points behind points leaders Bill Lester and Jordan Taylor from Autohaus Motorsports – the team that collected Magnus Racing’s $25 bounty at VIR.

This weekend’s Rolex Sports Car Series 250 Driven by Visit Florida will at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, is an event that Potter and Stanton are looking forward to. As one of America’s legendary road courses, the fast corners and long straightaways of Road America will be well suited to the No. 44 Magnus Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. With the series having not visited the facility since 2001 all the teams are essentially starting from scratch, but luckily for Magnus Racing, Road America is a track that their drivers can’t wait to get to.

“I raced at Road America a lot back when I was starting in racing with Skip Barber, and it is one of my favorite race tracks,” said Potter, who took a podium at the GT3 Challenge race in Montreal that ran in support of Formula 1’s Montreal Grand Prix. “I can’t wait to get on track there in the Magnus Racing Porsche and to get the car through the kink for the first time. We are definitely looking at Road America as a place where we can get ourselves a win or a podium and get close to the points lead again.”

Stanton has been successful at Road America as well, with a win at the track in 2003 in the American Le Mans Series’ GT2 class which he followed with a second place the following year, each time in a Porsche.

“Road America is such a great race track,” he said, having recently won yet another endurance karting event near his home in Southern California. “I always tell people that my favorite race track is the next one, and I really mean it for Road America. It is so fast and with all of those fast corners you really need to be on your game and have a car that will be balanced throughout the whole stint. Thanks to the Magnus Racing crew, our car was so good at Watkins Glen, which is fast and flowing like Road America, and I know it will be just as good here.”

The Rolex Sports Car Series 250 Driven by Visit Florida will be shown live on SPEED Channel on Saturday, June 25 at 12:00 PM ET. Fans of Magnus Racing can follow the team throughout the weekend on Facebook (facebook.com/magnusracing) and twitter (@magnusracing).

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 the Grand-American Rolex Sports Car Series can e-mail info@magnusracing.com. All press inquiries can be directed to press@magnusracing.com.