Magnus Racing Charges Through the Field for Fourth

January 30, 2010 (Daytona Beach, Fl.) – The Rolex 24 at Daytona is an exercise in dealing with adversity, and the no. 44 Magnus Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup encountered its fair share as it completed 674 laps from the start to the finish of the Florida endurance classic.

Making his twelfth start at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, Craig Stanton, from Long Beach, California, put the Magnus Racing Porsche into the lead in the first hour after a strong qualifying effort which saw the car qualify in third. While different pitstop cycles began to play out, the car continued to battle for the lead throughout the first couple of hours until an unscheduled stop to repair damage when Richard Liletz from Austria hit debris, putting the car two laps behind the leader. A further eleven laps were lost six and a half hours into the race when the car’s header developed a crack, requiring it to be replaced.

Rejoining the track at roughly 11:00 PM EST, all the drivers cycled through and consistently chipped away at their deficit as other cars faltered. Sunrise saw the Magnus Racing Porsche up to sixth position, with more progress coming as two other cars ran into mechanical problems in the final three hours.

Crossing the finish line in fourth position, the team improved on its finish of fifth in Magnus Racing’s inaugural Rolex 24 at Daytona in 2010. Impressively, the team has now finished in its first two twenty-four hour contests in the top-five, and Team Owner John Potter is excited about Magnus Racing’s prospects for 2011.

DRIVER QUOTES

John Potter

It’s a great result for the team and I’m really proud that we were able to run as strong as we did, it was a great way to start the year. But what I’m most excited about is how I think we are going to do this year. We have a great team with great personnel, the 2011 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup is a strong car, and I think Craig and I are going to make for a very strong driving lineup this year.

Craig Stanton

I’m ecstatic that win, lose, or draw, our guys put their best effort into this program. They really brought their A++ game to this race and it really showed throughout the weekend because the car was so good and so easy to drive. What I’m taking away from this race is a lot of confidence that these guys are going to give us a great car all year and we will be able to contend for a championship.

Richard Lietz

The car was perfect from the first practice I had in the car. We should have won this race, but finishing fourth is still a strong result. It was bad luck, we run the curbs a thousand times and one time it damages the car, but everyone worked really hard to get the car back on track and the guys did a good job to drive up to fourth.

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 charges through field before daybreak in Daytona

January 30, 2011 (Daytona Beach, Florida) – It was a long night for the team in green, as Magnus Racing would find itself in a race against the clock to claw back time lost in the pits making repairs to the no. 44 Magnus Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.

Shortly before 11:00 PM ET, with Craig Stanton at the wheel, the car came to a stop between NASCAR turn four and the pit line entry. The car had been struggling with a broken header throughout Stanton’s stint at the wheel, and threw off the fuel mixture enough to make the car come up a few hundred crucial yards short of the pits. Being towed to the garage, the Magnus Racing crew sprang into action and needed ten laps to replace the broken header, returning the car to action with John Potter at the wheel in thirteenth position, thirteen laps behind the leader.

Cycling through all of the team’s four drivers through the night, the Magnus Racing Porsche was consistently one of the fastest GT-class cars in the field, clicking off trouble free laps and making steady progress through the field. Slowed only by a routine brake change, the team’s progress was finally stopped by a nearly three-hour full course caution period for fog. Emerging from the fog in seventh place when the race went green again, Marco Holzer moved the no. 44 Magnus Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup into sixth place shortly before 9:00 AM EST.

With six and a half hours of racing remaining, the team expects all of its drivers to be behind the wheel at least one more time before the checkered flag falls at 3:30 PM EST.

DRIVER QUOTES

Richard Lietz

The car felt perfect during my stints. The power was good and it is fast and very fun to drive. But the traffic is something else, it’s the worst traffic I have ever seen in Daytona. At times it seems very dangerous, but this is what it is all about. We just have to not have any more problems and we can still get a good result.

Craig Stanton

All of the guys did a great job through the night. John, Richard, and Marco were able to go really fast but keep the nose of the car clean and minimize time in the pits. The handling of the car has definitely changed a bit since we had to pull the swaybar off, but everyone has found a way to make it work and post competitive times. There’s still a lot of racing left so the goal is still to just be smooth and consistent and work out way forward.

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Magnus Racing leads early going at Rolex 24 at Daytona

January 29, 2011 (Daytona Beach, FL) – Starting from the third position for the 2011 Rolex 24 at Daytona, Craig Stanton showed from the drop of the green that the no. 44 Magnus Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup had some serious speed as he needed four laps to move into the lead of the GT class battle.

Once clear of the rest of the field, Stanton began to extend an advantage throughout the opening stages before pitting under yellow and handing the car over to John Potter. Potter enjoyed a trouble-free stint running in the top ten as several teams ran alternate fuel pit strategies and handed the car over to Austrian Richard Lietz during a full course caution.

Lietz stint would be the first time the Magnus Racing Porsche encountered difficulty as, while running in second position, he ran over debris that was left on the track in the bus stop from previous incidents. The debris broke the rear swaybar of the car, requiring Lietz to pit under green. The Magnus Racing crew jumped into action and needed two laps to remove the swaybar, which was dragging under the car, and send Lietz back on his way.

Lietz continued through another stint before handing the car over to German Marco Holzer. Holzer’s stint was trouble free and he turned the car back over to Craig Stanton at around 9:00 PM ET. As of 9:30 ET, Craig Stanton had the Magnus Racing Porsche running in ninth position, two laps behind the GT class leader.

DRIVER QUOTES

Craig Stanton

The car was so hooked up in the beginning of the race, it was so fun to drive and an awesome feeling to lead the Rolex 24. It wasn’t the prettiest drive I’ve ever done but it got the job done and I didn’t have to push the car that hard, which shows just how good it is. The whole Magnus Racing crew really deserves a great result for how hard they have worked on this car because it is really a rocket. Especially with the new pavement, the car is really a joy to drive.

John Potter

My stint was uneventful, except for the odd Daytona Prototype, but things are going really well. It’s a long race and there is still a lot that can happen, as we saw when Richard ran over the debris. As we learned last year it’s a long race and we have plenty of time to make up lost time and lost positions if we just keep out of trouble and keep the car underneath us.

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Magnus Racing’s Green Machine to line up third for Rolex 24 at Daytona

January 27, 2010 (Daytona Beach, FL) – A long winter of testing and development showed its first dividends for Magnus Racing as Craig Stanton drove the team’s No. 44 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup to third in qualifying for this weekend’s Rolex 24 at Daytona.

Stanton’s run was his personal best qualifying performance for the Rolex 24. He will be competing for the twelfth time in the twice-around-the-clock Florida classic when he takes the green flag on Saturday at 3:30 PM. His team’s fortunes are already massively improved over the 2010 race, the first ever for the team, when a mechanic problem during qualifying caused them to qualify well down in the order.

“These guys prepared a really, really good Porsche,” said Stanton afterwards. “I didn’t have to push to eleven-tenths to get a good time out of the car because it is so hooked up and so easy to drive. We have been working on race pace and long stints ever since we got the car and all the work that our engineering staff has been putting in is really showing off. We’re gonna drive straight to the front with this car!”

Stanton will begin the race in the car that he will share with team owner John Potter and Porsche factory drivers Marco Holzer and Richard Lietz. Holzer and Lietz spend the duration of the Thursday night session behind the wheel of the no. 44, and both reported positively on the handling of the car. Holzer will be making his second start at the Rolex 24, while Lietz has competed multiple times including last season where he helped Magnus Racing to a fifth place finish in the debut of John Potter as a team owner.

“It’s really great for the crew and everyone on the team that we have been able to perform so well from the very beginning this weekend,” said Potter. “Of course, this is a long race where qualifying means very little, but we changed very little for the qualifying session so we know the car has a lot of speed for the long stints. It is great for the team and makes us very excited for the rest of the year as well.”

The team will continue testing and preparation throughout Friday, with the green flag for this year’s Rolex 24 dropping at 3:30 PM ET on Saturday afternoon. The team will host an interactive blog on the team’s website at www.magnusracing.com throughout the 24 hour contest where fans can interact directly with the team and its drivers.

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.



Its not watch shopping, its watch hunting as Magnus Racing heads to Rolex 24 at Daytona

January 24, 2011 (Salt Lake City, Utah) – One year removed from their GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 debut, Magnus Racing is returning to the famed Florida endurance classic with a clear goal – for the team’s drivers to return home with a Rolex Daytona Cosmograph on their wrists.

In the 2010 edition of the race, the team overcame several hurdles in the first few hours, falling to seventeenth in the GT class. With the crew working tirelessly to keep the no. 44 Magnus Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup going, the team rallied through the night and through the next day to finish a strong fifth.

After a successful test at the Roar Before the 24, Magnus Racing’s John Potter, residing in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Craig Stanton, from Long Beach, California, will be joined by Porsche factory drivers Marco Holzer, from Germany, and Richard Lietz, from Austria. Lietz competed in last year’s Rolex 24 at Daytona with Magnus Racing, and was with at the wheel when the no. 44 Magnus Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup took the checkered flag in fifth position.  Holzer, recently named as a Porsche factory driver, is making his second appearance at the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The 24-year-old German teamed with Potter and Stanton in the 2009 race.

Potter, Magnus Racing’s team owner, is thrilled with the progress that the team made in its first season and with the momentum that it carries to Daytona after a successful winter of testing and development with its new 2011 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.

“It was really gratifying that Porsche thought enough of our program to entrust us with two of their factory drivers,” said Potter. “We’ve been very happy with our new Porsche and have been focused on the testing and development of the car. I think we have a very, very strong package thanks to our partnership with Porsche – their cars always do well in any endurance contest and we know how well Craig, Marco, and Richard can do in these twenty-four hour races.”

Stanton, whose preparation for the race involved a twenty-four hour workout session, is enthused at participating in his twelfth Rolex 24 at Daytona.

“I’ve never been so excited about heading to Daytona for the 24 Hour,” said Stanton. “This is the strongest lineup and best team I have been a part of yet. We were really happy with our test at Daytona and with how dialed in we are with the new Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. I’m really looking forward to racing with Marco and Richard again – both are great guys who will definitely help John and me, and they’re some of the fastest guys around.”

Fans of Magnus Racing will be able to interact directly with the team throughout the Rolex 24 at Daytona via the team’s Live Blog, which will be available at www.magnusracing.com. Fans will be able to ask questions and that the team’s staff and drivers will answer throughout the entire 24 hour contest.

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.