Magnus Racing races to the starting line of the Brumos 250

Magnus Racing's No.44 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup is fixed and will be back in action this weekend at DaytonaJune 29, 2010 (Salt Lake City, Utah) – The summer schedule of the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 is a busy one. The schedule also gets a bit more compressed when a team has less than two weeks to rebuild a destroyed race car.

Magnus Racing left the EMCO Gears Classic at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course with one very damaged Porsche 911 GT3 Cup after John Potter made contact with the concrete wall in turn one after he was hit by a Daytona Prototype. Quickly loaded up, the car traveled from Lexington, Ohio to Long Island where crew chief John Bedell and the staff of Magnus Racing stripped the car and performed the necessary repairs to the green and white Porsche.

Eight days and 175 man-hours after the damaged car was pushed out of the Magnus Racing trailer, the No. 44 Magnus Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup was put back in the trailer for the trek from Long Island to Daytona Beach after receiving extensive repairs to the chassis, suspension, and bodywork of the rear end of the car.

With their race cut short at Mid-Ohio, both Potter and Stanton are looking forward to their return trip to Daytona International Speedway, a high-speed track that favors the characteristics of the Porsche. Despite some early delays and repairs, John Potter and Craig Stanton – partnered with Austria’s Richard Lietz and the Netherlands’ Jeroen Bleekemolen – finished the Rolex 24 at Daytona in a strong fifth position this past January in the team’s GRAND-AM debut.

 “Mid-Ohio was really disappointing, since we were fast in practice and we knew we had a car that would be strong at the end of the race,” said Potter. “I know Craig was also really unhappy about not getting the chance to drive. But after the crash we had an even bigger race – getting the car fixed in time for Daytona! We had to ask the guys to work another miracle and get the car ready in time – no small job, considering the first job was to pull all of the concrete out of the engine…”

The tough finish at Mid-Ohio dropped Potter and Stanton to seventeenth in the GT driver’s championship and Magnus Racing to ninth in the GT team championship. Potter sits fourth in the Bob Akin championship for sportsman drivers in GT Class, after seven rounds of the Rolex Sports Car Series championship.

This weekend’s Brumos Porsche 250 at Daytona will be broadcast on Saturday at 1:00 PM ET on SPEED Channel. Fans of Magnus Racing can follow the team on www.magnusracing.com, at facebook.com/magnusracing, and on twitter at twitter.com/magnusracing (@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.

Mid Ohio Photos now posted

Take a look at our Photos page to see 100+ photos from the EMCO Gears Classic at Mid-Ohio.

Potter and Keen earn first podium for Magnus Racing at Mid-Ohio

June 20, 2010 (Lexington, Ohio) – Two weeks after its most competitive outing yet in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge, the No.44 Magnus Racing Porsche Cayman came good on its competitive promise at the EMCO Gears Classic at Mid Ohio.

When Leh Keen crossed the finish line in second place at the end of the two hour and thirty minute slugfest, he and John Potter, team owner and driver of Magnus Racing, became the first drivers to pilot a Porsche Cayman to a podium in GRAND-AM competition. Beginning the race in 16^th position, Potter advanced several positions before he was hit from behind and spun by another competitor, dropping him well down the order. Potter was able to point the car in the right direction and with assistance from a couple of yellow flags, had the car up to sixth position before handing it over to Leh Keen under yellow. A problem with the pit equipment meant a long stop that dropped the car to 15^th on the restart.

Just like at Watkins Glen two weeks ago, Keen scythed through the field, his progress stopping when he reached the fifth position. A late race caution bunched up the field and contributed to contact between the two leading cars with a lap and a half remaining, which promoted Keen to third. Keen simultaneously made a pass on the car ahead of him, putting the No.44 Magnus Racing Porsche Cayman into second place at the checkered flag.

After Keen and Potter sprayed the champagne in victory circle, Potter jumped into the No.44 Magnus Racing Porsche GT3 Cup that he shares with Craig Stanton for the afternoon’s Rolex Sports Car Series race. The race had barely begun when Potter was hit by a Daytona Prototype as he entered turn one, causing the Porsche to hit the retaining wall. The resulting damage caused the team to retire the car after only 12 laps, the first DNF for the team in the Rolex Sports Car Series this year.

“On one hand, I’m really happy about our result in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge race with our Porsche Cayman,” said Potter at the end of the day. “The team had to work very hard at Watkins Glen, and in the two weeks after Watkins Glen to make the car race ready and it was really good today. I had a really fun first stint, even despite getting hit and spun. Getting hit seems to have been the theme of the day…”

The result in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge was Potter’s third podium in the class, as he carded a class win and a second in GS in the 2009 season. After the pace that Potter and Stanton had in the GT3 throughout practice, the team was hopeful of another strong run in the race.

“In the Rolex race, the Porsche was working really well and I was just trying to run clean laps and stay with the group aehad so I could give Craig a good car for the end,” said Potter. “But, there isn’t much you can do when the prototypes drive like you aren’t there.“

The Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge race will be broadcast next Saturday, at 1:00 PM ET, on SPEED Channel, while next on the calendar for Magnus Racing will be the Brumos Porsche 250, a GT-only race, on July 2-3 at Daytona International Speedway. That race will be broadcast live on SPEED Channel on Saturday July 3 at 11:00 AM ET.

Fans of Magnus Racing can see photo galleries from Watkins Glen on www.magnusracing.com, at facebook.com/magnusracing, and on twitter at twitter.com/magnusracing (@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.



Mid-Ohio Friday Recap

It's been said that the only thing that fixes a rough weekend at the track is a good weekend at the track. Well, you could say that we had a rough weekend two weeks ago at Watkins Glen, so we're looking for a good one here at Mid-Ohio in both the Rolex Sports Car Series and the CTSCC.

Both the GT3 and Cayman were fast out of the box in practice, and things went relatively well throughout the day - except for a trip into the gravel for Craig as he exited turn 11 during second practice. The crew got right to work on replacing the front bumper and splitter, as well as getting about 100lbs of gravel out of the car. Feeling guilty, Craig jumped in with the Shop-Vac to clean out the interior so John could have a nice clean seat to use in the Trueman / Akin practice session.

Afterwards, we had a relatively trouble free qualifying session where John qualified the Cayman in 16th in GS, and the GT3 14th in GT. The CTSCC race begins tomorrow at 1:00 PM ET, and the Rolex Sports Car Series race begins at 5:00 PM ET.

John Potter and Leh Keen on RaceFanRadio.com's Tech House & Speed

Magnus Racing drivers John Potter and Leh Keen were guests on Bill Wood's Tech House & Speed, which airs every Wednesday on RaceFanRadio.com.

If you missed it, the interviews are available in the Multimedia On Demand section of RaceFanRadio.com.