Magnus Racing Finishes Seventh in Sebring | |
- Magnus Racing Finishes Seventh in Sebring
- Flying Lizards 8 Hour update from Sebring
- Craig Stanton wheels Magnus Racing Porsche to second on GT-C grid at Sebring
| Magnus Racing Finishes Seventh in Sebring Posted: 20 Mar 2011 11:13 AM PDT Magnus Racing's start to the 12 Hours couldn't have been any better. Good friend, Craig Stanton put the Flex-Box Porsche 911 GT3 Cup into second during qualifying. From the drop of the green, Craig John and Matthew would motor on, swapping drivers and positions. Leading the class in the eighth hour, Potter was hit resulting in radiator, tire and body damage. The crew was able to get the Porsche back out, coming home in seventh. Prior to the start of the 59th Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring, the wing endplates of the no.077 Magnus Racing / Flex-Box Porsche 911 GT3 Cup were decorated with decals that proudly stated 'Party Barge Sebring'. The decals were placed in honor of team fueler Bruce Sallet's yearly tradition as part of the 'Turn 10' crowd at the 12 Hours of Sebring – unable to take part this year due to his duties with Magnus Racing, the team's car would now be known as the 'Party Barge'. Craig Stanton put Magnus Racing's Porsche second in the GT-C field during qualifying, in his return to the circuit for the first time since 2008. He was also tasked with starting the race and after a clean start, he spent the first several laps behind polesitter Leh Keen before moving the Party Barge into the lead for the first time. Magnus Racing team owner John Potter relieved Stanton after his first stint, and as differing pitstop strategies began to play out Potter spent the duration of his stint in third place but turned the car over to Hong Kong's Matthew Marsh in second. Putting in quick times, Marsh also moved into the lead and maintained it throughout his time at the wheel. Another turn at the wheel for Stanton saw the no.077 machine move solidly into the lead as the race moved into its eighth hour. Unfortunately, that's when the party would come to an end. After a restart, Potter was hit in turn eleven while being lapped by an LMP1 car, puncturing the radiator and front tire and causing significant front bodywork damage. Used to working miracles, the Magnus Racing crew took the car back to the hauler and repaired the damage, returning Potter to the race but suffering a loss of fifteen laps. After that, it was smooth sailing home for the team but despite Marsh's and Stanton's best efforts, the best the car would do was seventh in the class that it had dominated throughout the day. The car did see the checkered flag, however, an accomplishment in its own right at the team's first attempt at the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring. Magnus Racing will compete next at the Rolex Sports Car Series' Porsche 250 at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama. They enter as the points leader in the GT class. The week after, however, they will return to ALMS GT-C competition at the Grand Prix of Long Beach in Long Beach, California. John Potter – Owner, Magnus Racing
Craig Stanton – Driver, no.077 Magnus Racing / Flex-Box Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
Matthew Marsh – Driver, no.077 Magnus Racing / Flex-Box Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
Race highlights will be shown Sunday, March 20, at 12:30-2:30 PM ET on ABC. The entire race will also be available on demand soon at AmericanLeMans.com. Photos: © 2010 Darren Pierson | Buy Prints           - Magnus Racing Related posts: |
| Flying Lizards 8 Hour update from Sebring Posted: 19 Mar 2011 03:40 PM PDT With four hours left to go in the twelve-hour race, the No. 45 Flying Lizard Porsche is P8 and the No. 44 is P10. Patrick Long is currently in the No. 45 for his second stint, and Marco Holzer is in the No. 44. The season-opener of the ALMS has proved to be a tough one – teams have navigated a constant stream of cautions caused by on track incidents. The No. 45′s string of bad luck started early in the race when an incident with the No. 45 and the No. 04 sent both cars back in the field and collected the No. 01 Extreme Ferrari, which was retired. By the 4-hour mark, the No. 45 had worked its way back up to P7. Bad luck struck again when Joerg Bergmeister took over from Marc Lieb for Joerg's second stint of the race. A scheduled change of the cool suit ice went awry, starting a cascade of events. On his outlap, under yellow, Joerg went off course, flat-spotting his right rear tire, an unusual event for Joerg. Several laps later, Joerg radioed in that the racecar had began to misfire. He was able to continue, but then had to pit early for new tires. In the pits, it took several tries to get the car to restart. While Joerg headed out to complete his stint, the engineers were working to diagnose the problem. As the misfires continued to build, Joerg was force to pit yet again. The engineers had determined that an electrical component had been damaged by water from the cool suit and were able to replace it on Joerg's last pit stop. After a driver change, nearly 7 hours into the race, Patrick Long headed out for his second stint, now in P9 and two laps down on the GT leader. Meanwhile, the No. 44 held on to its position through the numerous yellows and cycling through Darren Law, Marco Holzer and Seth Neiman. By the 8-hour mark, Patrick had moved up to P8, and the No. 44 was P10. As of 3:30, the No. 56 BMW is in the GT lead. Photos: © 2011 Darren Pierson | Buy Prints             Related posts: |
| Craig Stanton wheels Magnus Racing Porsche to second on GT-C grid at Sebring Posted: 18 Mar 2011 04:28 PM PDT Driving at Sebring for the first time since 2008, Craig Stanton put his Magnus Racing / Flex-Box Porsche 911 GT3 Cup second on the GT-C grid for tomorrow's Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring. His lap narrowly missed the pole time set by Leh Keen by a scant 0.022 of a second. Keen, incidentally, raced for Magnus Racing in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge series throughout 2010. After a long week of testing, the Magnus Racing team was thrilled with their driver and with their front row starting position – especially as this was the team's first trip to the notoriously difficult 3.7-mile Sebring road course. Magnus Racing has one other start in the American Le Mans Series, at the 2010 Petit Le Mans, where Potter was joined by Andrew Davis and Ryan Eversley to finish third in GT-C. John Potter, Magnus Racing Owner and Driver
Craig Stanton, Magnus Racing / Flex-Box Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
Matthew Marsh, Magnus Racing / Flex-Box Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
The 59th Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring will begin tomorrow at 10:30 AM ET and finish when the checkered flag falls at 10:30 PM ET. The race broadcast will begin at 9:45 AM ET on ESPN3.com, with a live audio broadcast available at www.radiolemans.com. - Magnus Racing Related posts: |
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