Magnus Racing scored its first win of the 2013 Grand-Am Sports Car Series season, taking the #44 Porsche 911 GT3 to GT Class glory at Laguna Seca.
The victory saw Magnus Racing go back to the top of the points standings and also gave Porsche its first win of the 2013 season.
Andy Lally and John Potter, driving for Magnus Racing, entered the weekend a single point behind the championship leading Ferrari 458 of Scuderia Corsa. The duo used the pace and efficiency of the Porsche along with a daring pit strategy and intelligent driving to take the lead in both the race and the title hunt.
A strong pit stop saw the team move up four positions and gain valuable track position, before superior fuel mileage allowed them to pull away and take their first win of the 2013 season and go in to the final round of the year with a 13 point lead.
“I can’t tell you how great today was for everyone,” enthused Potter after the race. “Everything just came together perfectly and it’s because of the incredibly hard work that the entire team has put in to this. Great strategy, perfect pit stops and a great drive by Andy just made for an outstanding day. There’s still a lot that can happen in Lime Rock, but we’re in as good a position as we could have asked for.”
Porsche also saw the #73 Park Place Porsche of Patrick Long and Patrick Lindsey battle through to fourth, after a close race with the #63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari. Long passed the Ferrari on the final lap, not only benefiting Park Place, but allowing Magnus Racing to pull further away from the Ferrari team in the championship.
“It was pretty eventful there at the end,” reflected Long. “It was a really good day for Porsche. I think we had a car to race at the front but the yellows didn’t go our way. In the end, it was a great day for our sister car at Magnus. If it’s not us, the first ones we hope have a great day is the 44 so congratulations to them. My race was pretty straightforward. We had great balance in the car, and at the end it was like short track racing. Everyone was out of tires and just sort of muscling around. I was able to get around the 63 on the final lap. We just ran out of time today but I am very proud of the Park Place guys.”