Thank you to my family, friends, and the Magnus Racing Nation for all your support at the Daytona 24hr.  It's been an amazing 3.5 months to go from just the idea to create a first-class race team, to a 5th place finish at the biggest race of the year.  Stay-tuned for more to come!

Check out the pictures and press releases at www.MagnusRacing.com

 

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - Lining up for next season's GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series will be a new team with some familiar faces behind the wheel, as Magnus Racing will debut the No. 44 Porsche 997 GT3 in the Rolex Series GT class for drivers John Potter and Craig Stanton.  

Utah resident Potter, who took his first professional victory in last year's GRAND-AM KONI Sports Car Challenge, and had a highest finish of fourth in the Rolex Sports Car series, will enter his second full season of Rolex competition.

Californian Stanton, a champion in the Rolex Sports Car Series and KONI Challenge,  is widely known as a Porsche specialist and has driven with Potter in the Rolex Series in a GT class Porsche since 2008. Together, the two finished fifth this year at Watkins Glen and Miller Motorsports Park.  

"There will be a couple of things about this program that will be different from most teams in GRAND-AM," said Stanton. "John has put together the right equipment and staff for us to be fast out of the box and be one of the leading teams in GRAND-AM. One of the great things about John is that, as competitive as we all are and as much as we want to win races for us and for Porsche, he always makes sure that the team is having a great time. I'm sure we will be doing things a little bit differently than everyone else and I can't wait for Daytona."  

While Magnus Racing is committed to achieving results on the track, it is equally committed to keeping life exciting and fun off of it. Potter has raised plenty of eyebrows for his unique campaigns, t-shirts, and hero cards - including his "Utah's McDreamy" shirts that were a huge hit at the 2008 Miller Motorsports Park event - or the sponsorship of his Porsche by "Craig Stanton's ‘Touch of Grey'" during the 2009 event at Miller.

"Suffice to say that the fans of Magnus Racing and of the Rolex Sports car Series can expect more of the same in 2010," said Stanton.  

Formed in 2006, Magnus Racing was formed by Potter to develop race cars and compete in a variety of racing series, from the club level through professional endurance racing. The Rolex Sports Car Series represents the highest level of competition yet for Potter's team.  

"It's a big step up to run our own program in the Rolex Sports Car Series," said Potter. "But it is the right move for me and I couldn't be more excited. After driving with Craig for the past season and a half he was the natural choice as my teammate. We work very well together and I am excited to see what the new season will hold for us. We also have a lot of fun stuff planned for the fans of Magnus Racing - having our own program means we can really go nuts this year!"  

The team is currently preparing for the Dec. 8-9 test at Daytona International Speedway. The team will unveil its driver lineup for the Rolex 24 At Daytona ahead of the Roar Before the Rolex 24, scheduled for January 8-10.  

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 inquires can be directed to press@magnusracing.com.

ORMOND BEACH, Fla.  - After running a limited season of GRAND-AM KONI Sports Car Challenge competition in 2009, BGB Motorsports will return for a full season of competition in 2010.

With more news to follow in the coming months regarding further changes to the team's current program, they've announced that Steve Jenkins of Glenview, Ill. will join 2005 Rolex GT Series Champion Craig Stanton, driving a Porsche in what is expected to be one of the most competitive season in KONI Challenge Grand Sport (GS) history.

"This is very exciting news for us," said BGB Motorsports team manager John Tecce. "Steve and I have gotten to be friends in and out of the paddock over the last few seasons and we've all followed his driving and the development of his race craft.  Steve also understands the business of racing, as he and Mark [Boden] created Fall-Line Motorsports' KONI Challenge program from scratch, turning it into a GRAND-AM series fixture.  His insights will be an asset to the program and I think that he and Craig will make a very strong driver pairing. With what's in store for the class in 2010, we're going to need it!"

Ever since he started competing in 2006, Jenkins' KONI Challenge experience has always been behind the wheel of a BMW M3. However, Jenkins took it upon himself to run a season of GT2 competition at the National level with the SCCA, driving a Porsche 996 GT3 Cup car.  He said he enjoyed driving the Porsche and knew that in racing, it's always better to be as versatile as possible. The next logical step, he said, was to try his hand at driving a Porsche at the professional level in the KONI Sports Car Challenge.

"I'm super pumped up to drive with Craig and BGB," Jenkins said. "I really appreciate the opportunity that John Moore and John Tecce have given me here. I've admired Craig's professionalism and fitness regiment from afar for the last few years.  To have the opportunity to drive with him, and learn from him is just awesome. John Tecce and the BGB team have always been my buddies in the paddock, and I have no reservations about fitting in and going fast with them right off the bat. It's surely going to be odd at first to race against my former team [Fall-Line Motorsports], but were still friends, so hopefully it will be fun."

BGB Motorsports is an ambitious, professional motorsports business.  The team's facility is located less than 15 miles from Daytona International Speedway and the headquarters for GRAND-AM Road Racing. The team operates as a customer-oriented business, running cars with GRAND-AM, Sports Car Club of America and Porsche Club of America sanctioning bodies.

For more information, photos, and videos, visit http://www.bgbmotorsports.com.

For TRG’s John Potter and Craig Stanton, a power steering failure led to a hard-fought day, overcoming the odds to an impressive fifth place.

“Towards the end of my stint the power steering started to fade and eventually just stopped,” stated Potter, the local hero of the race. “Craig did an amazing job to run the rest of the race with no power steering, and I’m pretty happy with a fifth out of today.”

Stanton enjoys trouble-free run in Long Beach

April 20, 2009 (Long Beach, Calif.) -- Eyebrows were raised when Craig Stanton of Long Beach, Calif., wheeled his #07 Aasco Motorsports Porsche GT3 Cup to a ninth-place starting position for Sunday's ACS Grand Prix of Long Beach presented by Lala Motorsports at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. As one of the competitors in the GT3 Cup Shootout, Stanton displaced several faster and more powerful World Challenge cars in the Sunday morning qualifying session, while also qualifying first in the GT3 Cup Shootout.

"The car was really good this morning," said Stanton after the session. "We learned more in the last practice session and got more speed out of this Porsche. The team and I were trying really hard to get the most out of qualifying, since that standing start is going to be wild. I can't wait!"

Stanton would sit through Indy Lights, Formula Drift, and IndyCar competition before he was strapped back in his Porsche GT3 Cup for the afternoon 50-minute race. Despite his relative lack of experience with standing starts, Stanton got away cleanly and held his ninth place position into and out of turn one. Traffic behind him allowed him to build a gap before the long front straightaway -- where his horsepower disadvantage showed the most -- allowing him to focus on putting in clean laps and catching the cars ahead.

However, an early-race yellow flag bunched up the field, and on the restart there was little Stanton could do as several more powerful cars simply motored by on the long Long Beah front straightaway. After being displaced by the Corvette of Tony Gaples and the Vipers of Jeff Courtney and Ritch Marziale, Stanton was able to retake one position thanks to lapped traffic. He then ran trouble-free to the checkered flag, finishing Sunday's race in eleventh overall and winning the GT3 Cup Shootout. Clearly punching above his weight in his Porsche GT3 Cup, Stanton's Aasco Motorsports car received significant airtime as he gave chase to the Vipers of Courtney and Marziale.

"That was a really, really fun race," said Stanton, all smiles after the race. "This little Porsche ran great the whole time, thanks to this great Aasco Motorsports team. They put a lot of work into making it fast around Long Beach, and it showed. It was fun to drive here and mix it up with the Speed World Challenge guys. This was a great experience -- to race here, close to home, with all of my friends and family that came out to support us. And this is a great series. I hope I am back sometime soon."

The ACS Grand Prix of Long Beach presented by Lala Motorsports will be broadcast Friday, May 22 at 2pm on SPEED Channel.

-credit: csPR