Magnus Racing used a third place finish at Sunday’s Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen to stretch its lead in the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series GT class from two to six points. The No. 44 Magnus Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car driven by Andy Lally (Dacula, Ga.), John Potter (Salt Lake City, Utah) and Porsche factory driver Richard Lietz (Austria) moved onto the podium on the final lap of the six hour endurance race at Watkins Glen International in the Finger Lakes region of New York. The No. 73 Park Place Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car captured a second spot in the top 10 finishing eighth. The TruSpeed Motorsports entry would lead the remaining Porsche customer teams in 12th while Muehlner Motorsports America was 15th and Snow Racing with Wright Motorsports closed the weekend 16th in class. Check out the full race report after the picture gallery.
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Magnus Racing is yet to win a race in 2013
However, consistently strong finishes have kept the team on or near the podium all season and at the top of the team and driver standings. That consistency was needed when an extended yellow flag in the race’s second hour forced the team to make an “emergency” stop for fuel when the pits were closed. Allowed to receive only five seconds of gasoline, Lally had to make another stop when the pit lane was opened for all GT competitors. The team utilized that second stop to put Porsche works driver and 2013 24 Hours of Le Mans GTE-Pro class winner Lietz in to rest Lally for the closing laps. Lietz was able to move the No. 44 back into the top-three handing the car back to Lally for the final hour. As teams jockeyed for position and made late race stops to ensure they saw the finish, Magnus made its final stop for fuel and tires with 36 minutes remaining and was able to overtake third place on the white flag lap to capture the podium. The No. 44 now leads today’s race winner, the No. 57 Stevenson Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro, 199 points to 193 in the team championship. The No. 69 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 458 also has 193 markers but has less wins that Stevenson.
“What a finish! We actually had a crazy last lap to get on the podium, but I’m glad I was able to deliver for everyone at Flex-Box and on the team,” celebrated Lally after the race. “It was a tough fight all day, but we really pushed hard to keep Porsche up top. This was a true team effort, there wasn’t a pit stop all day where we didn’t gain several positions.”
Confusion Caused by “Wave-By” Hurts Park Place Motorsports
Confusion caused by a “wave-by” – a procedure that helps group classes of cars under caution periods – would hurt Park Place Motorsports’ day. The team of Patrick Lindsey (Santa Barbara, Calif.), Porsche factory driver Patrick Long (Playa del Rey, Calif.) and Bryan Sellers (Braselton, Ga.) ran in the top three with both Long and Sellers behind the wheel. However, the team was penalized for passing the safety car under the caution, costing them two laps. The first year team was able to gain back a lap but not the second. They now sit eighth in the team championship after seven of 12 rounds.
- Making only its second start of the season, the No. 80 TruSpeed Porsche of Kelly Collins (Newport Beach, Calif.), Tom Haacker (Santa Ana, Calif.) and D. Bryce Miller (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) finished 12th in class.
- 15th in class went to the No. 18 Muelhner Motorsports America of Chilean drivers Edurado Costabal and Eliseo Salazar who were joined by young Colin Thompson (DeLand, Fla.) in his first Rolex Series race.
- Closing the finishing order was the No. 62 Snow Racing with Wright Motorsports of Andrew Davis (Athens, Ga.), Madison Snow (Lehi, Utah) and Jan Heylen (Belgium) in 16th.
GRAND-AM Race Results in the GT Class
1. No. 57 John Edwards/Cincinnati, Ohio; Robin Liddell/England, Stevenson Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro – 164 laps
2. No. 69 Emil Assentato/Locust Valley, NY; Leh Keen/Charleston, S.C.; Anthony Lazzaro/Acworth, Ga., AIM Autosport Ferrari 458 – 164 laps
3. No. 44 Andy Lally/Newport, NY; John Potter/Salt Lake City, Utah; Richard Lietz (Austria), Magnus Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup – 164 laps
4. No. 94 Bill Auberlen/Redondo Beach, Calif.; Paul Dalla Lana/Toronto; Bill Johnson/Mooresville, N.C., Turner Motorsports BMW M3 – 164 laps
5. No. 63 Alessandro Balzan/Italy; Jeff Westphal/San Carlos, Calif.; Craig Stanton/Long Beach, Calif., Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 458 – 164 laps
6. No. 03 Guy Cosmo/Riviera Beach, Fla.; Johannes von Overbeek/Oakland, Calif.; Mike Hedlund/Woodside, Calif., Extreme Speed Motorsports Ferrari 458 – 163 laps
7. No. 31 Eric Curran/Holyoke, Mass.; Boris Said/Escondido, Calif., Marsh Racing Chevrolet Corvette – 163 laps
8. No. 73 Patrick Lindsey/Santa Barbara, Calif.; Patrick Long/Playa del Rey, Calif.; Bryan Sellers/Braselton, Ga., Park Place Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 Cup – 163 laps
9. No. 24 Edoardo Mortara/Switzerland; Filipe Albuquerque/Portugal; Dion von Moltke/Coral Gables, Fla., Audi Sport Customer Racing Audi R8 – 162 laps
10. No. 56 Robert Kauffman/Greenwich, CT; Rui Aguas/Italy, AF – Waltrip Ferrari 458 – 162 laps
12. No. 80 Tom Haacker/Santa Ana, Calif.; Kelly Collins/Newport Beach, Calif.; D Bryce Miller/Laguna Niguel, Calif., TruSpeed Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 Cup – 161 laps
15. No. 18 Eduardo Costabal/Chile; Eliseo Salazar/Chile; Colin Thompson/DeLand, Fla., Muehlner Motorsports America Porsche 911 GT3 Cup – 145 laps
16. No. 62 Andrew Davis/Athens, Ga.; Madison Snow/Lehi, Utah; Jen Heylen/Belgium, Snow Racing with Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 Cup – 3 laps
Team Point Standings – GT Class
1. No. 44 Magnus Racing – 199 points
2. No. 57 Stevenson Motorsports – 193
3. No. 63 Scuderia Corsa – 193
4. No. 69 AIM Autosport – 187
5. No. 94 Turner Motorsports – 185
6. No. 61 R.Ferri/Aim Motorsports – 163
7. No. 31 Marsh Racing – 158
8. No. 73 Park Place Motorsports – 152
9. No. 93 Turner Motorsports – 144
10. No. 18 Muehlner Motorsports America – 142
Manufacturer Point Standings – GT Class
1. 212 Ferrari
2. 205 Porsche
3. 190 Chevrolet
4. 184 BMW
6. 14 Mazda
The next round of the 2013 Rolex Series season comes at the world famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 26th. The Brickyard Grand Prix will be the final race of the North American Endurance Championship (NAEC). The championship within a championship crowns the most consistent top performer in GRAND-AM races three hours or longer. Magnus Racing won the inaugural NAEC in 2012 with a victory on the Indy road course.
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