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Magnus Racing heads for PWC with two Audis

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Magnus Racing will, in fact, saddle back up for another tour of racing in 2017. The difference is, rather than competing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship as they have since 2014 (and its forerunner, the GRAND-AM Rolex Series, prior to that since 2010), the team that balances humor and professionalism in equal doses will now run a two-car effort in Pirelli World Challenge.

Magnus will have a two-car Audi R8 LMS program. Team owner John Potter will be one of the cars, with an Audi Sport customer racing factory driver to be revealed at a later date in the second car.

As PWC shifts formats to both Sprint (50-minute races, on IndyCar weekends, one driver) and SprintX (60-minute races, standalone weekends, two drivers), Magnus will compete in both components.

“When evaluating our options for 2017, we thought it was a good opportunity to pursue a new challenge,” stated Magnus Racing team owner and driver John Potter. “When I consider that I’ve driven in pro racing for 10 years, I realized that very little of it has been in a sprint format, and the timing seems right to see how we enjoy it.

“This will be a new era for the team, not only because of the new series, but with the emphasis on sprint racing and solo driving we have to take a whole new approach. Running a two-car team has been an ambition of ours since the beginning, and while we’ve had some experience with two-car programs at The Rolex 24 at Daytona, the unique format of the Pirelli World Challenge provides us an opportunity to really explore this.

“We really appreciate the friendly and open nature of everyone we’ve met in the Pirelli World Challenge so far, and of course to everyone at Audi for their renewed partnership.”

Magnus’ IMSA run has ended after last year’s Petit Le Mans, following the team’s second post-race penalty assessed in the final three races. Although Potter’s co-driver Andy Lally delivered a storming final stint that saw him pass Jeroen Bleekemolen for the GTD class win, Magnus was dropped to the rear of the field following a minimum drive-time violation where Potter, the paired Silver-rated driver, did not complete his necessary time. A ride height infraction at VIR after contact from another car two races earlier saw the team score no points altogether.

For Pirelli World Challenge President/CEO Greg Gill, the opportunity to bring in a team with the heritage and character of Magnus Racing is a welcome one.

“We are extremely honored to have the team at Magnus Racing join our series for 2017,” Gill said. “Their success on-track speaks for itself, and coupled with their reputation for fan engagement and off-track fun is something we really enjoy, and we’re confident the team will have a great experience here.”

Tristan Herbert, Manager of Motorsport and Customer Racing at Audi of America, hailed Magnus’ contribution to the manufacturer. After running Porsches for years, Magnus won its Audi debut at last year’s Rolex 24 at Daytona.

“The strength of Magnus Racing became instantly apparent when we won our first race together, at the biggest event of the year.” Herbert said. “From there the team has seemed to go from strength to strength, and it’s been impressive to watch how they operate.”

The Magnus confirmation joins the CRP Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 (Ryan Dalziel) and GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R (Jon Fogarty) as high profile either team or car additions to the GT championship this year. RealTime Racing has also added SprintX drivers Mark Wilkins and Tom Dyer to complement full-season drivers Ryan Eversley and Peter Kox in their two Acura NSX GT3s.

Plenty of other GT class confirmations should follow from other manufacturers over the next couple months, before the St. Petersburg season weekend opener March 10-12.

Follow @TonyDiZinno