Per the pending announcement from Audi Sport, Magnus Racing is happy to confirm their return to the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship for the full 2018 season. Re-uniting drivers John Potter and Andy Lally, the team will continue with the No. 44 Audi R8 LMS GT3, adding Andrew Davis for the full North American Endurance Cup (NAEC), as well as Markus Winkelhock for the upcoming Rolex 24 at Daytona.
“We’re excited to return to IMSA competition and our endurance roots,” stated Magnus Racing team owner and driver John Potter. “Obviously Magnus has enjoyed a number of successes throughout the years of IMSA and formerly GRAND-AM, and in our first season with Audi in 2016 we had one of our best seasons to date. Returning to the series for 2018, we feel stronger than ever, not only with an incredibly fast car but also the same crew that took us to victory in 2016, as well as an incredible lineup in Andy, Markus and Andrew. The support from Audi over the years has obviously been a big factor, from winning in our first race together at Daytona, to helping the secure the Intercontinental GT Challenge title last October, it’s been a relationship that has proven fruitful and instantly competitive. With our team, I feel very fortunate to be surrounded by such an incredible group, and we hope we can begin with immediate success.”
Following a one-year absence in another series, the team is poised to return to IMSA following a tremendous 2016 run with Audi. In their first race together, the team would take a tremendous victory at the 2016 season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona en route to the North American Endurance Cup Team Championship, ultimately taking two victories and the distinction of being the only Audi team to take victory that season.
Prior to that, the history of Magnus Racing in endurance racing is one of rich success on the track and fun off the track. Making their debut at the 2010 Rolex 24 at Daytona, the team has become one of the longest running private teams in the sport, with accolades that include taking the first-ever North American Endurance Cup (2012), winning the 50th Running of the Rolex 24 at Daytona (2012), the 12 Hours of Sebring (2014), the Inaugural Brickyard Grand Prix, and a grand total of seven professional sportscar victories. Additionally, the team’s reputation for fan interaction and antics has earned them the distinction as a constant favorite, including being voted the “Team to Win” award by fans for the entirety of the 2014 season.
Adding to the tradition, the reunification of drivers John Potter and Andy Lally is one rich with success, dating back to Lally’s first race with the team in 2012 at Daytona where he would win on debut. Earning six of the team’s wins together, the tradition actually began in 2009, where as teammates on another team the duo would take John Potter’s first-ever win in professional sports car.
For Andy Lally, the return to Magnus is one he’s looked forward to for some time.
“I couldn’t be happier to return to my family at Magnus,” stated Lally. “Some of my best memories in my career are with the team, and it’s great to return with them in 2018. I would really like to express my gratitude to Michael Shank Racing and HPD for a tremendous 2017, and it was not an easy decision to return to John Potter and everyone at Magnus, but it felt like the right move. There’s a lot in motion right now, but I believe we’ll immediately be in a position to contend, and I’m excited to get the season going.”
Joining the team for all four rounds of the North American Endurance Cup, Andrew Davis will take to the wheel as an endurance specialist with the team. No stranger to success or Audi machinery, Davis is one of the most experienced drivers in the paddock, winning the former GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Championship in 2011, as the most recent IMSA driver to win in Audi machinery during last year’s round at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Beyond his success away from Magnus, Andrew is also a team veteran, driving with the team during their American Le Mans Series debut in 2010, and most recently throughout the Pirelli World Challenge’s SprintX championship alongside John Potter.
For Davis, the opportunity to contend for an NAEC crown is one he relishes.
“I couldn’t be more thankful for the opportunity to join Magnus and contend for all four NAEC rounds,” stated Davis. “Obviously I’ve worked with the team going back to 2010, and I’ve known many of the guys on the team even further than that, so to be engaged in the full Endurance Cup is something I really look to perform in. The Audi R8 LMS GT3 is an incredible car, and given my experience in the same machine over the last two years, I’m looking forward to getting behind the wheel.”
Additionally, long-time Audi Sport driver Markus Winkelhock will join the team for the Rolex 24 at Daytona. A veteran of Formula 1 and an assortment of sports car ranks, the factory driver last drove with Magnus during the October round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, where he and the team took victory.
While official practice for the season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona begins on Thursday, January 25, the real work actually begins this weekend for the famed Roar Before the 24, a three-day test taking place from January 5-7, 2017.
