Racing News

Magnus Racing, whose Porsche 911 GT3 Cup won the GT class in the Rolex 24 at Daytona in 2012, will be back with two cars in 2013. One of them will be driven by last year’s winners Andy Lally, John Potter, Porsche factory driver Richard Lietz, and ELMS GT-AM champion Nicolas Armindo.

The second car will be piloted by a crew familiar to BMW race fans; Fall-Line team owner Mark Boden and his drivers Charles Putman, Charles Espenlaub, Al Carter, and Hugh Plumb will switch to Porsche for the weekend. Fall-Line will continue to run its M3s in the Continental Challenge series.

Both Porsches will be on hand for the Roar Before the Rolex 24 practice sessions at Daytona on January 4-6, along with a host of cars that will make up the formidable Rolex Series GT class in 2013. Among them will be a new Rum Bum Audi R8 for Matt Plumb, Frank Biela, Christopher Haase, and Markus Winkelhock, Two Turner Motorsport M3s will be on hand to defend BMW’s honor, with Bill Auberlen, Paul Dalla Lana, and Michael Marsal named as drivers at this point.

SpeedTV.com’s John Dagys reports that the class structure for the combined 2014 Rolex Series and American Le Mans Series will be announced at Daytona on January 4, so the Roar Before the 24 weekend will command the attention of the motorsports community both on and off the track.—Brian S. Morgan