|
|
 |
|
| | | By Jan Magnussen Presse - Jan Kaiser - 02-02-2010 | | |  | | Jan Magnussen. Photo: Jan Kaiser. | |
Even in his sixth attempt Jan Magnussen did not succeed in being the owner of the coveted Rolex Daytona watch that you’ll win if you pass the chequered flag in first place in the American long distance classic 24 hours race at Daytona, Florida.
Jan Magnussen was driving for the American team Stevenson Motorsport, who debuted the new Chevrolet Camaro GT.R. in that race. Apart from being a new car, Jan Magnussen and his two teammates in the car – Briton Robin Liddell and the American Andrew Davis - played a big role in the fight for the victory. Unfortunately it ended in the same way as the last four years with the Magnussen car being in the receiving end of bad luck and thereby missing out on victory in the GT class.
The race started Saturday 3.30 PM local time in pouring rain with Liddell behind the wheel. Liddell drove a fantastic first stint and managed to move from the 12th starting position into the lead. Unfortunately the team was hit by a bad stroke of luck with a safetycar period just as they drove into the pit. In that way they lost a lap. The team fought hard to unlap themselves which Jan Magnussen cracked when he came into the car for the first time. It would not be the last time that Jan Magnussen delivered a super performance as he in his night stint got the car into the lead again.
Over night the team managed to build up the lead to almost two laps, but just as Jan Magnussen prepared for his next stint after 15½ hours the gearbox cried enough. The penalty was almost an hour in the pit and by that the team could no longer fight for victory. The team continued in the race although far behind the leaders, but they drove as fast as possible to grab the best finish the could to give Liddell and Davis a good strong position in the Grand-Am championship. In his last stint Jan Magnussen drove the fastest lap for the car in the race which in the end with barely 4 minutes left resulted in a fine fourth place all things considered.
"It is so ridiculous" a very disappointed Jan Magnussen said after the race. "It is just like that I’m not allowed to win this race. I can only say the same as I have said in the last four years. We drove a fast race and had a good car that could have won the race, but unfortunately we ran into problems that made the victory evaporate. Just like last year it was not a driver mistake, that played against us, but problems from the outside. From my first stint I could feel that the gearbox acted strange. After my second stint it hadn’t got any worse so I actually thought that he could get us all the way, but it shouldn’t end like that. The repair of the gearbox cost almost an hour in the pit and that was impossible to catch up. We continued to keep up the pressure, as the points are important to my teammates and that paid in the end. After all it was positive that I could help with getting some points for my teammates. They have been good to drive with and the team has fought hard to get the two cars ready, so it was a pity that the gearbox effectively put us out of the game."
|
|
|
|
