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Magnussen targets another Road America victory

Elkhart Lake wins come in five year cycles for Danish ace.

Jan Magnussen, Antonio Garcia

Jan Magnussen, Antonio Garcia

Emily Rogers

Elkhart Lark, WI, Friday - Corvette Racing ace Jan Magnussen is hoping to continue a five year cycle of victory at Road America this weekend to add to his pair of wins at the classic Wisconsin road course.

Jan Magnussen, Antonio Garcia
Jan Magnussen, Antonio Garcia

Photo by: Emily Rogers

Magnussen won in the GTS class with David Brabham aboard a Ferrari in 2003 and five years later took his second victory in 2008 - this time for Corvette Racing with Johnny O'Connell in the GT1 class.

Another five years later, Magnussen is chasing another first place trophy - this time with Antonio Garcia with Corvette Racing in the GT class.

Magnussen and Garcia finished fourth in the most recent round of the American Le Mans Series at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. The Danish/Spanish duo had to fight from the rear of the pack after a qualifying crash.

The drivers of the No.3 Corvette currently sit third in the 2013 title chase - nine points off teammates Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner and a further five to points leader, BMW's Dirk Muller.

This weekend's Road America event is a double header - both the ALMS and the GRAND-AM Rolex Series competing on the same weekend. Fans will get the chance to see the GRAND-AM series race on Saturday and the ALMS on Sunday.

Jan Magnussen interview:

How kind has Road America been to you in the past? "We've had good results here in the past. Usually this has been a 4-hour event for us but it's now a 2 hour and 45-minute race. It will be a little bit different from previous years, but I think the new distance should suit us to get a good result."

Are you looking forward to having a clean race? "At Mosport, we crashed in qualifying and it affected our end result. If we had started up near the front, we would have had a shot at the win. But considering what happened to us, Antonio and I got the best out of it. We had a really good race. Pit stops and everything were perfect.

To come away with 4th there was a good result for us. This weekend, we're just looking forward to building on these last couple of races where we had good results. With how tight the competition is, as long as you're near the front, your'e in with a chance to win it."

How hard is it going to be to keep up with the vipers with their straight line advantage? "We haven't been out on track yet so it's difficult to say where we're going to be. I have a feeling it is the Vipers that we'll have to watch out for because they have great top speed.

But it still is a 2-hour and 45-minute race. There are a couple of pit stops to get through and strategy will play a part. The Corvette guys have been absolutely fantastic with both, especially the pit stops. Even if we're not the fastest car in a straight line, maybe we can fight with everybody out there."

What's your favorite part of the Road America circuit? "The average speed is quite high here. There are a few legendary corners to this track including the Carousel and the Kink. There are many key areas to this place that makes it great. Just speak to all of the drivers in the pit lane and 90 percent of them will say this is their favorite track."

With an ALMS/GRAND_AM doubleheader this weekend, is it a preview of 2014? "Absolutely. On top of that, maybe even more importantly, the new governing body will get a lot of good data to try and combine all these classes for next year, to make the competition as close and good as it is right now.

There are a lot of good things about this. Anybody who comes to the races this weekend will see how many teams and cars will be part of the series next year. It will be very impressive!

We'll have to wait and see but there's a great atmosphere and feeling in the paddock. I'm sure over the weekend, everyone will get to appreciate all the hard work that goes into every single team out there."

Jan Magnussen

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