30.03.2004 JMB RACING KICKED OFF THEIR 2004 SEASON ON TWO FRONTS AT THE WEEKEND: IN THE FIA GT CHAMPIONSHIP AT MONZA AND THE ITALIAN GT SERIES AT IMOLA

To start the 2004 season, JMB Racing took part in the first round of two Championships during the same weekend, the FIA GT Championship at Monza, and the Italian GT Championship at Imola.

Having set up the team during the winter in order to respond to this new challenge, JMB Racing immediately confirmed its potential by winning an Italian GT round and putting in promising performances in the FIA GT.

At Monza, the weather, which felt more like winter than spring, did not discourage the crowds, which flocked as always to this bastion of motorsport for the first LG Super Racing Weekend of the 2004 season.

A real shakedown for the new elements in the team, both on a sporting and technical front, this first race was an opportunity for the team to put together the necessary synergy in order to play a leading role in the championship, the team’s stated aim for this season.

The JMB Racing Ferrari 575 GTC cars, with Michelin tyres, had entered the following line-ups :

- Nr 17 : Karl Wendlinger, Robert Lechner, Christian Wolff,
- Nr 18 : Bert Longin, Ian Khan, Christophe Pillon,
- Nr 19 : Peter Kutemann, Antoine Gosse, Stéphane Daoudi.

Starting off calmly and with determination, free practice gave everyone an opportunity to discover the cars, to understand the way they worked and to optimise the performances in a relatively short time, while the capricious weather meant that a varied array of settings and tyre choices were used.

Fourth fastest time for Karl Wendlinger during the first qualifying session was a fine reward for all the work put in by the team. By the time the second qualifying session started, the track had dried, and Karl and the nr 17 car took a promising eighth place, the best result among all of the 575 GTC cars on the grid.

The nr 18 an 19 Ferrari 575 GTC cars chose to concentrate on completing as many laps as possible, without aiming for a true qualifying time, giving themselves more time to perfect their settings and to get used to the car.

During the race, Karl Wendlinger took an excellent start, and was in 6th position when the Konrad Saleen, which had gone off, brought debris onto the track which forced both Alzen (pierced radiator) and Wendlinger (broken distribution pulley) to retire prematurely.

Thee nr 19 car, after a first stint by an astonishing Peter Kutemann, who, as he himself admitted, had been able to master the 575 GTC quicker than he had expected, saw Antoine Gosse go off into the gravel at the start of the Parabolica corner, while he was fighting with a Saleen, and was lying in a solid 13th place in the GT classification.

Only the nr 18 Ferrari 575 GTC of B. Longin, I. Khan and C. Pillon managed to reach the chequered flag, finishing in 7th place overall and claiming two precious points for Team JMB Racing.

A few kilometres away, on the legendary Imola circuit, the Ferrari 550 Maranello entered by JMB Racing for Italian drivers Lorenzo Case and Maurizio Mediani won the first race in the 2004 Italian Championship after a fine battle with the Racing Box Viper, up against a high-quality grid consisting of Vipers, Lister Storms and other GT cars.

With a 15-second lead half-way through the weekend’s second race, it looked as if the drivers were about to claim a second win, when an electronic problem stopped them in their tracks.

Globally, it was a positive weekend for JMB Racing, claiming a first win in the Italian GT and showing their potential at Monza. Beyond the pure sporting result, the confirmation of the potential of those involved (drivers, technicians) as well as the technical side ( F575 / Michelin ) strengthens the choices made with the prospect of JMB Racing being a leading competitor in the 2004 season of the FIA GT Championship.

The next meetings take place on April 18th, the second round of the FIA GT Championship in Valencia, while the Italian GT's will be in Monza.