07.09.2004 Imola proved a difficult race for JMB, although the team were pleased to get all three of their Ferrari 575 GTC racers to the finish line: JMB Racing FIA GT race report from Imola

With extremely high temperatures, up to 39°C, big crowds, a spectacular and closely-fought race, it turned out to be a very hot weekend in Imola for the eighth round of the FIA GT Championship.

In the nr 17 Ferrari 575 GTC, Karl Wendlinger was back with Jaime Melo, with whom he shared the Donington Park win, while Bert Longin was driving with Briton Chris Buncombe and Russian Sergueï Zlobin, who will finish the season in the nr 18 car.

Finally, Peter Kutemann and Antoine Gosse were joined on this occasion by young Italian driver Matteo Malucelli, who had already driven at Donington Park, as well as competing in the Italian GT Championship this year with JMB Racing.

Penalised by handicap weights on a circuit such as Imola, with plenty of acceleration and deceleration, the three JMB Racing Ferrari cars turned in modest performances in qualifying, finishing grouped in 13th, 14th and 15th places.

Making an excellent start and setting a high pace during his stint, Jaime Melo handed the car over to Karl Wendlinger in 7th position after an hour. Unfortunately, a broken part on the anti-roll bar was to make the second part of the race more difficult.

Having to content with a car that was difficult to control, as it was unbalanced by too much aerodynamic downforce at the front, Karl made a mistake mid-race and lost contact with the leading pack. Having to recover again after another spin for Jaime during the final stint, the nr 17 Ferrari still managed to cross the finish line in 7th position.

The two hard-won points allowed both the teams and the drivers to maintain position in the classifications, JMB in 3rd and Karl in 4th.

In the nr 18 car, after a test session at Fiorano last week, Chris Buncombe and Sergueï Zlobin finished their first race with the 575 GTC 11th in the GT classification.

After starting well, Bert Longin was pushed off on the 10th lap, which saw him lose a number of places. Despite the heat, 60° in the cockpit, Sergueï, more used to driving single-seaters, including testing in Formula One with Minardi, as well as Chris, made a good start, which promises well for the rest of the season.

The nr 19’s race saw a fine first stint from Matteo Malucelli who was up to 9th after an hour of the race. Peter Kutemann and Antoine Gosse, as consistent as always, managed to keep a cool head in the torrid conditions and brought their car back safely, 9th in the GT category.

With all three cars reaching the finish line, JMB Racing showed excellent reliability in difficult conditions for the cars.

The next circuit visited by the FIA GT Championship, Oschersleben, on September 18th, should be more favourable in terms of performance. But before then, JMB Racing will be taking part in the 1000km of Spa this weekend, the final round of the 2004 Le Mans Endurance Series.