22.09.2004 Karl Wendlinger, was joined for the first time in the no 17 JMB Racing Ferrari 575 GTC by ex-F1 pilot Tarso Marques, as all three of the team's Ferraris reached the chequered flag

It was weekend full of incidents and podiums for JMB Racing, the team entering three Ferrari 575 GTC cars in the FIA GT Championship, a Ferrari 550 Maranello in Vallelunga for the final round of the Italian GT Championship (1 victory and 3rd place overall for Lorenzo Case) and one Ferrari 360 Modena in the Grand Am race at Homestead in the USA (3rd place in N-GT for Médiani/Plumb).

In Oschersleben, Karl Wendlinger was joined by the former F1 driver Tarso Marques in the nr 17 Ferrari 575 GTC, which they will now share until the end of the season.

Bert Longin, Chris Buncombe and Sergueï Zlobin were back in the nr 18 car, while Stéphane Daoudi returned to support Peter Kutemann and Antoine Gosse in the nr 19.

After the free practice sessions, traditionally used to define the set-up, and which allowed Tarso Marques to discover the car, circuit and team, the qualifying sessions – with a dry but cold track – were incredibly close (10 cars within the same second, including the two non-Championship Maserati MC 12 cars). The nr 17 Ferrari set the sixth-fastest time in GT.

The rain started just before Sunday’s warm-up. It had stopped before the race started, but the wet track and overcast skies meant that there were various options in terms of tyre choice.

Having decided to start on slicks, Karl Wendlinger fell back early on but, as the track dried, he rose up the field as most of his rivals were forced back to the pits to change their tyres. He was lying 2nd after 18 laps, and was in the lead when he headed to the pits for his first stop. For his first-ever GT stint, Tarso Marques quickly got to grips with the car and set some very good times.

Twenty minutes from the end of the race, delayed by the nr 3 BMS Ferrari, which he was lapping, Karl, then lying second in GT, was being caught by Matteo Bobbi’s Ferrari.

Bobbi tried to push past, without damaging the nr 17 575. The stewards penalised Karl’s resistance action with a ‘drive through’ penalty, which was changed into a 50 second penalty. This put the nr 17 down to the third step on the podium, but still allowed Karl to retain third place in the Drivers Classification.

Having chosen to start on intermediate tyres, the drivers of the nr 18 and nr 19 cars both suffered the same fate at the start of the race, on the damp track, with both Bert Longin and Stéphane Daoudi spinning.

The rest of the race proved to be more favourable for the nr 18, with Bert climbing up the field, before handing over to Sergueï and Chris, the trio claiming a point for eighth place at the end.

After some excellent times by Stéphane Daoudi during his stint, the consistent performances of Peter Kutemann and Antoine Gosse were rewarded by reaching the chequered flag.

The good overall result, the homogenous line-ups and the efficiency of the technical team during the pit stops are an excellent sign before they head for the two final races of the 2004 Championship. The next round will take place on October 8th in Dubai, on a circuit new to all teams.