20.07.2004 Lorenzo Case AND Matteo Malucelli, driving a JMB Ferrari 575 GTC, battled on after being hit by punctures in both Italian GT races on Sunday: JMB Racing race report from Misano

Due to the cancellation a planned Austrian round at Salzburg, Misano hosted a second consecutive meeting of the Italian GT Championship, and being mid-summer, a scorching hot race on the shores of the Adriatic was ensured.

Lorenzo Case and Matteo Malucelli, once again were sharing a Ferrari 575 GTC, usual seen competing in the FIA GT series, and the pair were full of confidence for the weekend, after their double victory at the same circuit during the previous round.

Their promising results in free practice, fastest in the first session, second overall in the combined times, could not however be matched during the official qualifying sessions.

A technical problem made an engine change necessary, preventing them from taking part in qualifying, and meaning that they were forced to start from the back of the grid for both races.

Setting off from last position in the first race, Matteo Malucelli put in an excellent performance, climbing up to fourth place by lap ten. Unfortunately, suffering a slow puncture, the no 4 Ferrari ended its race prematurely in a gravel trap on the thirteenth lap. However Malucelli had proved the Ferrari's speed at Misano by setting the fastest lap of the race on the fifth lap.

In the second race, it was Lorenzo Case’s turn to try the delights of starting from the back of the grid, facing the task of overtaking all the slower competitors. A thundering drive brought him quickly up to fourth place, before a final push saw him hand over the car to his team-mate in second place.

Restarting 29 seconds behind the leading Lister, Matteo reduced this gap by ten seconds, but had to resign himself to second place after suffering another slow puncture in the final lap.

Lorenzo Case can still hope to finish in the top three in the 2004 Italian GT Championship, which will be decided during the final round on September 19th in Vallelunga.

He even may have a mathematical chance of taking the title, due to the possibility that the winning Lister in Misano may face exclusion as a result of a to technical non-conformity, an action which would close up the championship positions, making the final even more undecided.

The next race for JMB Racing is the 24 Hours of Spa, part of the FIA GT Championship, on July 31st.