17.08.2004 JMB Racing claimed their first LMES GT class win at the weekend, and in doing so they move into a slim championship lead with one round remaining: JMB Racing LMES race report from Silverstone

At the time when most people are thinking of their summer holidays, JMB Racing was heading for Silverstone to compete in the third round of the Le Mans Endurance Series 2004, with a Ferrari 360 Modena driven by Stéphane Daoudi and Roman Rusinov.

With the weather favourable for once, the whole meeting took place in dry conditions. At the start of the first free practice session, Stéphane was pushed off his racing line at the end of the straight by Mike Hezemans, spinning off in spectacular fashion, but luckily, with no serious consequences.

The rest of the session took place according to plan, and the no 70 Ferrari 360 Modena set an excellent second time in the GT category during qualifying.

Starting the race without problems, Stéphane Daoudi dropped down from second place to fifth at the end of the first pit stop, a failure in the pneumatic lift having cost him a minute and forty seconds in front of his pit garage.

Rejoining at a high pace, he had just moved back into second place when the leading Porsche suffered an engine failure on lap 55, giving the 360 Modena a free run.

Turning in consistently fast stints, and avoiding any problems whilst overtaking, Roman and Stéphane were able to lead for the rest of the race, and claim JMB Racing’s first LMES victory.

The ten points they gained have allowed them to move into the lead of the GT category, which will be decided during the last round of the season, which will take place on September 11th, at Spa.

Before then, JMB Racing will be in action in the FIA GT Championship at Imola on September 5th.

LMES – overall classification – GT category: 1. JMB RACING #70 Ferrari 360 Modena GT 21 points, 2. SEBAH #80 Porsche 996 GT3 20 points, 3. FREISINGER MOTORSPORT #85 Porsche 996 GT3 14 points, 4 CIRTEK MOTORSPORT #93 Porsche 996 GT3, 5 CHRONO Q RACING TEAM #77 Porsche 996 GT3 13 points