I never have figured out where to put these on the site. I get lots of news feeds to my email. Here is the latest. Enjoy.
Miramar, May 18, 2004: Following its Magny-Cours FIA GT podium, JMB Racing wanted to shine at Hockenheim, in front of its numerous guests. The sun shone down on the cars for the first free practice session, which was dominated by the # 17 Ferrari 575 GTC, expertly driven by Karl Wendlinger around the difficult German circuit.
In qualifying, Karl was 3rd, within a tenth of a second of the two best Saleen cars, as fast as ever, and five-tenths ahead of the # 1 Ferrari Maranello.
Making a good start, Karl set the fastest race time on his fourth lap, and was able to match the pace set by the two leading Saleen cars. Second after the # 4 Saleen retired, he took the lead of the race on lap 34, during the pit stops.
Toto Wolff saw the handling of the Ferrari deteriorate during his stint, but it was still in contention for a podium finish. The situation grew worse during Robert Lechner's stint, and by the end of the race, while he was seating third, he suffered a first tire blow-out at the rear left, followed by a second a few laps later, which forced him to retire, twelve laps from the chequered flag.
The # 18 Ferrari suffered a slow puncture at the same point in the race, which removed all hopes of a points finish from the Longin / Khan / Bleiner line-up, a result which would have been well deserved by all three drivers, considering the fine performance they had given until then. Once more reaching the finish line after a consistent race, the # 19 575 GTC driven by Kutemann, Gosse and Daoudi saw Peter Kutemann complete a double stint, as if to make up the time lost when he missed the Valencia round; his performance was all the more commendable considering the Hockenheim circuit, which is both physically and technically challenging, especially in terms of controlling a 600 hp GT car.
Although it is obvious that the Ferrari 575 GTC now has the potential to play a leading role, the team has to still work hard to perfect its knowledge and understanding of the car, in order to get the most out of it.
A minor problem deprived JMB Racing of a second consecutive podium. However, the two days of testing planned for the Castellet circuit should allow the team to face the next meeting in Brno, on May 30th, with confidence.
