JLM Racing dominates eventful 4 Hours of Curitiba

The 4 Hours of Curitiba, fifth and penultimate round of the 2020 Império Endurance Brasil season, was a contest of survival to try to pose a threat to the No. 113 JLM Racing AJR of Pedro Queirolo and David Muffato, a thing that both prototypes and GTs failed to achieve, leading to a dominating run of the winning duo.

The new things for the race were RacingM3 switching to the GT3 class with the No. 04 Mercedes AMG GT3 and the No. 65 NC Racing AJR returning to action after a troubled travel to Paraná, with the possibility of rain being on the cards to spice up the spectacle, though the clear sky at the circuit contradicted the forecasts.

The pair of JLM Racing AJRs built a wall to protect their positions at the start, keeping the 1-2 in place while the rest of the grid was still finding their best places. It took only 10 minutes for the first Safety Car intervention as the No. 7 Sette Car MRX stopped with a bent rear wing and the No. 20 Ebrahim Ginetta crashed heavily after a suspension break in the rear left corner.

The green flag came back and the No. 65 NC Racing AJR came from the back of the field, with José Roberto Ribeiro showing lightning pace to get the lead. The No. 113 JLM AJR also lost the second place to the No. 444 Motorcar AJR, with Ribeiro still faster, but not as dominant as in earlier moments, but a mechanical failures hindered the progress of the No. 65, handing the lead to the No. 444 with ease.

The first pit window gave the first position to the No. 113 JLM AJR as the No. 444 was demoted to second, and the third placed No. 11 JLM AJR found its way to the barriers shortly after, getting back on track and straight to the team garage. The No. 444 then became a victim of the intense traffic, having a contact with the No. 16 Stillux Ginetta GT4 that sent both cars to a stop off track.

With the AJRs in front being knocked out, the GT3s started to appear in the main stage, with the No. 55 Stuttgart Porsche leading the class from second overall while the No. 9 Mattheis Mercedes was following it from third overall. At this point of the race, with three quarters done, five class leaders were within the overall top-10.

Around the final hour most of the classes were almost settled, with the only turnaround being at the GT4 Light class as the No. 69 Stillux Ginetta GT4 stopping and handing the class lead to the No. 10 Stillux Ginetta GT4, and to add more implications, the No. 55 Stuttgart Porsche retired over concerns regarding a penalty for leaving the pits when closed, which gave the GT3 class lead to the No. 9 Mattheis Mercedes along with the second position overall.

One final bit of action had the P3 class lead changing at the final moments, with a battered No. 75 SATTI MRX passing a crawling No. 72 Motorcar MRX with 3 minutes to go.

Not even the final pit window or the pair of Safety Car interventions could shake things around, and the No. 113 JLM AJR never had any nearby threats, and even less when the No. 55 Stuttgart Porsche retired, so the golden and black machine just had to cross the line to crown its winning performance, while the No. 9 Mattheis Mercedes had the GT3 class win while coming home second overall.

4 Hours of Curitiba/GP Amadeu Rodrigues - Race results

The No. 63 Tech Force Aston Martin won the GT3 Light class with a clean effort, coming really close of an overall podium with the fourth place. Although having a troubled race, the No. 44 Motorcar MRX won the P2 class from outside the overall top-10, the only class winner out of the ten best.

Another important fact, taken from the P3 class, is that W Series driver Bruna Tomaselli became the first woman to score a class win in Império Endurance Brasil, continuing where Fernando Ohashi and Fernando Fortes left off in the No. 75 SATTI MRX and being crucial at the final stint turnaround that brought the first place for the Eduardo Satti-led team.

It’s confirmed that the championship will have a final race, initially scheduled to Santa Cruz do Sul, but with the restriction measures against COVID-19 getting tighter again at the south of Brazil, the race may be moved to Interlagos as an emergency plan.

PHOTO: Giaffone Racing, SATTI Racing