More 550's for 2001 FIA GT Championship
24.1.01

The FIRST Racing 550 Maranello, which was launched with a big fanfare for the 2000 FIA GT Championship was, as is well known, a big disappointment. It occasionally qualified well but barely lasted the first few laps of a race. It looked an awful handful on the circuits.

The FIRST 550's were not a success in 2000, but looked stunning

The basic specification of the 550 Maranello is however very advanced especially when compared with the dominating Viper chassis which is felt to be agricultural with its V10 truck engine. The British Lister car which rose to prominence in the 2000 season is also near the limit of its development and therefore the way is clear for a challenger in the 2001 season.

The highly respected Rafanelli team, better known for its BMW's over the years, intend to run three 550's in the FIA GT Championship and will use some big names to assist its effort. Frenchmen Jean- Marc Gounon and Pierre-Henri Raphanel, who finished second at Le Mans in 1997, look certain for one car and touring car legend Johnny Cecotto and single-seater ace Emanuele Naspetti are being touted as sharing a second car.

Testing of the Rafanelli cars has already begun although there was a setback when Tobia Masini, who ran in the UK Super Production series last year, crashed one of the cars at Misano.

In the meantime, if current talks are successful, the FIRST cars could be on their way to the famed Prodrive premises in the UK for a complete overhaul. Prodrive are best known for their Subaru rally cars which compete in the World Rally Championship.

The German Wieth team have also prepared a 550 for GT racing but its appearance in the 2001 season will depend upon the availability of sufficient funding.

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