550 GT Shoot-Out At Fiorano
16.11.01

At the invitation of Ferrari, the privateer Prodrive and Rafanelli teams ran their 550 Maranello GTs at the Fiorano track over two days to demonstrate their capabilities.

This is a further indication of the interest which the factory are taking in these projects and that they might themselves provide support for the manufacture of a series of customer racing GTs.

Peter Cox was driving the Prodrive version and Emanuele Naspetti the Rafanelli car. Both Ferrari test drivers Luca Badoer and Dario Benuzzi also drove the cars. A total of 140 laps was covered, with Luca Badoer quickest on 1:14.812.

The Rafanelli team competed in the first half of the 2001 FIA GT championship but then a lack of funding forced their withdrawal following some excellent performances. The first win, however, was achieved by the Prodrive 550, which emerged as a strong contender during the second half of the season, winning two races in total. The success of the team somewhat overshadowed the Rafanelli efforts.

If either team get the blessing from Ferrari to build a series of customer cars it will obviously be of significant economic benefit to them, and therefore the outcome of the Fiorano tests is awaited with some trepidation.

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