 |
www.QV500.com - Ferrari 550 Part 5: 550 GT 'Italtecnica' - 2000 Season |
 110866, Brno 500km |
Although 2000 was very much a development year for Italtecnica's 550 GT, the car had a difficult inauguration. Campaigned in a selection of FIA GT Championship rounds by First Racing with drivers Fabian Giroix and team owner Jean Denis Deletraz, Round 1, the Valencia 500kms, saw 110866 retire when its water pump broke after 14 laps. Next seen again at the Monza 500kms race, Round 3 proved to be even less successful than the teams Valencia outing when, having blown an engine and broken a gearbox in practice, the 550 was forced to start from the pit lane. |
| Things worsened when 110866 retired after only ten laps with another gearbox failure, First Racing being forced to skip rounds 4 and 5 to focus on rectifying the obvious reliability issues. They were back for Round 6, the Zolder 500kms where, although running a lighter, faster and supposedly more reliable configuration, the team retired with mechanical problems after just three laps. Absent again until the penultimate race of the year, First arrived in Brno with a new engine although none of the earlier maladies had disappeared, the water pump breaking on three seperate occasions over the weekend. The 500km event at Magny Cours was the final round of 2000's championship but still Deletraz and Giroix's luck failed to improve, another DNF convincing First to ditch the Italtecnica Ferrari after what was a very disappointing year for everyone concerned. |
| Date | Rd. | Race | Drivers | Team | Chassis | Overall |
| 26/03 | FIA 1 | Valencia 500km | Deletraz / Giroix | First Racing | 110866 | DNS |
| 16/04 | FIA 3 | Monza 500km | Deletraz / Giroix | First Racing | 110866 | DNF |
| 23/07 | FIA 6 | Zolder 500km | Deletraz / Giroix | First Racing | 110866 | DNF |
| 17/09 | FIA 9 | Brno 500km | Deletraz / Giroix | First Racing | 110866 | DNF |
| 22/10 | FIA 10 | Magny Cours 500km | Deletraz / Giroix | First Racing | 110866 | DNF |