That chassis took part in at least 42 Races in the GT/GTS class for at least four different teams from 2002 to 2006 and had a host of celebrity drivers including,
Colin McRae World Rally Champion, British Touring Car Champions Rickard Rydell & Alain Menu, British, Luc Alphand former World Cup Skiing Champion and Dakar winner, David Brabham Japanese GT Champion and Le Mans winner 2009, Jan Magnussen Danish Touring Car Champion, Danica Patrick queen of IRL, Darren Manning IRL driver, Christophe Bouchut 1993 Le Mans Winner, and one of my former racing instructors Tim Sugden former British and Asia Pacific GT Champion.
Prodrive prepared a batch of 20 550 Maranello GTS's for racing in Europe and the States where they were regular winners in the GT/GTS class in 2001.
In 2003 today's #88 550 Maranello GTS Chassis ZFFZR49B000108462, the 6th of the 20 Prodrive built, was driven by Thomas Enge, Jamie Davies and Peter Kox,
with around 750hp coming from it's V12 engine,
beat the Corvettes by 10 laps at the Le Mans 24 hour race winning the GTS class coming home 10th overall.
This vehicle entered exclusively by the Prodrive team is known to have run in at least 9 races in 2003 in all bar one carrying the #88, this chassis carried the #08 in it's last known final at Petite Le Mans.
When the effervescent Jackie Irwin, who has petrol running through her veins, told us on my recent visit to the Prodrive factory we were allowed to sit in some of the vehicles parked in the display area like a 12 year old I headed straight for the 550 Maranello,
the experience of sitting in this fabulous car was an odd mixture of agony and ecstasy, the seat was made for someone with hips the size of a 12 year old, yet at the same time the purposefulness of every last detail inside the vehicle sent my mind straight to Le Mans, by some strange fate I also found my self posing for this photograph taken by David Bailey , I am sure Twiggy would have felt far more comfortable in the seat, but then I doubt she would ever find herself posing for David Bailey of the Bristol Pegasus Motor Club.
My thanks to David Bailey, everyone at the Bristol Pegasus MC and Prodrive who made my visit such an interesting day out.
Hope you have enjoyed today's David Bailey edition of 'Gettin' a lil' psycho on tyres' and that you will join me again tomorrow. Don't forget to come back now !
I think it is a bit small for me too.
ReplyDeleteMay be, if you through a couple of stones in the general direction of Prodrive, they could engineer access for you JC :-)
ReplyDeleteIn order to drive that car at 10/10s for an hour, I would suspect that you would have to be in much better shape than you or me. Anyone capable of that kind of endurance would have no problem fitting in that seat.
ReplyDeleteYour quite correct I am not in the right physical condition Racer, but even if I was I doub't my hip bone would shrink, I'm picking 'Smoke' as my driving partner :-)
ReplyDeleteRef my previous comment must be up too early to mistake through and throw ! doh ! :-)