Like Olivier Jacque, Regis Laconi and Julien Allemand, Vincent Phillipe is a product of the French Speed Team. Third in the European Championship in 1999, the Honda rider was brought into the Fausto Gresini Grand Prix team to ride a 250 Honda TSR in 2000. Alongside Daijiro Katoh, Phillipe's first Grand Prix season was a steep learning curve with his best performance a tenth placed finish in Holland. He finished 24th in the Championship.