Olivier Beretta has had sixteen appearances in the 24 Hours of Le Mans with six class wins. A cornerstone of Corvette Racing since 2004, the Monegasque driver has swapped Corvette yellow for the red of Ferrari for the 2012 season.

Like many other drivers, he passed through the ranks of karting to car racing, Olivier Beretta drove in Formula 1 with Larousse in 1994 before turning quickly towards endurance racing. Recruited by Oreca in 1996, he was part of the great epic of the Dodge Viper with the French team who won the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2000 against all odds. The beautiful American cars with two white stripes made a clean sweep in the late '90s and early 2000s: two titles in the FIA ​​GT GT2 and two titles in the LM GTS (ancestor of the former LM GT1 category ) in the American Le Mans Series, and finally by two class wins at the Le Mans 24 Hours.

At the end of the Viper adventure, Olivier Beretta continued with Oreca and Panoz, but he soon joined the ranks of Corvette Racing, which allowed him to flesh out an impressive record with four series titles in the American Le Mans Series and four in LM GT1 class wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the last in 2011.

But in early 2012, his name appeared on the entry list for the 24 Hours of Daytona driving for Ferrari. The break with Corvette Racing was made: "The Corvette Racing team is a good team, mainly composed of competent people, said Olivier Beretta. Doug Fehan (Corvette Racing boss, ed), I want to clarify, is, and will remain a friend. Driving on instinct had no place there. I feel revived at Ferrari. My separation from the Corvette team fell at the right time. I still love my job but the motivation is greater when a driver is unrestrained! "

The Monegasque driver, opened the new partnership at the 24 Hours of Daytona, and showed that his motivation is intact and had he not taken a penalty following a mistake by an engineer, Olivier Beretta could have made his first podium finish with Ferrari, a marque he particularly likes: "Driving for Ferrari is like a childhood dream come true. I'm really happy to have finally been able to reach this marque that is a legend around the world. Being half Italian, it's a bit like a homecoming."

Olivier Beretta will therefore defend the colors of Ferrari in the next 24 Hours of Le Mans victory with a goal, but with a twist: "If I can win the seventh Le Mans victory, it will be a victory that will truly linked to the passion for Ferrari ." A passion that could run through a racing programme in the 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship and AF Corse, the details of which will be unveiled soon.

Interview by Cécile Bonardel

Photo: Braselton (GEORGIA, USA), Road Atlanta, PETIT LE MANS, Friday, September 30, 2011, QUALIFICATION. Olivier Beretta, winner of the Le Mans 24 Hours 2011 in LM GTE Pro with Corvette Racing has left to join Ferrari.