Editorial
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Andrea Bertolini: from karting to Ferrari
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Predestined. Because if you were born in Sassuolo, in which the distance is less than 10 km from Maranello, and you have been in love with engines since you were very young, the fact that you end up working at Ferrari cannot be disputed as a sign of your destiny.
Destiny alone, however, can do little and such a story, like the stories of each and every life, needs many other ingredients to accomplish itself, like effort, will, a little bit of luck and the outstretched hand of other people one meets along the way. When all these elements are combined in the right way and, above all, the main protagonist puts a lot, an immense amount of his own efforts, then it may happen that from the karting tracks frequented as a kid with dad, one can get to wear one of the most desired red suits of the motor sports world, and this is exactly what Andrea Bertolini achieved.
Born in 1973, Ferrari test driver, Maserati racer, winner of nine international automotive titles, amongst which stand out three FIA GT Championships, a FIA GT1 World Championship, one 24 hour race of Le Mans and more recently, the 2019 Blancpain GT Series with the AF Corse.
However, it all started with karting, with the passion, given and taught, by the dad and the first laps on the track at the age of 11 years old: “I was always thinking about engines – says Bertolini. When I was not involved in races, I spent hours fixing the kart. Then, on Fridays, we would load everything into dad’s Fiorino [van -editor’s note] and we would head out for the race. My brother Enrico and my cousin raced with me: to us, so young and “homemade” it had a certain effect to arrive on the track amongst the official larger teams. Then one day, when I was about 16, my parents told me that the costs had become unbearable and I could not race anymore. I cried for a week”.
But your racing career did not end there…
“No, in 1998 I started again with Maranello Kart. It was in large part due to Giancarlo Giusti and Stefano Bonacorsi, the old guard of the team. Together with them a quartet of really madmen like Paolo Severi, Cavalier Cassani, Carlo Corti and Pietro Corradini: it is only thanks to them if I was able to start kart racing again.
First of all, my thanks go to my parents. In the first years of racing they made many sacrifices to have me and my brother race. Dad took us to the racetracks, while mom joined us on Saturdays once the family bar closed. On Sunday evening we would all go back home, no matter what time was, as on Monday morning there was work waiting. Finally, I cannot but thank my wife Angela: having someone by your side who loves you, and who you love, provides the serenity to reach the most unthinkable goals”.
Born in Sassuolo (Italy) in 1973, he started kart racing when he was 11 years old. He stopped racing at the age of 16 and resumed it at the end of the 90s, when he already worked for Ferrari. In 2001, his debut in the FIA GT started an extraordinary career
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