This weekend's event at Monza marks the final professional race for Andrea Bertolini, who calls time on a truly illustrious career after his home event. There are few drivers who can match the success that Bertolini has achieved in GT racing since making his debut at the same track in 2001.
He cut his teeth in go-karts but had to stop at 16 becuase of the cost. "When my dad told me, I cried for a week just like a kid. I thought the dream was finished," he later recalled. He switched to off-road motorbike racing, winning the Italian championship. Then, at 18, he began working for Ferrari. "I became their youngest test driver ever, working on the experimental road cars. I learned a lot about how to develop the car from a sheet of paper to the road."
In 2001 he got his chance to step up to the FIA GT Championship. For a man so closely linked with Ferrari, it is ironic that his break came in a Porsche; his boss agreed on the condition that Bertolini used his holiday allowance to go racing. It was time well spent and at the season's end he was signed as a Ferrari factory driver. Then came his biggest opportunity of all: a move to Maserati, which was preparing to launch its new GT1 project.
The Maserati MC12 is among the best-known GT cars ever, partly because it was so incredibly successful. Often paired with Michael Bartels in the iconic Vitaphone-liveried car, he secured FIA GT titles in 2006, 2008 and 2009, as well as overall wins at the 24 Hours of Spa in 2006 and 2008. When the series became the FIA GT1 World Championship in 2010, Bertolni and Bartels triumphed yet again to secure the biggest success of their careers.
.jpg)
"I was lucky because I always worked with the best people in terms of engineers, teammates, teams, and I had probably the best car on the planet," he recalls with incredible humility. "This is the reason why we won so many championships." The first win at Spa was especially important to him: "I always had a strong connection with the Spa 24 Hours. In terms of GT racing it's the best endurance race. It's so hard for the driver and we won it in 2006 after a big fight against the Aston Martin [run by Phoenix Racing]."
After a few years' absence, he returned to the event in 2010, leading a Pro-Am line-up alongside Bartels and two new teammates: Louis Machiels and Niek Hommerson in a Ferrari 458 GT3. This began another highly successful chapter in Bertolini's career. Indeed, he and Machiels would become the longest-running and the most successful Pro-Am combination in the series. Driving for AF Corse they triumphed three times at the 24 Hours of Spa (2012, 2024 & 2022) and earned a pair of GT World Challenge titles. Andrea describes Louis as being "like a brother".
He has been a mentor to the current generation of Ferrari drivers, including the likes of Alessandro Pier Guidi, Antonio Fuoco and Davide Rigon. Though he will end his professional career behind the wheel, Bertolini will remain actively involvd with motor racing. He departs the stage with enormous respect from the entire paddock, both for his achievements on the track and his conduct outside the car.