Birthdate: Nov. 23, 1969
Birthplace: Monte Carlo, Monaco
Residence: Monte Carlo, Monaco
Family: Son Riccardo
Notable: Five-time ALMS GTS/GT1 champion, five class wins in 24 Hours of Le Mans, holds ALMS records for most career wins (40) and most career poles (22), two FIA championships, overall victory in 2000 Rolex 24 at Daytona
American Le Mans Series Career Record |
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Year |
Starts |
Wins |
Fast Qualifier |
Notes |
1999 |
6 |
5 |
4 |
GTS champion (Dodge Viper) |
2000 |
12 |
9 |
6 |
GTS champion (Dodge Viper) |
2003 |
9 |
0 |
0 |
LMP900 with JML Team Panoz |
2004 |
9 |
4 |
4 |
First season with Corvette Racing |
2005 |
10 |
6 |
3 |
ALMS GT1 co-champion (with Gavin) |
2006 |
10 |
4 |
1 |
ALMS GT1 co-champion (with Gavin) |
2007 |
12 |
9 |
2 |
ALMS GT1 co-champion (with Gavin) |
2008 |
11 |
3 |
2 |
Second in GT1 drivers championship |
Total |
79 |
40* |
22* |
*ALMS records for victories and poles |
24 Hours of Le Mans Record |
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Year |
Finish |
Class |
Car |
Co-drivers |
1996 |
12th |
GT1 |
Viper |
Helary, Gache |
1997 |
Rtd. |
GTS |
Viper |
Gache, Dupuy |
1998 |
2nd |
GT2 |
Viper |
Lamy, Archer |
1999 |
1st |
GTS |
Viper |
Wendlinger, Dupuy |
2000 |
1st |
GTS |
Viper |
Wendlinger, Dupuy |
2001 |
3rd |
LMP900 |
Chrysler Oreca |
Wendlinger, Lamy |
2002 |
5th |
LMP900 |
Dallara-Judd |
Lamy, Comas |
2003 |
3rd |
LMP900 |
Panoz LMP1 |
Jeannette, Papis |
2004 |
1st |
GTS |
Corvette C5-R |
Gavin, Magnussen |
2005 |
1st |
GT1 |
Corvette C6.R |
Gavin, Magnussen |
2006 |
1st |
GT1 |
Corvette C6.R |
Gavin, Magnussen |
2007 |
14th |
GT1 |
Corvette C6.R |
Gavin, Papis |
2008 |
3rd |
GT1 |
Corvette C6.R |
Gavin, Papis |
2009 |
4th |
GT1 |
Corvette C6.R |
Gavin, Fassler |
Career Highlights
1989-90: Competed in French Formula 3 championship
1992: Competed in International Formula 3000
1992: Lotus Formula 1 test driver
1994: Competed in International Formula 3000, drove for Larrousse Formula 1 team
1997: Four wins in FIA GT Championship (Viper)
1998: FIA GT2 Champion, eight wins (Viper)
1999: FIA GT2 Champion, six wins; ALMS GTS champion, five wins; GTS winner, 24 Hours of Le Mans (Viper)
2000: ALMS GTS champion, nine wins; GTS winner, 24 Hours of Le Mans; overall winner Daytona 24-hour (Viper); test driver for Michelin Formula 1 tire development
2001: Finished fourth in 24 Hours of Le Mans with Chrysler factory team in LMP900; test driver for Michelin Formula 1 tire development
2002: Finished fifth in 24 Hours of Le Mans with Playstation LMP900; test driver for Michelin and Williams Formula 1 team
2003: American Le Mans Series (Panoz), finished fifth in 24 Hours of Le Mans, test driver for Michelin and Williams Formula 1 team
2004: Four GTS wins in ALMS, GTS winner, 24 Hours of Le Mans (Corvette); test driver for Michelin and Williams Formula 1 team
2005: ALMS GT1 co-champion, six wins; GT1 winner, 24 Hours of Le Mans (Corvette); test driver for Michelin and Williams Formula 1 team
2006: ALMS GT1 co-champion, four wins; GT1 winner, 24 Hours of Le Mans (Corvette); test driver for Michelin
2007: ALMS GT1 co-champion, nine wins (tied ALMS record); GT1 winner at Sebring 12-hour and Petit Le Mans (Corvette C6.R). Three poles and one fastest race lap
2008: Second in ALMS GT1 drivers championship with three victories; runner-up in GT1 class at 24 Hours of Le Mans; two poles and three fastest race laps
Olivier Beretta is the most successful driver in ALMS history, with 40 career victories and 22 career poles at the start of the 2009 season. A resident of Monaco, Beretta brings international flair and impressive speed to Corvette Racing. Beretta has won the ALMS championship in the top GT class five times - including three with Oliver Gavin and the Corvette C6.R in 2005-07. He's a five-time class winner in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and has tested Formula 1 cars for teams and manufacturers.
Beretta began racing karts before moving to the French Formula 3 series in 1989. He was third in the championship in 1990 and took third place at the Monaco Grand Prix support race that year. In 1992, Beretta mixed a season of International Formula 3000 with Formula 1 testing duties for Lotus.
In 1994, he finished sixth in the F3000 championship for Forti while testing for the Larrousse Grand Prix team. He competed in 10 grands prix for the team, finishing in the top 10 on three occasions, with a career-best seventh in the German Grand Prix.
Beretta's first taste of Le Mans was in 1995 with the Chevrolet-powered Courage team. He became involved in the development of the Chrysler Viper in 1996 and finished third in the FIA GT drivers championship in 1997, with four wins and eight pole positions. In 1998, Beretta won the FIA GT drivers championship, sharing the honors with Pedro Lamy, winning eight out of 10 races, and finished second at Le Mans.
In 1999, Beretta won the FIA GT Championship, the American Le Mans Series GTS class championship and the GTS class in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, scoring 13 of his team's 16 race wins. The following season he scored an overall victory at the Daytona 24-hour race, a class victory at the 12 Hours of Sebring, another Le Mans class title and the ALMS championship.
Beretta switched to a prototype in 2001, driving a Dallara to fourth overall at Le Mans and to fifth overall in 2002. In 2003, he joined Panoz for the ALMS and Le Mans, where he finished fifth overall.
In 2004, GM Racing tapped Beretta to join Oliver Gavin for a full season in the factory No. 4 Corvette C5-R in the American Le Mans Series and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The pair scored five victories, including class wins in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and Petit Le Mans with co-driver Jan Magnussen in the endurance events.
2005 saw Beretta win his third ALMS championship as he and Gavin teamed up to score six victories in the series. Again teamed with Magnussen in endurance events, the trio won the GT1 class in the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the second straight year and repeated as winners in the Petit Le Mans.
Beretta and Gavin reprised their GT1 championship in 2006, and scored class wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Sebring 12-hour race with Magnussen as third driver.
In 2007, Gavin and Beretta reeled off nine wins in 12 races to capture their third consecutive GT1 drivers championship, tying the record for single-season victories. The pair won the GT1 class in the season-opening 12-hour Sebring endurance race for the second straight year and notched their third victory in the 1,000-mile Petit Le Mans, with Max Papis joining the roster for endurance races. The team's biggest disappointment came at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where a broken driveshaft sidelined their Corvette C6.R at the two-hour mark and ended their bid for a fourth consecutive class victory in the world's most famous sports car race. Beretta also drove a Corvette C6.R in selected FIA GT races with the French Luc Alphand Aventures team.
Beretta's GT1 title streak ended in 2008 as his Corvette Racing teammates Johnny O'Connell and Jan Magnussen claimed the class championship. Beretta and Gavin made motorsports history by scoring the first win with E85R cellulosic ethanol in St. Petersburg, Fla. They also won on the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix circuit and finished the season with a victory at Laguna Seca.
At the conclusion of the 2008 season, Beretta held the ALMS records for most career victories (340), the most career poles (22), the most single-season wins in the GT1 class (nine in 2000, tied with Karl Wendlinger, and nine in 2007 with Gavin), the most consecutive wins (eight, with Gavin, 2005 Portland-2006 Mid-Ohio), the most podium finishes in a season (12 in 2007, tied with six drivers) and the most top-10 finishes in a season (12 in 2000 and 2007, tied with eight drivers).
In addition to driving for Corvette Racing, Beretta has worked with Michelin in developing tires for Formula One in 2000-06, and was a test driver for the BMW-Williams F1 team in 2002-04.
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Contact:
Rick Voegelin
Chevy Racing