A rising star on social media, and a quick racer too, Viny Beltramelli stepped up to the GT4 European Series Powered by RAFA Racing Club this season with JSB Compétition.
After starting racing in historic cars and even handling a Chevrolet Corvette in the Spa Six Hours, Beltramelli has proven himself in both touring cars and GT4 across recent years. He first joined the GT4 France grid in 2022 with a Mercedes-AMG, then switched to an Audi before joining JSB for a dual programme in France and Europe with a Porsche 718 Cayman RS CS GT4 this year alongside Florian Briché. You can check out his Instagram, @vinybeltramelli.
Viny, welcome to GT4 Europe. How did you first get started in motor racing?
“I started karting at the age of 12, competing in regional championships. Gradually, I progressed to historic single-seaters, racing with my father since he was involved in historic racing. Over time, I moved up to the Peugeot Sport promotion formulas, starting with the 208, which led to the 308. Thanks to the SRO pyramid, I earned a scholarship to advance to GT racing [in GT4 France]. Now, I've been racing in GT4 France for three years, and this year I'm fortunate to be doing a double programme.”
What is it that you love about GT racing?
“Because it's a multi-brand championship where you can compete with any manufacturer. There’s also the charm of the ‘race within the race’, meaning there are multiple categories, like amateur, Silver, and Pro-Am. This creates a difference in pace during the second half of the race, and there’s a good number of entries with beautiful circuits. So, it's a pleasure to race in GT4 Europe.”
So how are you finding racing the Porsche?
“So, I think the Porsche is the car that suits me best in terms of driving style. I drove the Mercedes-AMG in my first year, the Audi in my second year, but the Porsche is lighter. It’s closer to a karting-like driving style, though not entirely. But it’s much lighter, more efficient in braking, and it suits me better than the Audi, which was much heavier.”
What's it like racing with JSB Compétition?
“With JSB, it’s a bit of a long-standing story since we were competitors in the Peugeot Sport promotion formulas with Florian [Briché, the son of the JSB Team Manager]. We’ve always raced ‘against’ each other, particularly in the 308 final at Le Castellet, where we had a great battle on track. So, racing together now in the same car is a nice story, and I hope we’ll continue together in the coming years.”
How has your season gone so far?
“Well, in Europe, it has been very complicated since we had a major breakdown in Misano, which penalised us a bit in the European championship. However, in GT4 France, we were fighting for second in the championship [the Silver Cup] all season. We gave it our all in the season finale at Le Castellet and finished third, which is still good. Now we try to achieve the best possible results in the European championship.”
We love your social media, your ‘It’s Race Week’ videos. Where do you get the ideas from?
“It’s an idea we got from a Leclerc supermarket in Pont l’Abbé, France, which makes videos to announce promotions in its store. So, my girlfriend and I had the idea to adapt this concept to announce race weekends instead, and it’s been going quite well. So we’re going to keep it going for some fun.”
Do you have plans for next season yet, and where would you like to go in the future?
“So, we would like to confirm with Florian for GT4 France and GT4 Europe for next season and try to pursue the titles in both championships. Right now, the long-term goal remains to move up to GT3 in the Fanatec GT World challenge Europe. So, we’ll keep pushing here and see what opportunities arise.”
