Roberto Lacorte (born 25 June 1968) is an Italian entrepreneur, racing driver, and sailor. He owns and drives for Cetilar Racing in both LMP2 and Ferrari machinery.
Business ventures In 2003, Lacorte and brother Andrea founded the Pharmanutra Group, an Italian pharmaceutical company, of which he became vice president and CEO. The company's line of products includes Cetilar, a joint cream which provides title sponsorship to Lacorte's racing endeavors. The brand also provides sponsorship to a number of association football teams in Italy, notably holding primary shirt sponsorship with Parma.
Sport Motorsports
Lacorte began his racing career in 2011, driving for Spider Racing Team in the Italian Superturismo Championship. The following season, he returned to the competition with co-driver Giorgio Sernagiotto, finishing third overall. In 2015, Lacorte began his partnership with Villorba Corse, taking part in the 2015 European Le Mans Series in the LMP3 class. By 2017, the partnership had led Lacorte to participate in his first ever 24 Hours of Le Mans, in which he finished seventh in class alongside co-drivers Andrea Belicchi and Giorgio Sernagiotto. The following year, Lacorte launched the Cetilar Academy, a youth karting program designed to advance drivers through the motorsport ladder. Early in 2019, Cetilar Racing stepped up to full-time entrant status for the 2019–20 FIA World Endurance Championship, fielding their Dallara P217 in the LMP2 class. The team would finish 12th in class over the course of the season, tallying 72 points.
Later that year, the team formed a partnership with AF Corse, who campaigned Ferrari's factory entries in the GTE Pro class. That alliance paved the way for Cetilar Racing's switch to the GTE Am category for the 2021 season. Alongside Cetilar Racing's GTE Am entry, Cetilar would provide sponsorship for the AF Corse GTE Pro entries for the duration of the season. Lacorte ended his LMP2 program due to his disappointment with the stratification plans that would reduce the horsepower and increase the minimum weight of LMP2 competitors, alongside the lack of competitiveness the Dallara chassis offered compared to the Oreca 07. The team's GTE transition proved immediately fruitful, as they finished on the class podium at Spa before claiming their first class victory in WEC competition at Portimão in June.
Ahead of the 2022 season, Cetilar Racing announced a full-season campaign in the GTD class of the IMSA SportsCar Championship, thereby temporarily ending the team's involvement in the WEC. While the full-season plan wouldn't pan out, the team remained in the series for the entire Michelin Endurance Cup. At the 12 Hours of Sebring, Lacorte and co-drivers Sernagiotto and Antonio Fuoco won the GTD class. For 2023, the team confirmed a return to the championship, taking part with Ferrari's new GT3 offering, the 296 GT3.
Sailing Lacorte is an avid sailor, competing with his boat SuperNikka, which began development in 2013. In 2015, the boat competed for the first time at the 2015 edition of the 151Miglia, in which it finished second on corrected time. In its maiden year of competition, Lacorte piloted the boat to victory at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, a feat which he repeated in 2017. In 2019, Lacorte was awarded the Italian Owner of the Year award at the FIV Italian Sailor of the Year awards. In December 2020, Lacorte announced his plans to build the first new generation foil Mini Maxi vessel, dubbed FlyingNikka, set to debut in 2022. It has been given the highest IRC rating in history at 3.866.
As of April 2021, Lacorte serves as an officer of the International Maxi Association, serving as vice president of the Mini Maxi Racer category, the class in which his boat competes.
Personal life Lacorte has a son, Nicola, who is also a racing driver and a former member of the Alpine Academy. The two drove together in a Ferrari 296 GT3 at the 2025 24 Hours of Daytona.
Racing record Career summary Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position 2013 Speed EuroSeries MSR Corse 2 1 0 0 2 26 8th V de V Endurance Challenge – Proto – Scratch 4 0 0 0 1 37 27th 2014 V de V Endurance Challenge – Proto – Scratch MSR Corse 3 0 0 0 0 12.5 38th 2015 European Le Mans Series – LMP3 Villorba Corse 4 0 0 0 2 36 7th 2016 European Le Mans Series – LMP3 Villorba Corse 6 0 0 0 0 8 23rd Road to Le Mans – LMP3 Scuderia Villorba Corse 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 17th 2017 European Le Mans Series – LMP2 Cetilar Villorba Corse 6 0 0 0 0 35 14th 24 Hours of Le Mans – LMP210000N/A7th 2018 European Le Mans Series – LMP2 Cetilar Villorba Corse 6 0 0 0 0 4.5 25th 24 Hours of Le Mans – LMP210000N/A11th 2019 European Le Mans Series – LMP2 Cetilar Racing Villorba Corse 1 0 0 0 0 0 36th 24 Hours of Le Mans – LMP210000N/A13th 2019-20 FIA World Endurance Championship – LMP2 Cetilar Racing 8 0 0 0 0 72 12th 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans – LMP2 Cetilar Racing10000N/A11th 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship – GTE Am Cetilar Racing 6 1 1 1 2 75 5th 24 Hours of Le Mans – GTE Am10000N/ADNF IMSA SportsCar Championship – LMP2 Cetilar Racing 2 0 0 0 0 0 NC 2022 IMSA SportsCar Championship – GTD Cetilar Racing41021110122nd 2023 IMSA SportsCar Championship – GTD Cetilar Racing4000063738th 24 Hours of Le Mans – LMP2 Graff Racing10000N/A17th 2024 IMSA SportsCar Championship – GTD Cetilar Racing50001118329th International GT Open20000059th2025 IMSA SportsCar Championship – GTD Cetilar Racing2000036754th2025-26Asian Le Mans Series - LMP2Cetilar Racing 6 2 0 1 3 81 2nd
* Season still in progress
Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Rank Points 2017 Cetilar Villorba Corse LMP2 Dallara P217 Gibson GK428 4.2L V8 SIL SPA LMS NÜR MEX COA FUJ SHA BHR NC 0 2018–19 Cetilar Villorba Corse LMP2 Dallara P217 Gibson GK428 4.2L V8 SPA LMS SIL FUJ SHA SEB SPA LMS NC 0 2019–20 Cetilar Racing LMP2 Dallara P217 Gibson GK428 4.2L V8 SIL FUJ SHA BHR COA SPA LMS BHR 12th 72 2021 Cetilar Racing GTE Am Ferrari 488 GTE Evo Ferrari F154CB 3.9L Turbo V8 SPA POR MON LMS BHR BHR 5th 75
Complete WeatherTech SportsCar Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) Year Team Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Rank Points 2021 Cetilar Racing LMP2 Dallara P217 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 DAY SEB WGL WGL ELK LGA PET NC 0 2022 Cetilar Racing GTD Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8 DAY SEB LBH LGA MDO DET WGL MOS LIM ELK VIR PET 22nd 1101 2023 Cetilar Racing GTD Ferrari 296 GT3 Ferrari 3.0 L Turbo V6 DAY SEB LBH LGA WGL MOS LIM ELK VIR IMS PET 38th 6372024Cetilar RacingGTDFerrari 296 GT3Ferrari 3.0 L Turbo V6DAYSEBLBHLGAWGLMOSELKVIRIMSPET
Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps 2017 Cetilar Villorba Corse Andrea Belicchi Giorgio Sernagiotto Dallara P217-Gibson LMP2 353 9th 7th 2018 Cetilar Villorba Corse Felipe Nasr Giorgio Sernagiotto Dallara P217-Gibson LMP2 342 19th 11th 2019 Cetilar Racing Villorba Corse Andrea Belicchi Giorgio Sernagiotto Dallara P217-Gibson LMP2 352 18th 13th 2020 Cetilar Racing Andrea Belicchi Giorgio Sernagiotto Dallara P217-Gibson LMP2 363 14th 11th 2021 Cetilar Racing Antonio Fuoco Giorgio Sernagiotto Ferrari 488 GTE Evo GTE Am 90 DNF DNF 2023 Graff Racing Giedo van der Garde Patrick Pilet Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2 303 37th 16th LMP2 Pro-Am 4th
References
External links Roberto Lacorte at Bloomberg Roberto Lacorte at IMSA FlyingNikka