Bruno Besson: “I am not here to tell my driver that he is the best”

Between the car and the place (the carpooling was made in Pierrefonds in the Oise), you spoiled us! Why that Porsche 964?

I love these old-fashioned cars, they are cars that live. To drive them, you have to do heel-toe, it's magical. She smells like a racing car! Those of today, Ferrari, Lamborghinis are nice, they accelerate. There are certainly sensations, but it’s sanitized! I respect the paddles on the steering wheel, however, it's not my thing, I leave them to the Playstation generation. (Laughs) There, when we accelerate (it runs, the engine sings), there is a real noise. We feel the mechanics and we have to respect them. This 964 belongs to one of my great friends, Florent, a car enthusiast. We met at the 25 Hours of Fun Cup, and we haven't left each other since. This car is the dream for me.

We can see your passion for flying through these words. It's not for nothing that you became a coach. How did you decide to become one?

I stopped my racing career in 2005. I could no longer find solutions to get paid. I was 25 years old, and my friend Bruce Jouanny (ex-pilot, now presenter of Top Gear France. Editor's note) put me in contact with Meritus Racing, to go to F4 Asia. I went to Malaysia and Thailand to coach pilots... That's how I found myself supervising Jazeman Jaafar, Earl Bamber... It was a bit old-fashioned, I was a coach, but also an engineer. (Laughs) Back in Europe, I started coaching again, at Hitech. I was on the Formula Renault, it was going well, then Renaud Derlot (ex-pilot, now consultant F1 for Canal+. Editor's note) called me one winter to offer to coach Anton Nebylitskiy. Eta