Dario Benuzzi is an Italian test driver

Test driver

In motor sports it is common to have one or more test drivers that work with the mechanics to help develop the vehicle by testing new systems on the track.-NASCAR:...

, best known for his employment at Ferrari

Ferrari

Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles as Ferrari S.p.A. in 1947...

, a manufacturer of sports cars in Italy. He has tested every production model following the Ferrari 246 Dino as well as the company's Formula One

Formula One

Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...

 cars.

As a chief test driver, he is responsible for its development work that involves spending five to six hours in a car daily at Ferrari's private track

Fiorano Circuit

The Fiorano Circuit is a private racetrack owned by Ferrari for development and testing purposes. It is located near the Italian town of Maranello....

 and on the road, then giving feedback to his team of test drivers and car engineers.

Originally from the neighbouring Vignola

Vignola

Vignola is a city and comune in the province of Modena , Italy.Its economy is based on the cultivation of fruit, but mechanical industries and services companies are present....

, his career with the factory began in 1971 when as a mechanic, he applied for a job at Ferrari and soon, he began working in its prototype department. He gradually progressed from mechanic to trainee test driver under the auspice of chief test driver Roberto Lippi

Roberto Lippi

Roberto Lippi is a former racing driver driver from Italy. He participated in 3 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, all of them in Italy, debuting on September 10, 1961. He started only one of these races, and scored no championship points.-Complete Formula One World Championship...

.

From the late 1980s to 1993, when Nicola Larini

Nicola Larini

Nicola Larini is a racing driver from Italy. He participated in 75 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on September 6, 1987. He finished second in the tragic 1994 San Marino Grand Prix on a substitute outing for Ferrari, but only scored points once more in his career...

 stepped in, Benuzzi was the test driver for Ferrari's Formula One

Formula One

Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...

 cars.

Benuzzi was one of the Olympic torch bearer

Olympic Flame

The Olympic Flame or Olympic Torch is a symbol of the Olympic Games. Commemorating the theft of fire from the Greek god Zeus by Prometheus, its origins lie in ancient Greece, where a fire was kept burning throughout the celebration of the ancient Olympics. The fire was reintroduced at the 1928...

 at the Maranello leg for the 2006 Winter Olympics

2006 Winter Olympics

The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Turin, Italy from February 10, 2006, through February 26, 2006. This marked the second time Italy hosted the Olympic Winter Games, the first being the VII Olympic Winter...

, handing it to fellow test driver, Luca Badoer

Luca Badoer

Luca Badoer is an Italian Formula One driver who has raced for the Scuderia Italia, Minardi, Forti Corse and most recently, Ferrari teams...

.