Tortelli was born in Agen, France where his parents were farmers. He began riding on the family farm when he was 4-1/2 years old. Tortelli made his world championship debut at the last 125cc Grand Prix of the 1994 season, just few days after his 16th birthday. He joined the Jan DeGroot-Kawasaki factory racing team for the 1995 season, winning his first world championship race at the 1995 125cc Indonesian Grand Prix and, finished the season ranked third in the final championship overall results behind Alessandro Puzar and Alessio Chiodi. Tortelli won the 1996 125cc motocross world championship in a dominating manner by winning 11 out of 12 Grand Prix races and became the youngest-ever motocross world champion at the time. He moved up to the 250cc world championship in the 1997 season and won two Grand Prix races to end the season ranked fourth in the championship. Tortelli competed in his first American motocross competition at the opening round of the 1998 AMA Supercross season in the Los Angeles Coliseum as a relatively unknown competitor to American spectators. In one of the biggest surprises in AMA Supercross history, Tortelli won the race held in muddy conditions against top AMA competitors such as Jeremy McGrath and Jeff Emig. The victory marked the only supercross victory of Tortelli's career. The 1998 250cc world championship season was notable for the remarkable battle between Tortelli and the defending three-time 250cc champion Stefan Everts that, wasn't decided until the final round of the series. The two riders dominated the season with Everts winning 8 rounds while Tortelli won 7 rounds out of the 16 race season. Tortelli won the final Grand Prix of the season to win the 250cc motocross world championship.
AMA career
Tortelli moved to the United States in 1999 and joined the Honda factory racing team to compete in the AMA Motocross Championships. Although he was a talented motocross racer, he had little supercross experience and had a steep learning curve. He once again began the season by claiming both moto victories at the season-opening round of the 250cc national championship. He was leading the series after the first six rounds but, he crashed and broke his wrist at the Unadilla round. Tortelli began the 2000 season strongly but, once again suffered an injury and eventually finished the 250cc season in second place behind McGrath. Tortelli won two motos in the first two rounds of the 2001 250cc national championship to once again claim an early season lead in the series but, eventually finished the year ranked sixth as Ricky Carmichael dominated the season. He raced for Team Suzuki from 2003 through the 2005 season, and suffered knee and wrist injuries that made him unable to complete an entire season. During his seven-year tenure in AMA competition, Tortelli won four AMA Nationals and finished in the top five 54 times however, numerous injuries prevented him from further success.
Return to Europe
Tortelli signed a contract with KTM to compete in the 2006 MX1 class for 450cc motorcycles. He had a contract clause that guaranteed him a return to the AMA series if he could win the FIM MX1 title. He showed surprising speed at the opening round in Belgium when, he traded moto wins with Everts. However, at the third round of the series, he dislocated his hip at the Portuguese Grand Prix and had to drop out of the 2006 Grand Prix season. He announced his retirement from professional motocross in December 2006 at the age of 28.
Post-racing career
After retiring from competition, Tortelli managed Perris Raceway in Perris, California with former motocross racer Ricky Johnson as a partner. He later started Champ Factory in Temecula, California, a training school for young motocross racers.
