IBER GT: Team Novadriver dominated the GT3 class of race 1 at Portimão

By Johan Laubscher

The Spanish IBER GT Championship got underway at Portimao this weekend. The first round of the Spanish series was held alongside round two of the International GT Open. Team Novadriver entered their two Audi R8 LMS ultra cars at the event.

The Portuguese team were home soil and determined to do well. They showed promise during the practice sessions and performed very well in qualifying. The #81 entry of Cesar Campanico and Carlos Vieira took pole position in the GTS class (GT3 competitors), placing fourth overall as well. The sister #80 R8 LMS ultra driven by Manuel Gião and Lourenço Da Veiga qualified sixth in class, ninth overall.

The first race got underway with a confusing start but the racing was fierce on track. The #81 Audi R8 LMS ultra held its ground very well with a terrific performance. They finished the first race as the winners of the GTS class for both the GT Open and IBER GT, and finished third overall. Their teammates lost time after a spin and they ultimately finished in sixteenth place overall. The results from race one can be seen HERE.

The second race will take place today. The grid will see the two Audis line up close together in eighth and ninth overall. We wish the best of luck to the Portuguese team to repeat the great results achieved yesterday. 

Photo credit and more information:
Team Novadriver on Facebook

Supercars Series: Strong second for Novadriver Audi at Motorland Aragon

By Tarek Ramchani

Team Novadriver had another strong weekend with their Audi R8 LMS ultra. The Portuguese Audi Sport customer racing team took part in the season opener of the brand new Supercars International Series, which included the Supercars Portugal Series (former Portuguese GT Championship), at Motorland Aragon in Spain.

Two Audi R8 LMS ultra cars entered the Spanish meeting. The #1 car of Cesar Campaniço, Carlos Viera and Mikko Eskelinen, they started from pole position. The sister #10 car shared by João Ramos, João Pedro Figueiredo and Antti Buri started from eighth place.

On race day the #1 Audi battled hard with the AF Corse Ferrari 458. After a two-hour 57-lap race the #1 R8 LMS ultra finished second behind the winning car from the Italian team. However by finishing second overall, Campaniço, Viera and Eskelinen, were victorious in the Supercars Portugal Series. Unfortunately the sister #10 R8 LMS ultra retired from the race after 17 laps.

The next stop for the Supercars Portugal Series will be at Estoril.

Photo credit: Supercars Series

FIA GT: Audi teams run at the front at Zolder

By Johan Laubscher

The second round of the FIA GT Series took place at Zolder this weekend. Five Audi R8 LMS ultra cars from Belgian Audi Club Team WRT, Phoenix Racing and Team Novadriver entered the event, as was the case at round one in Nogaro.

The big news this weekend was that the Audis were all in their 2013 specification (minus the new rear diffuser). The Audis were fast at Nogaro and it was the case again in Belgium. The R8 LMS ultra cars were near the front during all the sessions and qualified well.

Race victory was achieved during the qualifying race when Stéphane Ortelli and Laurens Vanthoor took the win. Belgian Audi Club WRT scored a well deserved result with all three cars within the top five. The Phoenix Racing entry finished eighth and the Novadriver Audi in thirteenth, after a late race penalty. 

This victory also marked the first race victory for a new 2013 specification Audi R8 LMS ultra. It will certainly be the first of many 2013 spec Audi victories around the world this year.

The #11 WRT Audi started the Championship Race from pole on Sunday. The Reiter Lamborghini managed to take the lead at the start perused by the #11 and #13 WRT Audis. The Audi positions stayed consistent during the opening stages with a good battle between the Phoenix #5 and WRT #12 Audis. The top three positions were maintained during the pitstop process, however Vanthoor put in the drive of the race to catch up to the leading Lamborgini. A terrific battle for the lead was seen with a clearly faster Vanthoor behind the defending Lamborgini. Vanthoor was unable to find his way past, but raced a very intelligent race, collected very valuable points and is now leading the FIA GT Series drivers points alongside Ortelli.

The #13 WRT Audi of Edward Sandström and Frank Stippler finished in third, followed by their teammates in #12 in fifth, ensuring a very good points haul for Belgian Audi Club Team WRT at their home event in Belgium.

The Belgian driver crewed Phoenix Audi R8 LMS ultra of Enzo Ide and Anthony Kumpen finished in sixth. Team Novadriver completed an excellent weekend for the Audi teams by placing in ninth. The #14 car driven by Cesar Campanico and Carlos Vieira completed the result so that all five Audis finished within the top ten.

The next round of the FIA GT Series will take place at Zandvoort in the Netherlands. 

Photo credit: V-Images / Endurance-Info 

FIA GT: WRT and Team Novadriver take victory at Nogaro

By Johan Laubscher

The Audi teams continued their good form at Nogaro today. The first FIA GT Series main Championship Race of the year yielded very good results, in what was eventually coined as an Audi procession.

The main Championship Race got underway in wet condition on Monday afternoon. Sebastian Loeb lead the field in his McLaren closely followed by Nikolaus Mayr-Melnhof in the #12 WRT Audi, who remained in contention during the entire first stint.

During the pitstops Rast was able to leapfrog the Loeb entry which was then driven by Parente. A battle ensued which saw Parente touching Rast into a half spin. Rast recovered and began chasing down the leading McLaren. Parente was eventually called into the pits due to a pitlane infringement. This left Rast out in the lead with plenty still happening behind him.

Sandström in the #13 Audi muscled his way into second place and in doing so took the lead of the Pro class, as the #11 was the overall and pro-am leader. A battle for third had developed between the #5 Phoenix Racing Audi of Ide and Kumpen and a Mercedes-Benz. Vanthoor put on what could be described as the drive of the race as he caught the third place battle and passed both cars to claim third place. This resulted in a WRT 1-2-3 which was held to the line. This result saw WRT winning both classes with Phoenix Racing finishing fifth overall and Team Novadriver claiming second in the Pro-Am class, a 1-2 finish for Audi in the two classes.

However, following the race the #11 WRT car of Rast and Mayr-Melnhof received a thirty second penalty, dropping them to eighth overall and second in class. The penalty was given due to their engine not having been switched off during the entire re-fueling process. The overall and pro class race winners were thus the #13 WRT entry of Edward Sandström and Frank Stippler. The penalty also promoted the Team Novadriver Audi to the pro-am victory with drivers Cesar Campanico and Carlos Vieira.

The next round of the FIA GT Series will take place at Zolder in Belgium. 

Championship Race results can be seen HERE.

Photo credit: Laurent Chauveau/Endurance-Info/86400.fr

FIA GT: Second place for WRT Audi at Nogaro in qualifying race

By Tarek Ramchani

An action packed qualifying race at Nogaro has started the 2013 FIA GT Series. The five Audi R8 LMS ultra cars who all qualified well yesterday faced different fates today.

The #12 Audi R8 LMS ultra of Belgian Audi Club Team WRT finished in a very strong second place after titanic battles for race lead with the winning McLaren MP4-12C of Sebastien Loeb Racing. The car shared by fast Rene Rast and Niki Mayr-Melnhof started from pole position. Rene Rast had a great start and battled hard with McLaren factory driver, Alvaro Parente, in some of the most exiting battles in recent years of GT racing. After the wave of pit stops the Belgian team was able to send Niki Mayr-Melnhof out in front ahead of Sebastien Loeb. The Austrian Audi driver held onto his lead for many laps, as he resisted the WRC legend, before ultimately loosing the lead. Not bad for a car listed as a Pro-Am car. Phoenix Racing #5 Audi R8 LMS ultra of Belgians Anthony Kumpen and Enzo Ide finished in a strong fourth place. The Portuguese #14 car of Cesar Campanico and Carlos Viera were right behind in fifth. The #11 WRT car of Laurens Vanthoor and Stépahne Ortelli were a lap down in sixteenth, due to contact for Vanthoor with a BMW Z4 in the first lap. Later a tire issue sent Stéphane Oretlli's R8 into the gravel trap. The #13 machine of Edward Sandstrom and Frank Stippler had a very disappointing DNF.

The Championship race is set for tomorrow afternoon. The starting order will be the same as in today's championship race standings. Fingers crossed for the three Audi customer teams.

Qualifying race results are here.

Photo credit: Laurent Chauveau/Endurance-Info/86400.fr

FIA GT: Belgian Audi Club Team WRT on pole at Nogaro

By Tarek Ramchani

The new FIA GT Series starts this weekend in France at Nogaro. Five Audi R8 LMS ultra cars are there and things started very well for the Audi squad. A sensational pole position for Belgian Audi Club Team WRT and Rene Rast.

All the five Audi R8 LMS ultra cars were with "old" 2012 specifications. The brand new 2013 upgrades are not homologated yet by the FIA. Still the Audi squad did really great in a very close qualifying session. The Belgian Audi Club Team WRT put their three cars in the top five. Even better, the outright pole was from a Pro-Am car, the #12 Audi R8 LMS ultra of René Rast and Niki Mayr-Melnhof. Rast the double Porsche Supercup champion was able to beat the quick pair of McLaren MP4-12C cars from Sebastien Loeb Racing. Frank Stippler and Edward Sandstrom ended in fourth with the #13 Audi R8 LMS ultra. Stéphane Oretlli the 2012 Blancpain Endurance Series champion and Laurens Vanthoor the new Audi works GT driver were fifth with the #11 R8.

The other two teams did well too. The Portuguese from Team Novadriver landed in a very strong sixth with Cesar Campanico and Carlos Viera driving the #14 Audi R8 LMS ultra. Phoenix Racing entering a single R8 LMS ultra at Nogaro finished in ninth with Belgian duo Anthony Kumpen and Enzo Ide.

Day 1 at Nogaro was more than positive for Audi. The qualifying race is set for tomorrow with a live stream available on the official series website www.fiagtseries.com. We wish the best of luck to the three Audi Sport customer racing teams.

Photo credit: FIA GT Series / Team Novadriver

P1 #12 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT - Rene Rast / Niki Mayr-Melnhof

P4 #13 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT - Frank Stippler / Edward Sandstrom

P5 #11 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT - Stéphane Ortelli / Laurens Vanthoor

P6 #14 Team Novadriver - Cesar Campanico / Carlos Viera

P9 #5 Phoenix Racing - Anthony Kumpen / Enzo Ide

Team Novadriver testing 2013 Audi R8 LMS ultra at Estoril

By Johan Laubscher

Team Novadriver from Portugal have completed their second 2013 pre-season test this week. The team were testing their two Audi R8 LMS ultra cars at Estoril following their test at Braga last week. Both cars are being upgraded to the new 2013 Audi R8 LMS ultra specification. 

One of the team’s two cars has already been upgraded to full 2013 specification and the second car is in an intermediate state of the upgrade. Visually the second car already has the new exhaust set up and now only needs the new rear wing and diffuser to be installed.

It was announced earlier that the Novadriver team will be competing in the FIA GT Series and the Portuguese GT Championship. The final driver combinations were also announced at the end of the Estoril test. The FIA GT Series entry will be driven by Cesar Campanico and Carlos Vieira. The Portuguese GT Championship will see a two-car entry driven by Cesar Campanico / Carlos Vieira / Mikko Eskelinen and João Figueiredo / João Ramos / Antti Buri.

The team states: “Ambition? Winning!” and we wish the team the best of luck for another sensational motorsport season. 

Photo credit and more information: 

Team Novadriver on Facebook

Team Novadriver phenomenal 2012 with Audi

By Tarek Ramchani

Team Novadriver had a very successful 2012 season with Audi and their R8 LMS ultra cars. The Portuguese Audi Sport customer racing team was able to clinch four titles with the highlights being the Portuguese GT and Spanish Iber GT titles.

In Portugal, the title went to César Campaniço and Carlos Vieira. In Spanish Iber GT it was Mikko Eskelinen from Finland who gave the team the driver's crown. Team Novadriver also did very well in the FIA GT3 European Championship. A fine fourth place in the final points standings and a race win in Russia. 10 victories out of 34 races, quite remarkable for a truly privateer effort.

For 2013 the team will be back with Audi for the fourth straight year. The big target will be the newly formed FIA GT Series with an R8 LMS ultra. The car will be in hands of the team's star, César Campaniço joined by Carlos Vieira.

Championship titles:
Portugues GT - Cesar Campanico, Carlos Vieira
Spanish Iber GT - Mikko Eskelinen
Iberian Supercars Trophy - Cesar Campanico, Carlos Vieira
Taça de Portugal de Circuitos GT - Cesar Campanico, Carlos Vieira

Team Novadriver has just released a brilliant 15-minute video review featuring their phenomenal 2012 season. All their races are included. Great action on prestigious European tracks and great sound as well from the 5.2L V10 inside the R16 cars. Enjoy.

Photo credit and more information:

Team Novadriver official Facebook

GT Sport announces definitive 2013 GT Open calendar

GT Sport Press Release

GT Sport today announced two modifications in the calendar for the 2013 season of its International GT Open and European F.3 Open series.


Two minor changes have been introduced to the version of the calendar previously released:

· Round 2 at the Algarve has been moved one week earlier, to 10-12 May

· Round 4 on 14-16 June changes venue, from Hungaroring to Jerez

These changes have been made for practical and technical reasons, with a view to avoid date clashes and to address the wishes of a majority of teams.

Following these modifications, the 2013 Calendar of the International GT Open and the European F.3 Open is confirmed as follows:

26-28 April Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet (France)

10-12 May Autódromo do Algarve, Portimão (Portugal)

31 May - 2 June Nürburgring GP Strecke(Germany)

14-16 June Circuito de Jerez de la Frontera (Spain)

12-14 July Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit (United Kingdom)

6-8 September Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium)

4-6 October Autodromo Nazionale di Monza (Italy)

8-10 November Circuit de Catalunya, Montmeló (Spain)

Photo credit: Team Novadriver

Team Novadriver joins FIA GT Series with Audi

By Tarek Ramchani

Team Novadriver from Portugal unveiled their 2013 program  yesterday. They will again be racing with Audi and the R8 LMS ultra after a storming 2012 season in Portugal and Spain.

Racing for their fourth straight year with Audi, the Portuguese customer team will enter the brand new FIA GT Series. A new series that come after the collapse of the FIA GT1 World Championship. The paddock and atmosphere won't be new for the team team. Novadriver also raced in the defunct FIA GT3 European Championship last year. Both series in 2012 had almost the same set of rules and even shared many races in the second half of the year. For the FIA GT Series effort the team's regular driver César Campaniço will be joined by Carlos Vieira.

In addition to their FIA GT Series effort, Novadriver will race in the new Supercars International Series as well. A series that will have the 6 Hours of Rome as the finale, which will be the stellar event on the calendar.

Photo credit and more information:

Team Novadriver official Facebook

Audi R8 LMS ultra assault on FIA GT Series

By Tarek Ramchani

A brand new GT series is being born in Europe, the FIA GT Series. “New” may not be the right word as the series is basically an evolution of the 2010-2012 FIA GT1 World Championship. As in 2012 the series will feature GT3 race cars and a two one-hour sprint race format each weekend.

Last season each brand could only be represented by one team. It was the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT who raced for Audi in the SRO series, thus meaning that no other Audi teams were allowed to compete. Now things are changing, multiple teams can represent a brand. At Audi three teams have already been confirmed.

Belgian Audi Club Team WRT is set to continue in 2013. The Belgians had some strong performances last year in FIA GT1 as WRT clinched three race victories, winning both season opening races at Nogaro and race 1 in Russia, at the Moscow Raceway. Of course the team had a great 2012 in the Blancpain Endurance Series where they reclaimed the drivers and team championships as well as taking the outright win at Zolder 24 Hours.

Phoenix Racing, a long time partner of Audi in both DTM and long distance races, is also confirmed. The Nürburgring based team is no stranger to FIA GT competition, having raced there in the past with Aston Martin and most recently with Corvette, always having achieved very strong results and performances. Phoenix Racing is coming from a fantastic 2012 year with the Audi R8 LMS ultra. They scored overall wins at the Bathurst 12 Hours, the Nürburgring 24 Hours and the Spa 24 Hours. Phoenix also did a great job in the demanding VLN Endurance Series at the Nordschleife, with two overall victories.

The other Audi team is Team Nova Driver from Portugal. The Portuguese customer team also had a brilliant 2012 by winning the Portuguese, Iberian and Spanish GT crowns. Nova Driver also ran successfully in the FIA GT3 European Championship, a series which used the same cars and almost the same set of rules as the new FIA GT Series.

Along with the three confirmed teams there are more Audi possibilities for the new FIA GT Series. Saintéloc have not committed to the entire season, but they have confirmed their participation at Nagaro, the opening round of the Championhship. SUNRED, the team who ran the Ford GT in the 2012 FIA GT1 World Championship, have expressed interest in running Audis in the 2013 season, however this remains unconfirmed.

The FIA GT Series will be a mostly European based championship. Five meeting are planned in Europe and the sixth and final event of the year will take place at a yet to be disclosed circuit in the Middle East. The season opener is set for Nogaro at the famous "Coupes de Pâques". Without any doubts the Audi squad will be one of the strongest in the field.

2013 FIA GT Series calendar:
1st April: Nogaro, France
21st April: Zolder, Belgium
14th July: Zandvoort, Netherlands
18th August: Slovakia Ring, Slovakia
13th October: Navarra, Spain
16th or 23rd November: Middle East

Photo credit: SRO/FIA GT1 World Championsip/FIA GT3 European Championship

Gallery: Novadriver Audi R8 LMS ultra spotted in Lisbon

By Tarek Ramchani

Team Novadriver, the Portuguese Audi customer team, had a fantastic 2012 season. Multiple championship titles and race wins where achieved with a pair of Audi R8 LMS ultra race cars in Portugal and beyond.

This weekend the #80 yellow livered R16 is on display in the center of Lisbon at the Expocar República.

Photo credit and more information:
Team Novadriver on Facebook

 

Gallery: Novadriver Audi R8 LMS ultra cars at Portimao

By Tarek Ramchani

Team Novadriver from Portugal has been racing successfully with Audi and the R8 LMS since the 2010 season. This year the team was able to clinch the Spanish Iber GT, Portuguese GT and Iberian Supercar Trophy titles. They also did very well in the FIA GT3 European Championship.

Last weekend the Portuguese Audi customer team had a special "Sponsors and Team Day" at the Algarve circuit in Portimao. Both of the team's R8 LMS ultra cars were there as well as one BMW 320TC WTCC machine. As always the team produced massive and great quality photo coverage for their fans. Here is the very best from the event.

More information:
Team Novadriver on Facebook