Portuguese GT: Team Novadriver 2013 season review

By Johan Laubscher

Team Novadriver successfully defended the Portuguese GT title during 2013. Their two-car team enjoyed much success during the season.

The season review has been compiled from the 2013 Audi Motorsport Blog Weekend Round Up posts. Each round has been added as was seen in the individual Weekend Round Up posts during 2013, which can be accessed via the links throughout the review below:

Round 1: Cancelled

Team Novadriver were entered for the first Portuguese GT round, which was scheduled for this weekend. The Portuguese team have entered a two-car team this year, with both of their cars having been updated to 2013 Audi R8 LMS ultra specification. The first round of the championship was however cancelled due to technicalities within their GT Cup rules, thus the Portuguese GT championship will only be getting underway in April. Team Novadriver have completed a number of tests in the last three weeks.

Taken from Weekend Round Up - Audi Motorsport Blog (23-24/03/2013)

Round 1: Aragon

The Portuguese GT Championship, now known as the Supercars Portugal Series, took place alongside the Supercars International Series this weekend. The event took place at Aragon in Spain. One Audi R8 LMS team has entered the series for 2013, Team Nova Driver, who are once again fielding a two car effort. Both of the team’s cars are in the 2013 Audi R8 LMS ultra specification. The team qualified on the overall pole and finished the race second overall, and first in the Portuguese GT standings. The second Nova car unfortunately retired from the race.

Taken from Weekend Round Up - Audi Motorsport Blog (27-28/04/2013)

Round 2: Estoril

Round two of the Portuguese GT Championship was held at Estoril this weekend. Team Novadriver took part with both of their Audi R8 LMS ultra cars. Both cars qualified within the top three, with the #1 Novadriver Audi taking pole. It was a very good two-hour race for the team. The lead had changed by the first pitstops with the #10 Novadriver Audi leading and their teammates in fifth. An Audi 1-2 had been established after the second pitstops and this was maintained to the flag. Victory went to the #1 of Cesar Campanico, Carlos Vieira and Mikko Eskelinen, followed by their teammates João Figueiredo, João Ramos and Manuel Gião in the #10.

Taken from Weekend Round Up - Audi Motorsport Blog (25-26/05/2013)

Round 3: Boavista

The Supercars Portugal Series (Portuguese GT Championship) held its third round at Boavista in Portugal. This event was held together with round two of the Supercars International Series. Team Novadriver, who are contesting the Portuguese series, was entered with their two-car Audi R8 LMS ultra team. Both cars qualified within the top four and the race finished with another Team Novadriver victory, as the #1 Audi R8 LMS ultra won with their teammates finishing in third.

Taken from Weekend Round Up - Audi Motorsport Blog (29-30/06/2013)

Round 4: Portimão

Portimão hosted GT Racing this weekend, in the form of the fourth Portuguese GT round and the third Supercars International Series round. These two series were once again combined this weekend. Team Novadriver were entered with their pair of Audi R8 LMS ultra cars. They qualified second and third and finished the event with yet another victory for the #1 car, followed by the #10 in third. This victory for the #1 Novadriver driver squad clinched the Portuguese GT driver’s title for Cesar Campanico, Carlos Vieira and Mikko Eskelinen.

Taken from Weekend Round Up - Audi Motorsport Blog (31/08-1/09/2013)

Round 5: Braga

The Portuguese GT Championship, also known as the Supercars Portugal Series, held its fifth and final round at Braga this weekend. Team Novadriver had already been crowned as the Portuguese GT champions, as Cesar Campanico, Carlos Vieira and Mikko Eskelinen were crowned champions at Portimão last time out. They showed good form during practice, placing both of their cars within the top three in all three of the sessions. However, following practice the team noticed that their telemetry was reading abnormally high fluent temperatures. The team then decided to withdraw their cars from the event in order to investigate the abnormality and to prevent permanent damage to their car's engines. The team's press release regarding the matter can be seen HERE. 

Taken from Weekend Round Up - Audi Motorsport Blog (14-15/09/2013)

Photo credit: 

Team Novadriver

Supercar Series

Portuguese GT: Abrupt end for Team Novadriver in the Portuguese GT Championship

Team Novadriver Press Release

Good afternoon Team Novadriver fans

Unfortunately , abruptly ended for Team Novadriver in the Portuguese GT Championship. After the three free practice session, the technical team found a strange and unusual difference in progress to what is the normal rhythm of the Audi R8 LMS Ultra at Braga.

The telemetry showed abnormal and dangerous temperature values for the coolant and lubricant, particularly in the Audi # 10 engine.

All the team tried to remedy this problem, but after a consultation with technicians from Audi Sport Customer Racing , it was evident that it would be impossible for the two Audi R8 LMS Ultra introduce themselves minimally competitive, still running the risk of damaged beyond repair both engines.

Given this unusual and absolutely unprecedented situation, the team met with their pilots and unanimously decided to withdraw from the race, returning immediately to the team's base to investigate what happened to the engines of the two Audi R8 LMS Ultra.

Team Novadriver want to present to all their fans and followers our apologies, but this time the risk was too high when everything was decided in the league due to the absence of the major opponents of Team Novadriver, the Mercedes SLS driven by José Pedro Fontes and Miguel Barbosa.

Team Novadriver highlights the huge union and communion of interests between pilots and technical staff, as though it was made the investment in travel , hotels , tires and fuel, unanimously decided to play it safe.

Team Novadriver want to repudiate and condemn the lack of sportsmanship from some people who saw this unexpected situation as an excuse to hide the team withdraw premeditation. What is a real nonsense, because why made a substantial investment for just three practice sessions.

It stands for the history the domain of Team Novadriver throughout the year , underlining by the title reached a race before the end of the season with the Audi#1 driven by César Campaniço Mikko Eskelinen and Carlos Vieira and the second place in the competition for the Audi # 10 piloted by João Figueiredo and João Ramos.

(Press release sourced from the Team Novadriver Facebook page)

Photo credit: Supercars Series

Portuguese GT: Novadriver race victory and crowned champions in Portimão

By Johan Laubscher

The Portuguese GT Championship was at Portimão this weekend, where Team Novadriver continued their successful 2013 season.

This was round four of the Portuguese GT, now known as the Supercars Portugal Series, and it was run together with round three of the Supercars International Series. Team Novadriver entered both of their Audi R8 LMS ultra cars. Car #1 was driven by Cesar Campanico, Carlos Vieira and Mikko Eskelinen. Car #10 was in the hands of João Figueiredo, João Ramos and Lourenço Beirão da Veiga.

They qualified second (car #1) and third (car #10). The race itself went very well for the team, and the #1 crew of Campanico, Vieira and Eskelinen crossed the line victorious once again. This race victory also clinched the driver's title for the race winners, meaning that Novadriver took their second consecutive driver’s title. Their teammates finished in third, reinforcing their second place in the championship points.

The next Portuguese GT round will be taking place at Braga in mid-September.

Photo credit: Supercars Series

Portuguese GT: Victory for Team Novadriver at Boavista

By Johan Laubscher 

The Supercars Portugal Series (Portuguese GT Championship) held round three at Boavista this weekend. Team Novadriver was present with their two-car Audi R8 LMS ultra team. 

Round three of the Portuguese series was held alongside round two of the Supercars International Series. The two cars from Team Novadriver have performed well so far in 2013. The #1 Audi R8 LMS ultra was driven by Cesar Campanico, Carlos Vieira and Mikko Eskelinen. The second car was the #10 driven by João Figueiredo, João Ramos and Manuel Gião.

They performed well during the practice sessions, consistently placing within the front runners. During qualifying the top placed Audi was on the front row, with the #1 achieving second place, just 0.024 seconds behind the pole sitting Porsche. Their teammates in the #10 placed fourth.

The race itself saw another great performance from Team Novadriver as they moved forward during the race. The #1 Audi R8 LMS ultra squad bettered their second place starting position by coming home to win yet another event. Their teammates maintained their positions and finished in fourth.

It was indeed another successful weekend for Team Novadriver in Portugal. The next round of the Supercars Portugal Series will take place at Portimao in August.   

The results from the Portuguese GT weekend can be seen HERE.

Update: Following the race a number of time penalties were given to various competitors. The #1 Audi R8 LMS ultra received a thirty second penalty due to an irregularity regarding the pit-stop window. The penalty has luckily not affected the outcome, as the #1 had more than a ninety second gap at the finish, thus they are still classified as the race victors. A thirty second penalty was also given to the third placed finisher, thus promoting the second Novadriver Audi into third position, after they had originally finished in fourth.

Photo credit: Team Novadriver

Portuguese GT: 1-2 victory for Novadriver Audi at Estoril

By Johan Laubscher

Team Novadriver has converted their pole position into a 1-2 race victory at Estoril. It has been a brilliant weekend for the Portuguese Audi Sport Customer Racing team, in what was the second round of the Supercars Portugal Series (Portuguese GT championship).

Qualifying provided the team with two top three starting positions. The #1 Audi R8 LMS ultra crew of Cesar Campanico, Carlos Vieira and Mikko Eskelinen took pole position yesterday, followed by their teammates, João Figueiredo, João Ramos and Manuel Gião, taking third on the grid in the #10 Audi R8 LMS ultra.

The race progressed very well for the team. The #10 Audi R8 LMS ultra held the lead after the first set of pitstops and the #1 was holding fifth. An Audi 1-2 was established after the second round of pitstops with the #1 leading the #10.

The Audi 1-2 was maintained to the end of the race as Team Novadriver celebrated a well deserved double triumph with the #1 crew taking victory.

The next round of the Supercars Portugal Series takes place alongside the International Supercars Series at Boavista in Portugal, schedule for June 29-30.

Photo credit: Supercars Series 

Portuguese GT: Pole position for Novadriver Audi R8 LMS ultra at Estoril

By Tarek Ramchani

Estoril is hosting the second round of the Supercars Portugal Series this weekend, formerly known as the Portuguese GT Championship. Team Novadriver is there with two Audi R8 LMS ultra cars.

The qualifying session was held this afternoon, with great results for the Portuguese Audi Sport customer racing team. The #1 Audi R8 LMS Ultra shared by César Campaniço, Carlos Vieira and Mikko Eskelinen took a brilliant pole position with a time of 1.39:446. In second was the #7 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 of team Sports & You with drivers Miguel Barbosa and José Pedro Fontes. The second Novadriver entry, the #10 car of drivers João Figueiredo, João Ramos and Manuel Gião, was third fastest with a time of 1.40:192.

The race is set for tomorrow, a 2-hour endurance event. We wish the best of luck for Team Novadriver and all their drivers.

Photo credit: Team Nova Driver

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

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

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