Monza hosted the seventh and penultimate round of the International GT Open this weekend. Team Novadriver from Portugal took part with their #58 Audi R8 LMS ultra driven by season regulars, César Campaniço and Aditya Patel.
Qualifying saw the Audi duo taking fourteenth overall and ninth in the GTS (GT3) class for race one, followed by sixteenth overall and eleventh in class for race two.
Race one was held on Saturday and concluded with the Novadriver squad finishing within the class top ten, placing tenth in GTS and fourteenth overall.
The second and final race concluded the weekend on Sunday afternoon. The #58 Audi R8 LMS ultra crossed the line in seventh place within the GTS class.
Barcelona will be hosting the final round of the International GT Open, with the eighth meeting of the season taking place at Circuit de Catalunya from 1-2 November.
As was the case in race 1, Team Novadriver had a very difficult International GT Open race 2 at the Hungaroring.
The #58 Audi R8 LMS ultra in the hands of César Campaniço and Aditya Patel finished the 33-lap race in thenth place overall. The two drivers were sixth within the GTS class open to GT3 cars.
At Budapest the Portuguese Audi Sport customer racing team was left without a single chance to challenge the front runners. Overall it was a 1-2 Corvette C6.R win but it was an all Ferrari 458 GT3 in GTS class. The Audi R8 LMS ultra was heavily penalized in the Hungarian event.
César Campaniço and Aditya Patel are now thriteenth overall in the dirver's standing with 38 points each. The International GT Open will resume at Silverstone, July 18th-20th.
The Hungaroring near Budapest hosted the first International GT Open race of the weekend. Team Novadrvier the only Audi in the field had a frustrating event.
The Portuguese Audi Sport customer racing team finished the race in eighth overall and fifth within the GTS class. The car was shared by César Campaniço and Aditya Patel.
Team Novadriver drivers battled really hard but were clearly penalized by the Balance of Performance and simply couldn't fairly fight for the top spots.
Race victory went to the #63 Ferrari 458 GT3 from Ombra Racing. The #56 Ferrari 458 GT3 from AF Corse was second. The #2 Corvette C6.R from V8 Racing was third.
The second race is set for tomorrow. We wish the best of luck to Team Novadriver and their drivers.
The International GT Open is moving to Central Europe, the Hungaroring near Budapest will host the fourth round of the season. A single Audi R8 LMS ultra will take part in the event from Team Novadriver
The Portuguese Audi Sport customer racing team is the only Audi regular team in the International GT Open this season. The #58 Audi R8 LMS ultra will be driven by team's regualrs César Campaniço and Aditya Patel.
Team Novadriver performed very well last time out at Jerez in Spain. The target at the Hungaroring will be another GTS class victory and fight for the top spots overall challenging the stronger Super GT cars (GT2).
César Campaniço and Aditya Patel are twelfth overall in the championship standing with 33 points each.
A selection of great photos from Team Novadriver at Jerez. The Portuguese team performed well with their #58 Audi R8 LMS ultra in the two International GT Open races of the weekend.
The Portuguese Team Novadriver narrowly missed the GTS podium the second International GT Open race at Jerez de la Frontera. The #58 Audi R8 LMS driven by César Campaniço and Aditya Patel finished the race in sixth overall and fourth within the GTS class. You can read our race 2 report right here.
Team Novadriver had a dream Saturday in Jerez de la Frontera with an overall pole position followed by a strong second in Race 1 in the demanding International GT Open.
In Sunday's Race 2 Team Novadriver performed well again showing a strong pace. The #58 Audi R8 LMS ultra in the hands of César Campaniço and Aditya Patel battled very well for top spots overall and within the GTS class.
At the end of the 33-lap sprint race the Portuguese Audi Sport customer racing team finished in a positive sixth place overall. César Campaniço and Aditya Pate narrowly missed the GTS podium with fourth place in class.
Race victory went to the #1 Ferrari 458 GTC from Scuderia Villorba Corse. The #74 Nissan GT-R NISMO from Nova Race was second. The #55 Ferrari 458 GT3 from AF Corse was third.
The Portuguese Team Novadriver performed very well in the first International GT Open race at Jerez de la Frontera. The #58 Audi R8 LMS driven by César Campaniço and Aditya Patel started from pole postion and finished the race in a strong second overall and won the GTS class. You can read our Race 1 report right here.
A great start of the weekend for the Team Novadriver at Jerez de la Frontera. The Portuguese Audi Sport customer racing team performed very well in today's International GT Open race 1.
The #58 Audi R8 LMS ultra in the hands of team manager and driver César Campaniço and Aditya Patel was the star of the day. The two drivers secured a sensational overall pole position in the Qualifying 1 ahead of stronger Super GT cars.
Later in the race the Team Novadriver Audi was very fast and among the bests in the field. César Campaniço and Aditya Patel finished in a very strong second overall and took a fine GTS class victory. They were only 1.822s behind the race winning Ferrari 458 GTC from SMP Racing -Russian Bears after a thrilling 39-lap race.
Race 2 is set for tomorrow at Jerez, Team Novadriver and their drivers will fight again for the outright victory.
Jerez de la Frontera will host the thrid round of the 2014 International GT Open this weekend. A single Audi R8 LMS ultra will enter the event from Team Novadriver.
The Portuguese Audi Sport customer racing team will fied the #58 Audi R8 LMS ultra in the GTS class. The car will be shared by team manager and driver César Campaniço and Aditya Patel.
The two drivers performed well in the opening two rounds at the Nürburgring and Portimao but faced a lot of bud luck. César Campaniço and Aditya Patel are twenty-fourth overall with five points in the championship standing.
The International GT Open hosted its opening round at the Nürburgring this weekend. Two Audi Sport customer racing teams took part.
Team Novadriver entered the #58 Audi R8 LMS ultra with drivers César Campaniço and Aditya Patel. The German Team Spirit Race team, who are regular DMV TCC competitors, entered their #69 Audi R8 LMS ultra with Suzanne Weidt and Dietmar Haggenmüller. Both teams were entered in the GTS category for FIA GT3 specification machinery.
The first qualifying session saw Team Novadriver qualifying fifth in class, twelfth overall, ahead of Team Spirit Race, fourteenth in class. Team Novadriver again placed twelfth overall during the second qualifying session, taking sixth in class. Team Spirit Race qualified fifteenth in GTS.
Race one concluded with Team Novadriver scoring eighth place within the GTS class, followed by Team Spirit Race in fifteenth.
The second and final race saw Team Novadriver finishing sixth in class, after losing time due to a penalty for a pitstop time infringement, as a result of a radio malfunction. The penalty unfortunately dropped them from fourth to sixth. Team Spirit Race finished thirteenth in class.
Round two of the International GT Open will be hosted at Portimão, 6-8 June.
The 2014 International GT Open season will kick off this weekend at the Nürburgring. Two Audi R8 LMS ultra will enter the event including one from Team Novadriver.
The Portuguese Audi Sport customer racing team is back with Audi for the fifth straight year. The team managed by Cesar Campanico won multiple GT titles races wins in Portugal and Europe.
The International GT Open is a familier series for Team Novadriver and their Audi R8 LMS ultra cars. At the Nürburgring only one car will be fielded. The #58 Audi R8 LMS ultra will be shared by César Campaniço and Aditya Patel from India.
There is a big change this year in International GT Open rules. GT Sport, the series promoters and organisers merged Super GT (GT2 cars) and GTS (GT3 cars) into a single and unified class using a special Balance of Performance. Therefore the Audi R8 LMS ultra will be able to to target overall race wins in the Spanish based series. In Germany, Team Novadriver will be eager to fight for top spots and collect big points.
The second Audi effort at the Nürburgring is coming from Team Spirit Race. Their #69 Audi R8 LMS ultra will be driven by Suzanne Weidt and Dietmar Haggenmüller.
The Portuguese Team Novadriver squad were out testing at the Algarve International Circuit this week. The team tested their two Audi R8 LMS ultra cars.
A number of drivers took part in the test with the Novadriver Audis. It was the first test for Team Novadriver in over three months.
The team has not yet confirmed their 2014 race program, but they have said that their fans are in for some surprises this year, as the team continues to move forward in the world of motorsport.
During 2013 Team Novadriver took part in the Spanish IBER GT Championship, FIA GT Series and won the Portuguese GT Championship.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Team Novadriver fielded a two-car team in the 2013 Spanish IBER GT Championship, which coincided with three of the International GT Open rounds. They were also joined by Belgian Audi Club Team WRT's R8 LMS ultra that contested the final round of the year.
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 2: Portimão
Team Novadriver competed in the Spanish IBER GT Championship this weekend. Round one of the Spanish GT was run together with round two of the International GT Open at Portimao. The team was fast in the sessions and qualified on the GTS (GT3 class) pole for race one. Novadriver took victory in the GTS class for both the Spanish GT and GT Open in race one, also achieving third place overall. The team unfortunately suffered a difficult race two with a DNF and a twenty-third place finish.
The second round for the Spanish IBER GT Championship at Jerez once again coincided with a round of the International GT Open, this being round four. Team Novadriver entered the event with their two-car Audi R8 LMS ultra team. They competed well during the red-flag affected first race. In the end they finished fifth overall with the #81, second in the GTS and Spanish GT category, whilst their teammates finished in eleventh overall. Race two saw the #80 Audi finishing third overall and second amongst the GTS competitors, but they did take the win within the Spanish GT category. Their teammates in the #81 had a hard race and finished in thirteenth.
The International GT Open season concluded at Circuit de Catalunya this weekend. Two Audi R8 LMS ultra cars were entered for the GT Open finale. The GT Open finale was held alongside the finale of the Spanish IBER GT Championship, with both series running together on track.
Both championships are split into two categories: the SGT class for GTE specification vehicles and GTS for GT3 specification vehicles. Three Audi R8 LMS ultra cars were on the grid, of which two were GT Open entrants.
The first car was from Team Novadriver, who had entered their #81 Audi R8 LMS ultra in GT Open with drivers Cesar Campanico and GT Open GTS class (GT3) title hopeful, Rafael Hideo Suzuki. This #81 car was also entered for the Spanish IBER GT. Team Novadriver also entered a second Audi in the event, but this #80 car was only entered in the Spanish IBER GT class. Team Novadriver was aiming for the Spanish IBER GT title and Suzuki was aiming to become the GT Open GTS champion. The second GT Open entered car was entered by Belgian Audi Club Team WRT, the #88 Audi R8 LMS ultra of Filipe Albuquerque and Yves Weerts.
Qualifying for race one saw the #81 of Campanico and Suzuki taking seventh on the overall combined grid. Thus they took seventh overall within the GT Open and second in the GT Open GTS (GT3) class. The #88 WRT Audi qualified way back in the field by taking thirty-fifth overall.
The first race was held late on Saturday and concluded with the #81 Audi R8 LMS ultra finishing fourth overall within the combined standings. They took third place within the GT Open GTS class. The WRT Audi was running at the back of the field, but Albuquerque was able to recover during his stint and the #88 WRT Audi finished in twenty-eighth place.
Qualifying for race two saw the #81 Audi in ninth place overall in the combined results. This was a sixth place starting position within the Open GT GTS class. The #88 WRT Audi qualified eighteenth overall.
The second and final race got underway on Sunday. This final race of 2013 again saw the #81 R8 LMS ultra as the highest placed Audi finisher. Campanico and Suzuki finished seventeenth overall, after a huge time handicap penalty during the pitstop. They finished thirteenth within the GT Open GTS class. Unfortunately Suzuki lost out on the GT Open GTS title. The #88 WRT Audi finished further back in twenty-second position overall. This weekend concluded the 2013 International GT Open season.
Team Novadriver fielded a two-car team in the 2013 Spanish IBER GT Championship. The team raced well during the year, but they narrowly missed out on defending the Spanish GT crown.
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: Portimão
Team Novadriver competed in the Spanish IBER GT Championship this weekend. Round one of the Spanish GT was run together with round two of the International GT Open at Portimao. The team was fast in the sessions and qualified on the GTS (GT3 class) pole for race one. Novadriver took victory in the GTS class for both the Spanish GT and GT Open in race one, also achieving third place overall. The team unfortunately suffered a difficult race two with a DNF and a twenty-third place finish.
The second round for the Spanish IBER GT Championship at Jerez once again coincided with a round of the International GT Open, this being round four. Team Novadriver entered the event with their two-car Audi R8 LMS ultra team. They competed well during the red-flag affected first race. In the end they finished fifth overall with the #81, second in the GTS and Spanish GT category, whilst their teammates finished in eleventh overall. Race two saw the #80 Audi finishing third overall and second amongst the GTS competitors, but they did take the win within the Spanish GT category. Their teammates in the #81 had a hard race and finished in thirteenth.
Round 3: Catalunya The Spanish IBER GT Championship season concluded at Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona this weekend. Two Audi R8 LMS ultra cars were entered for the IBER GT finale. The IBER GT finale was held alongside the finale of the International GT Open, with both series running together on track.
Both championships are split into two categories: the SGT class for GTE specification vehicles and GTS for GT3 specification vehicles. Three Audi R8 LMS ultra cars were on the grid, of which two were IBER GT entrants.
Team Novadriver had entered both of their Audi R8 LMS ultra cars this weekend. The first car from Team Novadriver was the #81 Audi R8 LMS ultra with drivers Cesar Campanico and GT Open GTS class (GT3) title hopeful, Rafael Hideo Suzuki. This #81 car was entered for both the Spanish IBER GT and GT Open. Team Novadriver was aiming for the Spanish IBER GT title and Suzuki was aiming to become the GT Open GTS champion. Team Novadriver’s second car was the #81 Audi R8 LMS ultra driven by Manuel Gião and Lourenço Da Veiga, who were only entered in the IBER GT. A third Audi was also on the grid, but it was only entered in the GT Open class, the car entered by Belgian Audi Club Team WRT, the #88 Audi R8 LMS ultra of Filipe Albuquerque and Yves Weerts.
Qualifying for race one saw the #81 of Campanico and Suzuki taking seventh on the overall combined grid and second within the combined GTS (GT3) class. Thus they took fourth overall within the IBER GT and pole position in the IBER GT GTS (GT3) class. Their teammates qualified eighteenth on the overall combined grid, taking fifth within the IBER GT GTS (GT3) class.
The first race was held late on Saturday and concluded with the #81 Audi R8 LMS ultra placing fourth within the overall combined results. This was enough to take third overall within IBER GT and second place within the IBER GT GTS class. Their teammates in the #80 Audi finished fifteenth overall in the combined results.
Qualifying for race two saw the #81 Audi in ninth place overall in the combined results. This was a third place starting position within the IBER GT GTS class. Their teammates qualified twenty-third overall.
The second and final race got underway on Sunday. This final race of 2013 saw the #81 Audi R8 LMS ultra of Campanico and Suzuki finishing seventeenth overall, after a huge time handicap penalty during the pitstop. They took fourth within the IBER GT GTS class. Their teammates in the #80 Audi were involved in the start-line crash and they suffered damage while trying to avoid the incident. They ultimately finished further back in twenty-seventh position overall.
The final results unfortunately revealed that Cesar Campanico was not crowned as the 2013 Spanish IBER GT champion. He finished third overall in the standings and second in the GTS points. He missed both the overall and GTS titles by a mere three points. This weekend concluded the 2013 Spanish IBER GT season.
