The summer has arrived, and since our team is currently not racing during the month of August, we will be promoting the team in various summer events throughout Portugal.




We’ve been present at some of the hottest’s spots, including:
· Liberto’s Club, in Albufeira
· Thai Beach Club, in Praia da Falésia Vilamoura
· LUV, in Troia
· Faces Beach Club, in Vilamoura

The next one will be on the 21st of August, at the Black Jack night club, in Vilamoura.

Be sure to join and follow us on Facebook for updated information on future events to come.

ART proved to be a very competitive force in Jarama, achieving on the 5th June the 1st place with Manuel Gião and Juan Lopez and the 3rd place with Álvaro Parente and Francisco Cruz Martins. In the weekend’s last race, the team Álvaro Parente / Francisco Cruz Martins achieved the 3rd place and Manuel Gião / Juan Lopez team achieved the 4th place, allowing both teams the Pilot’s Championship leading position.

Manuel Gião and Juan Lopez won the first weekend’s race in the Spanish GT Championship. The other pilot’s team, consisting of Álvaro Parente and Francisco Cruz Martins, also achieved a 3rd place after a very difficult race.

The pilots, Francisco Cruz Martins started the race in the 2nd line and Juan Lopez in the 3rd line of the starting grid. Álvaro Parente and Francisco Cruz Martins had a 25 seconds handicap, while Manuel Gião and Juan Lopez were forced to lose 20 seconds during the pilot’s exchange.

Álvaro Parente continued in the 4th place due to the penalty and was able to climb up into the 2nd place. The pilot tried several times to pass Jesus Diez with no success. While Diez was focused on maintaining his place, since he was facing Álvaro Parente’s dangerous approaches, the pilot who profited with this fearless competition was Manuel Gião, who overtook the Spanish pilot car, winning the race.

Francisco Cruz Martins made an excellent race, ending it in the 3rd place and Juan Manuel Lopez, who started the race in the 6th, ended up in the 4th place and after giving the car to Manuel Gião, the latter won the race.

The team expected the last race to be very difficult, due to their recent successes and the forced handicaps imposed by the Spanish GT Championship regulations, which prejudiced both teams.

In the last race, Álvaro Parente managed to maintain his Pole-Position in his first laps; however, due to information given by his team, on letting Álvaro Borba’s car get through, he felt to 2nd place.
Manuel Gião started in the 3rd place and kept his position during the race. However, he compromised his car’s tires, which ended up penalizing Juan Manuel Lopez. Nevertheless, the pilot was able to end the race in the 4th place, allowing the team to achieve the 1st place in the Championship and decrease their handicap in the next race.

The team’s passage through Jarama was very successful, since they achieved a Pole-Position, a victory, a leading position on the Team’s Championship, as well as, the top four places in the Pilot’s Championship.

Álvaro Parente - "We didn’t win any race, but we went up to the Podium two times. Therefore, I make a very positive balance of this weekend.”

Francisco Cruz Martins - "It was a very complicated weekend, since we had more handicap than our opponents.”

Manuel Gião - "We had an excellent weekend, because we won a race and ended the other race in the 4th place, which was our goal, in order to decrease our handicap in the next race.”

Juan Manuel Lopez - "I am very happy with the outcome. We made a good race, apart from having a few problems with the tires.”


First race classification (5th June 2010):

1st Juan Manuel Lopez / Manuel Gião – 51:19
2nd Maximo Cortez / Jesus Diaz + 7.7
3rd Francisco Cruz Martins / Álvaro Parente + 10.04


Second race classification (6th June 2010):

1st Manuel Cerqueda / Alan Sicart Ferrari 430 GT2 31 - 51’03.903
2nd Miguel Amaral / Miguel A. de Castro Porsche 911 GT3 RSR - 10"188
3rd Álvaro Parente / Francisco Cruz Martin - 11"086
4th Juan Manuel Lopez / Manuel Gião Ferrari 430 GT2 - 25"997

Aurora Racing Team showed this Sunday that it can fight with the SUPERSTARS GTSPRINT’s top teams, and achieved, with Francisco Cruz Martins at the wheel, a fourth and a second places in the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve’s round of the competition.

The Portuguese had already shown yesterday that had the pace to be among the frontrunners, with its driver grabbing the second fastest lap, which would be converted in the pole-position, as the fastest time of the session was made under yellow flags.

In the first race, Francisco Cruz Martins started very well and led the first five laps. Then he started to feel some problems with tires and was demoted to the fourth place.

In the afternoon’s race, the Aurora Racing Team’s driver started from fifth, but he was already first in the first corner. He was controlling his follower, but, four laps to the end, Michele Rugolo made a desperate move and the Portuguese finished in the second place, which still is a good result.

At the end of the race, Francisco Cruz Martins was very pleased with the weekend outcome. “The team and the car were in very good shape along all event! In the first race, only a tire problem prevented us from a certain podium and from a possible win. In the second, the Ferrari was perfect and I was controlling my opponent. But Rugolo tried a desperate move in a place where it’s hard to overtake and I had to give some space or we would end the race there. However, this is a good result and shows that we are on the same level of the other teams of this hard championship”, said the Portuguese driver.

Fernando Moreira was, also, a happy man after the Algarve round of the SUPERSTARS GTSPRINT, as the team he directs showed it can fight with the regular teams of this competition. “It was a fantastic weekend! The team was at the highest level and Francisco was very well. This championship is very interesting and it has a very high driving standard, which makes it an option for the future. Besides, this is a good way of keeping the team’s momentum in the Spanish GT Championship”, underlined the Aurora Racing Team’s boss.

Aurora Racing Team debuted in the SUPERSTARS GTSPRINT in great style and Francisco Cruz Martins fought for the first Autódromo Internacional do Algarve’s race pole-position.

Soon became clear that the Ferrari 430 GT from the Algarve’s team would be among the fastest along the day, as the 2009 Italian GT Champion was the fastest in the first practice and the second fastest in the second.

Though, it was necessary to repeat that kind of pace in the afternoon’s qualifying, something that Francisco Cruz Martins, with the Aurora Racing Team help, was able to do, signing a lap time that gave him the second place in the grid. “Well, it could be a bit better and I think that the pole-position was within our reach, but in my last timed lap a caught a slower car and I had to abort it. However, I think that this is a good result; showed that we have a good pace and that our set-up is competitive. Now, we have to look at tomorrow’s races and I hope we can get some good results”, underlined the driver from the Aurora Group’s team.

Fernando Moreira, the Aurora Racing Team team manager, was also, pleased with the performance from his structure. “We showed that, with hard work, we can tackle this challenge. The team worked very well and we gave to Francisco a very good car and he took advantage of it. I think that we are in good shape for tomorrow’s races and we will fight hard for the podium top step, something that would be fantastic to achieve, because this is our home-track”, said the man from the Portuguese team.

Yesterday Nelson Piquet drove for the first time the Ferrari 430 GT2 , which he will share with Alvaro Parente in the last race of the GT Open Championship which will take place in Barcelona on October 29th and 30th of this year. Nelson drove the Ferrari of the Aurora Racing team at the Portimão circuit in the Algarve, Portugal.

The first impression is very good and much better than I expected”, Nelson Piquet said after his first laps at the wheel of the Ferrari. “We have a fast car, which is very good in the curves. I’m very pleased with this test.

Nelson will drive together with Alvaro Parente which is a friend of Nelson since the A1GP series where they competed against each other. “I have a lot of respect for Alvaro Parente, which was my opponent in various competitions and who will now be my partner. Finally we get a chance to race together. Alvaro is one of the best drivers in Europe and we will certainly be an unbeatable duo. We are both very fast and aggressive and we have a car that looks quite good. I know Alvaro and he is a good but also a fair driver, with whom I now want to share the highest place on the podium with this car.

Next Friday ART will be having a test day at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, including with the presence of ex-F1 driver, Nelson Piquet Jr who thus joins the other pilots in order to prepare the GT Open race which he will accomplish with Álvaro Parente, forming one of the most competitive duos in the championship.

After the brilliant debut of the team in the Spanish GT Championship where both duos Álvaro Parente / Francisco Cruz Martins and Manuel Gião / Juan Manuel Lopez won both races and completely dominated the weekend, the next steps will be to perform a battery of tests to prepare and adapt the car to the specifications and demands of the GT Open, and to continue to develop the car for the next round of the Spanish GT Championship which will be held in the beginning of June.

Lacking the technical developments to compete in the entire GT Open championship due to the different technical specifications, ART focuses this year on the Spanish Championship but nevertheless had a great joy in the debut race of the championship, where, running simultaneously with the Open class GT, the team managed to fight for the overall victory and reach a 2nd and 3rd place in the overall standings, an extraordinary achievement considering the Ferrari 430 GT2 of the GT Open have an engine and other technical upgrades of over two years.

After a day of testing there will be an opportunity for some guests to experience the thrill of the Ferrari 430 GT2 driven by various drivers of the team, before the whole team and cars makes their way to the city of Porto where on Saturday, they will be the stars of the night at the disco Twins in Foz, together with all the enthusiasts of motorsports, guests and everybody interested in learning more about ART and their pilots.

The ART team repeated the result of saturday’s race reaching another victory and a second place at the Circuit Comunitat Valenciana, now with the protagonists inversion, with double Manuel Gião/Juan Manuel Lopez in the highest place of the podium and Francisco Cruz Martins/Álvaro Parente in second.
This time with only the Open GT and Spanish GT on the track, the pair of car number 31, Manuel Gião/Juan Manuel Lopez left with great expectations since the 7th on the grid for general and pole position for the championship Spanish GT. With a good start Manuel Gião fought with the most advanced cars in the GT Open, holding first place in the Spanish league and 6th on the Open till the change of drivers.
Juan Manuel Lopez then took the controls of the Ferrari 430 GT2 and continued in a very fast rhythm gaining seats in the general. Benefiting from "handicaps" of some of his opponents, the pair eventually finished in an excellent 3rd place in Open GT.
But the Aurora Racing Team car number 30 — piloted by Francisco Cruz Martins and Álvaro Parente — made another great race with the Italian GT champion making a good recovery after having lost a few places in the start because of a wet spot of the track, but eventually made a spectacular climb up to 10th place overall.
Álvaro Parente returned to make a race like yesterday, always being one of the fastest on track, recovering up to 2nd place overall and finishing just 0.5 seconds behind the Spanish Alvaro Barba. However, the result of a failure in timed handicap that would have to meet in the pits because of the victory of yesterday, turned out to be penalized by 20 seconds, still finishing in 5th overall, 2nd in Spanish league.
For Manuel Gião this was the best way to end the weekend, getting a win and a 3rd to the general "It was amazing having achieved this result with so little preparation time. ART did a great job because, even with a weaker engine than the Open, we’ve discuss the podium with teams candidates for the title. It was a very positive weekend and we’ll continue to work on improving our performances but we’ve also concluded with certainty that we have a solid base and very high expectations for Jarama."
Juan Manuel Lopez, visibly pleased with the test performed "I feel great because we’ve got better positions than yesterday. We won the Spanish league and could have been 2nd in the Open if we hadn’t lost to much time in overtaking a Porsche. We ended up benefiting from penalty imposed on Álvaro, who was the fastest rider all weekend, but these things happen in these championships. I’m very motivated for the next race where we can develop more of our car. Congratulations to ART for the excellent work. "
The rookie Francisco Cruz Martins, feels mixed emotions because of the penalty which they were subjected, after an excellent evidence indicated that "it’s in the first race that these things happen. We’ve showed that we are fast and have a good base to get good positions in this championship and even on the Open, if we want to be present. It was a difficult race to recover but the car was excellent. I did not feel major problems in adapting to the Ferrari because it’s very stable during the whole race , the opposite of a Porsche."
Álvaro Parente annoyed with the penalty after doing one more race where they were always the fastest "Kt was a pity we had bad luck. The car was pretty good and the whole team of ART is to be congratulated because they did a great job. I enjoyed myself a lot and it was a shame we did not win the Open GT, it would have been very interesting. Anyway we leave here - Valencia — leading the Spanish league which is always good. "
For the ART team manager, Fernando Moreira "It was a spectacular weekend where we were always very competitive even with a 2008 car. We were the team of the weekend and the expectations for the rest of championship are big. I will try to gather the financial resources to be present in more Open GT races. With these pilots and technical team, we would certainly embarrass some teams."

Álvaro Parente and Francisco Cruz Martins reached today, in the Comunitat Valenciana circuit, a great victory in the Spanish GT Championship with the company of another ART team pair, Juan Lopez and Manuel Gião, who also made a great recovery test, finishing in third.

With the first race of the Spanish GT Championship to be held simultaneously with the race debut of the Open GT, the was a very large scale and varied starting grid. Despite the presence of the GT Open class, with cars more technically advanced than the Spanish league, Álvaro Parente ended up qualifying in 3rd overall (1st in its class). Juan Lopez, in the other Aurora Racing Team Ferrari F430 GT2, tore further back on the grid getting the 3rd qualification in its class.

With the entry in the pits and change of driver of car number 30 to not running as expected, Francisco Cruz Martins now at the to commands of the Ferrari 430 GT2, found himself in 2nd place without much chance of recovering the lead.

After assuring Álvaro Parente’s presence in the Iberian GT Championship, Aurora Racing Team counts also with the presence of the former F1 pilot, Nelson Piquet Jr., in the Open GT championship’s last race, which will take place in Barcelona on October 29th and 30th.
With Álvaro Parente competing in Superleague Formula by Porto FC and with Nelson Piquet Jr competing in Nascar Truck Series, this was way of assuring the possibility for both pilots to steer a Ferrari 430 GT2 from Aurora Racing Team, extending the already ambitious 2010 sports program.
Apart from being one of the best international double team in Open GT, the main goal is to win the Spanish GT Championship, in which Álvaro Parente will team up with another pilot, also distinguished, that is going to be announced in due time.
Due to schedule’s conflict he will not be able to run in one of the Spanish GT Championship’s race, Álvaro Parente can be replaced by Nelson Piquet Jr, having therefore an other opportunity to better adjust to the car and to Aurora Racing Team.
Nelson Piquet Jr and Álvaro Parente are going to be on April 30th in Portimão making the first tests with the Ferrari 430 GT2, followed afterwards by an event from Aurora Racing Team on May 1st in Oporto, which will count with the presence of all pilots and technical staff.
The Spanish GT Championship is made up of 6 races starting already next April 16-18th in Valencia and passing one time by Portugal, namely by Estoril, on September 3rd. The Open GT is made up of 8 races and is beginning at the same time as the Spanish GT Championship in Valencia, which ends on October 29th in Barcelona.

Nelson Piquet Jr.:
"I’m really happy to be taking on this new challenge and to get these invitations to race in good teams. It’s another new category for me, and I’m excited to be broadening my experience in GT racing - it’s something that I know I’m going to enjoy. I’m also happy to have such a good team-mate in Alvaro Parente, and I’m looking forward to working with him at Aurora Racing and achieving a strong result."

Álvaro Parente:
"I am very glad that Aurora Racing Team was able to join Nelson in this project. We’ve been friends since A1GP and it’s going to be great to run together in Open. I believe that all experience acquired from other classes will be a surplus-value for the team and surely we will achieve great scores."

Marcel Sanders, Aurora Group CEO:
"I am honoured to count with presence of Nelson Piquet Jr. by the side of Álvaro Parente in Open GT last race. I believe that Álvaro Parente and Nelson Piquet Jr have what it takes to belong in F1, and they will surely be the strongest double team in Open GT Championship.

Our goal is to win the Spanish GT Championship and the Open’s races, which could be more than one race, if it is possible for the pilots and the team. It will be a great opportunity for our team, which only has two years. I will do our best. It’s excellent news for Aurora Group, our partner in this project."

Fernando Moreira, Aurora Racing Team ‘s Team Manager:
"Although Aurora Racing Team only has one year’s existence, I am truly proud to awake the interest of pilots, such as Nelson Piquet Jr or Álvaro Parente, as well as, to be allowed to count on their experiences in other competitive championships to evolve as a team.
We are going to fight for the victory without undervaluing the existing competitiveness in the championship. This experience will prepare us for 2011, in which we expect to compete in all Open GT Championship races.

The second race of the Spanish Iber GT Championship held at the Jerez circuit saw the Portuguese duo of the ASM Team, Ricardo Bravo and Lourenço da Veiga take the win. Juan Manuel López and Peter Sundberg (Aurora Racing Racing), finished in second place, just 4.3 seconds behind. The third step of the podium went to Miguel Amaral and Miguel Angel de Castro (Drivex Porsche). Thanks to this success, Bravo and Da Veiga keep the lead of the championship with 170 points, followed by Miguel Angel de Castro with 160.

After the drama of the F3 race held just before, the calm was the main feature of the second race of the Spanish Iber GT Championship during the 24 laps to the Jerez track.

The Ferrari 430 GT2 of the Portuguese ASM Team was the winner of the race, taking advantage of starting from the first position. Ricardo Bravo and Lourenço B. da Veiga finished the 24 laps in 45 minutes and 13 seconds. In the second place were the winners of the race held on Saturday, Sundberg and López, 4’’362 behind, while Miguel Amaral and Miguel Angel de Castro reached the chequered flag 18’’291 behind the winners.

The last round of the Spanish Iber GT Championship, sixth round of the 2009 season, will take place in the Algarve circuit (Portugal) from November 6 to 8.

Juan Manuel López and Peter Sundberg were the winners of the first race of the Spanish Iber GT Championship in the Jerez circuit. They shared the podium with Miguel Angel de Castro and Miguel Amaral (Drivex Porsche), in second, while the third place went to Jordi Gené and Oscar Fernández (Sun Red).

Despite starting from the second line of the grid, Juan Manuel López and Peter Sundberg finished with a win even when they were penalized with a "drive trough" for a breach of art. 21.3 of the GT regulations after a series of off-track moments. For the same reason a penalty was issued to Lourenço da Veiga and the Aston Martin of the RSV Motorsport drivers, Ronald Severin and Ni Amorin.

The driver change was the key of the success for the Ferrari 430 GT2 of Aurora Racing Team, as up to that moment Miguel Amaral and Miguel Angel de Castro dominated the race. The Ferrari with the number 1 reached the pit lane for the "drive trough" with a 22 seconds advantage over the second, which allowed them to get the victory in the end.

Peter Sundberg and Juan Manuel López:
"Truth is I felt very good during all the race, despite the "drive trough" we received, but we took the victory anyway in the end, as we had 22 seconds advantage over the second. For tomorrow, we might have some trouble in the first laps, but if the car behaves like today, everything will be fine."