UpdateF1 >> Formula 1 News > Monteiro buys GP2 team BCN

Renamed Ocean Racing Technology

The Portuguese has guaranteed the acquisition of BCN competicion from the GP2 Series. The Deal has been reached this week. Ocean Racing Technology becomes the first with full Portuguese investment competing in an international championship which is a direct access to Formula 1.

Together with José Manuel Guedes, Tiago embraces this new challenge with enthusiasm. This is the first time he is involved in a competition from outside the cockpit: “It´s a step we were willing to take, but we didn’t expect it would happen this early. Still, we saw this opportunity and we decided to grab it. As soon as we got the means to finance the operation we got the negotiations under way. Managing a team is fascinating as you need to understand perfectly the sport on track but you also need to be aware business wise. And GP2 is the perfect stage as it is so close to Formula 1 and with a growing recognition worldwide. We also believe this project will be a landmark promoting the Portuguese motorsports scene on an international level”, said Tiago.

Ocean Racing Technology – A Sea of opportunities

Tiago Monteiro and José Guedes are building the team from scratch, gathering a well thought group of professionals from all over the world.

The two partners have not revealed yet the colors of the team. The cars will be on track in the next round of the GP2 Asia Series, from December 4th to 6th. Tiago Monteiro also did not reveal the names of the drivers who will try and bring the team their first points, admitting that the negotiations are on the final stages, and that this season’s Asia Series will be useful to test several drivers in order to make the best choices for the Main Series: “This is really a team under construction, but soon we will have the structure finalized. We are getting together a group of professionals that gives us guarantees and confidence, as we know GP2 is one of the most competitive championships in the world. We are recruiting people we know well, with an extensive curriculum in Formula 1, GP2 and other international championships. The Asia Series will be kind of a warm up for the Main Series. By that time we will be working on a full scale. We know the task ahead is enormous, but our motivation equals the size of the job ahead, as we are fully aware of the importance of the project. Again, right now we know there is a big curiosity regarding the name of the two drivers, and I can say there is no obligation for them to be Portuguese, although that remains a possibility. But the most important thing is to make the right choices”, concluded Tiago.

Written: Fri, 28 Nov 2008 17:06:37