Ocean Racing Technology (ORT) was a racing team that took part in both the GP2 Main Series and the GP2 Asia Series Championships. The team, owned by

Tiago Monteiro Tiago Vagaroso da Costa Monteiro (; born 24 July 1976) is a Portuguese professional racing driver currently competing in the World Touring Car Cup, driving a Honda Civic TCR for Engstler Motorsport. He competed in Formula One between 2005 an ...

and José Guedes, was formed at the end of the 2008 season after being purchased from BCN, a team which never enjoyed much success in GP2 (two podiums in four years). The driver and the entrepreneur created a structure based on recognized professionals and quickly started to secure first-class results, making it possible for the Portuguese Racing team to fight with the more advanced teams in the FIA accredited championship that is the main feeder series for Formula One. While BCN was the only GP2 team that had yet to win a race (contributing factors being BCN Competición's frequent use of a rotating selection of paying drivers), the change to ORT meant a full transformation (the team kept only the frames, discarding all the rest, and hiring new staff). In their first year in GP2,

Álvaro Parente Álvaro Parente (born 4 October 1984) is a Portuguese professional racing driver. Career Early career After winning the Karting European Junior Championship in 1998, Porto-born Parente made his debut in auto racing in 2001 at the age of 16, ...

won the first race for the team at the 2009 Belgian GP2 Feature Race, in a round where he also got pole position and fastest lap.

History

The team was created in 2002 and their debut season was in

Formula Nissan In science, a formula is a concise way of expressing information symbolically, as in a mathematical formula or a ''chemical formula''. The informal use of the term ''formula'' in science refers to the general construct of a relationship betwee ...

with

Andrea Belicchi Andrea Belicchi (born 18 December 1976) is an Italian professional racing driver. He has competed in such series as the Porsche Supercup, Le Mans Series and FIA World Endurance Championship. He won the Russian Formula Three Championship in 200 ...

and Carlos Martin as drivers. In 2003 and 2004, BCN raced in

International Formula 3000 The Formula 3000 International Championship was a motor racing series created by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) in 1985 to become the final preparatory step for drivers hoping to enter Formula One. Formula Two had become t ...

GP2 Series The GP2 Series was a form of open wheel motor racing introduced in 2005 following the discontinuation of the long-term Formula One feeder series, Formula 3000. The GP2 format was conceived by Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, while Eccle ...

, finishing as runner-up in both the drivers and teams championships in 2004. In 2005-06, the team was involved in the new

A1 Grand Prix A1 Grand Prix (A1GP) was a "single-make" open-wheel auto racing series that ran from 2005 until 2009. It was unique in its field in that competitors solely represented their nation as opposed to themselves or a team, the usual format in most for ...

series managing the A1 Team South Africa car, however DAMS took over the team for 2006-07.

Formula 3000 and GP2 Series and GP3 Series

For 2003, BCN stepped up to

. In their first year on that series, they were known as a rent-a-drive team due to high number of drivers who passed by team that year (drivers such as

Will Langhorne William Langhorne (born July 29, 1974, in Washington, D.C.), is a race car driver sponsored by Porsche. He is also a former driver in the Indy Racing League. After coming up through karting and the Skip Barber Racing Schools, he drove in the Ba ...

, Alessandro Piccolo,

Ferdinando Monfardini Ferdinando Monfardini (born 20 November 1984 in Isola della Scala) is an Italian race car driver. He raced in the 2005 and 2006 GP2 Series seasons, having previously raced in the Formula 3000 series which it replaced. Career Monfardini started o ...

and Rob Nguyen). This year, it had many financial difficulties and virtually did not have a big sponsor. In 2004, the situation got better — the team ran veteran driver

Enrico Toccacelo Enrico Toccacelo (born 14 December 1978 in Rome) is an Italian auto racer with karting, GT and Formula 3000 experience. He won three F3000 events and briefly led Vitantonio Liuzzi in the 2004 championship before Liuzzi went on to win the next thr ...

alongside Argentine youngster

Esteban Guerrieri Esteban Guerrieri (born 19 January 1985 in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine racing driver. He was the most successful driver in the WTCR series in terms of wins. Career Formula racing After graduating from karts, Guerrieri competed in various F ...

. With the same drivers throughout the year, the team found the pace to reach second place in the Teams' Championiship, with 84 points (56 from Toccacelo and 28 from Guerrieri) just behind the

Arden International Arden International is a multiple formula racing team created and run by Christian Horner and Garry Horner. It currently runs teams in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and F4 British Championship, and formerly ran in the FIA Formula 2 Championship ...

team. BCN was considered a threat for the new

, alongside other top teams like

Super Nova Racing Super Nova Racing was a British racing team that has competed in Formula 3000/ GP2 and the A1 Grand Prix series. Super Nova first entered racing in 1991. Super Nova was a new incarnation of the pre-existing David Sears Motorsport, sponsored by ...

and Arden. In 2005, the team hired Venezuelan star

Ernesto Viso Ernesto José "E. J." Viso Lossada (born March 19, 1985) is a Venezuelan professional racing driver. He has raced in the 2005 and 2006 GP2 Series seasons, and has also driven the third car for Spyker MF1 Racing. In 2007 he competed in the GP2 S ...

and Japanese

Hiroki Yoshimoto (born 2 September 1980 in Osaka) is a Japanese race car driver. He raced in the 2005 GP2 Series for the BCN Competicion team, alongside the Venezuelan E. J. Viso. For 2006 he was initially teamed with the more experienced Timo Glock of Germa ...

, anticipating at least, some victories and many points. However, compared to the previous year, 2005 was a great disappointment. BCN could not threaten teams like Arden and

ART Grand Prix ART Grand Prix is a French motor racing team that competes in formula single-seaters in Europe. In 2012, it competed in the GP2 Series and GP3 Series as Lotus GP to reflect sponsorship from British sports and racing car manufacturer Lotus. The ...

. The team ended the year with 35 points and 9th place in the Teams' Championiship. In 2006, Scalabroni's team continued as a midfield team, scoring points occasionally. Yoshimoto continued with the team, first paired with

Timo Glock Timo Glock (born 18 March 1982) is a German professional racing driver, and BMW Motorsport works driver. He raced in Formula One for the Jordan, Toyota, Virgin Racing and Marussia F1 teams. He finished 10th in the Drivers' Championship in both ...

(who brought DHL as sponsor), but the German driver was not comfortable with the team and moved to

iSport International iSport International was a British motor racing team that competed in the GP2 Series. The team was founded by Paul Jackson, Gavin Bickerton-Jones and Richard Selwin, former members of the Petrobras Junior Team in 2004, ahead of the inaugural ...

at mid-season. Glock's place was filled by

Luca Filippi Luca Filippi (born 9 August 1985 in Savigliano, Italy) is an Italian auto racing driver. He competed in GP2 Series from 2006 to 2012, and the IndyCar Series from 2013 to 2016. In 2008 he was the official Honda Racing F1 test driver. Career Form ...

. The team again finished 9th in the Teams' Championship, with 22 points. For 2007 BCN hired a pair of young Asian talents -

Super Aguri F1 Super Aguri F1 was a Formula One team that competed from to . The team, founded by former F1 driver Aguri Suzuki, was based in Tokyo, Japan, but operated from the former Arrows Grand Prix International, Arrows factory at the Leafield Technical ...

test driver

Sakon Yamamoto is a Japanese racing driver turned politician. He competed in 21 Formula One Grands Prix during the , 2007 and 2010 seasons. Before Formula One Yamamoto was born in Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture. He began his racing career in 1994 at the Suzuka ...

and 2006 German F3 Cup champion

Ho-Pin Tung Ho-Pin Tung (; born December 4, 1982) is a Chinese people in the Netherlands, Chinese-Dutch racing driver who races with a Chinese license. Career Born in Velp, Gelderland, Netherlands, Tung started kart racing in the Netherlands in 1997 befo ...

. When Yamamoto stepped up to F1, his place was taken by Finnish driver Markus Niemelä. However, the team was unsuccessful, scoring just four points all year.

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

was little better, with a succession of drivers competing for the team amidst reported financial troubles. A fourth place for

Adrián Vallés Adrián Vallés Escortell (born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish race car driver. Career Vallés was born in Teulada, Alicante. After a strong karting career, he drove in Spanish Formula Three, before moving to the World Series by Nissan in 2004. Th ...

at Monaco was the only points-scoring run. BCN Competición was bought by the Portuguese former F1 (and current WTCC) driver

and José Guedes in November 2008, in a move that relocated the team to the

Algarve The Algarve (, , ; from ) is the southernmost NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities ( ''concelhos'' or ''municípios'' in Portuguese). The region has it ...

circuit, being renamed Ocean Racing Technology.

Yelmer Buurman Yelmer Evert Frans Buurman (born 19 February 1987) is a Dutch professional racing driver. He was 3rd in the Blancpain Endurance Series in 2013, and second in the FIA GT1 Championship in 2012. Besides achieving victories in those categories, also ...

and

Fabrizio Crestani Fabrizio Crestani (born 17 December 1987) is an Italian racing driver. Career Having competed in karts until 2005, Crestani moved up to the Formula Junior 1600 Italia championship, finishing in 4th place in the championship, driving for PSR M ...

drove for the team in the 2008-09 GP2 Asia Series season, replacing BCN drivers Yoshimoto and

who competed in the first round of the championship. In the 2009 GP2 main season, drivers were

and

Karun Chandhok Karun Chandhok (born 19 January 1984) is an Indian racing driver and television presenter who last competed in Formula E for Mahindra Racing. Previously, Chandhok has competed for Hispania Racing in Formula One in . Before this, he drove in the ...

. Parente scored the team's first win in the

Spa-Francorchamps The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (), frequently referred to as ''Spa'', is a motor-racing circuit located in Stavelot, Belgium. It is the current venue of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix, hosting its first Grand Prix in 1925, and has he ...

round and was 8th in the final Championship standings. Ocean finished the Teams' Championship in 9th, but only two points behind 5th-place finisher

. For

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, Ocean recruited

Max Chilton Maximilian Alexander Chilton (born 21 April 1991) is a British racing driver who last competed for Carlin Motorsport in the IndyCar Series, before announcing his retirement from IndyCar in February 2022. Prior to IndyCar, he competed in Formula ...

and

Fabio Leimer Fabio Leimer (born 17 April 1989) is a former professional racing driver from Switzerland. He is best known for winning the 2013 GP2 Series. Career Karting Like many of today's racing drivers, Rothrist-born Leimer started his career in karting ...

, with Leimer taking the team's second win, but the team slipped back to twelfth overall in the standings. The following year, Ocean hired Kevin Mirocha (who was later replaced by

Brendon Hartley Brendon Hartley (born 10 November 1989) is a New Zealand professional racing driver who is currently competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Toyota Gazoo Racing. He won the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship, alongside his t ...

) and

Johnny Cecotto Jr. Johnny Amadeus Cecotto, more commonly known as Johnny Cecotto Jr. (born 9 September 1989 in Augsburg, West Germany) is a racing driver. He races with a Venezuelan license but holds both German and Venezuelan nationality. He is the son of former ...

: Hartley scored the team's only points with a fifth-place finish at

, this poor showing again resulting in a twelfth-place teams' championship result. For the 2012 season, Ocean signed

Nigel Melker Nigel Melker (born 25 January 1991) is a Dutch racing driver. Career Karting Melker was born in Rotterdam. He began his motorsport career in karting in 2001, winning in the Dutch Mini Junior Cup. In 2005, he won the German Junior championship ...

, and

Jon Lancaster Jon Lancaster (born 10 December 1988 in Leeds) is a British auto racing driver. Career Early life and karting Lancaster was born on 10 December 1988 in Leeds, Yorkshire. He used to watch Formula One since he was three years old and always lik ...

, the latter of whom was swiftly dropped when he ran out of money. He was replaced by Hartley for two rounds of the championship, before Victor Guerin took the seat for the remainder of the season. Melker scored 25 points under the revised system, raising Ocean's performance to eleventh overall following the Coloni team's exclusion from the championship. In January 2013, the team announced its withdrawal from GP2 (having previously announced its withdrawal from the

GP3 Series The GP3 Series, or GP3 for short, was a single-seater motor racing series launched in 2010 as a feeder series for the GP2 Series, introduced by GP2 organiser Bruno Michel. GP3 followed the entire European leg of the Formula One series and the ...

) due to financial problems. Its place in the series will be taken by new team

Hilmer Motorsport Hilmer Motorsport was a German racing team established in 2013 by Franz Hilmer. The team first raced in the GP2 Series, starting in 2013, replacing Ocean Racing Technology. Hilmer joined the GP3 Series in 2014 with support from Force India, rep ...

Complete series results

GP2 Series

† These drivers raced for more than one team during the season. Their final position includes results for all teams.

GP2 Series

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Formula Nissan 2000

International Formula 3000

Spanish Formula Three

Italian Formula 3000

A1 Grand Prix

GP2 Asia Series

† These drivers raced for more than one team during the season. Their final position includes results for all teams. * BCN Competición drivers.

GP3 Series

(

) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Sources

External links

Official BCN Competición websiteOfficial Ocean Racing Technology website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ocean Racing Technology Portuguese auto racing teams Spanish auto racing teams International Formula 3000 teams A1 Grand Prix racing teams GP2 Series teams GP3 Series teams Auto racing teams established in 2008 2008 establishments in Portugal Auto racing teams disestablished in 2012 Auto GP teams Euroformula Open Championship teams Auto racing teams established in 2002