Duarte Félix da Costa
Portuguese racing driver
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Duarte Maria de Ortigão Ramos Félix da Costa (born May 31, 1985 in Cascais) is a Portuguese auto racing driver and driving coach.[2] He has spent the majority of his motorsport career participating in touring car racing,[2] and would also take part in sports car racing later on in his career.
Portuguese31 May 1985
FIA Silver (until 2015)
FIA Bronze (2016–)[1]| Duarte Félix da Costa | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Portuguese |
| Born | Duarte Maria de Ortigão Ramos Félix da Costa 31 May 1985 Cascais, Portugal |
| Relatives | António Félix da Costa (half-brother) |
| Racing licence | FIA Silver (until 2015) FIA Bronze (2016–)[1] |
| Previous series | |
| 2012 2011 2009, 2018 2009 2008-09 2008 2008, 2010 2007-10 2006 2006 2004-05 | American Le Mans Series Blancpain Endurance Series International GT Open European Touring Car Cup Portuguese Touring Car Championship World Touring Car Championship SEAT León Eurocup SEAT León Supercopa Formula Renault 2.0 NEC Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 Formula BMW UK |
Career history
Félix da Costa began his career in karting and moved into racing cars in 2004 when he competed in the Formula BMW UK championship, where he raced for two years for Carlin Motorsport, finishing 13th and tenth in the championship standings.[3] He moved to Formula Renault in 2006, competing in the Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup (which his brother Antonio won in 2009) and the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0.[3]
Having failed to win a race in single-seaters for three years, Félix da Costa moved to touring cars, racing in the SEAT León Supercopa one-make series in 2007, finishing ninth. He would also race in the SEAT León Eurocup in 2008, also finishing the season in ninth.[3] That same year, Félix da Costa earned a one-off guest drive in the World Touring Car Championship with Sunred Engineering after displaying strong performances at Oschersleben in the SEAT León Eurocup.[4] He would return to the SEAT León Eurocup in 2010, finishing the season in sixth.
In 2009, Félix da Costa competed in the Portuguese Touring Car Championship and would post a strong campaign, finishing the year in second with three victories. He would also venture into sports car racing for the first time in his career, racing in the International GT Open with Escudería Roger Racing alongside Miquel Julià in a Ferrari F430 GT3. Félix da Costa also competed in the European Touring Car Cup at Braga for British Touring Car Championship team Bamboo Engineering in a Chevrolet Lacetti alongside Harry Vaulkhard. He and Vaulkhard locked out the second row of the grid during qualifying, and Félix da Costa would finish in eighth and seventh for both races.[5]
Félix da Costa competed in the Blancpain Endurance Series for 2011 with Leipert Motorsport, driving a Lamborghini Gallardo LP600 GT3 alongside fellow countrymen Lourenço da Veiga and Ricardo Bravo. The trio completed the season third in the GT3 Pro-Am class. He would also take part in the 2012 American Le Mans Monterey race at Laguna Seca the following year, finishing 31st in LMP2.
Since 2013, Félix da Costa has dedicated his time to coaching young drivers. He co-founded Synergy Driver Performance with Rodrigo Loyo in 2015 to elevate young drivers through their careers as they go through the categories of junior formula and sports car racing.[6]
In 2018, Félix da Costa returned to the International GT Open at the Monza round, racing with Drivex School in a Mercedes-AMG GT3 alongside Ricardo Baptista.
Personal life
Racing record
Career summary
| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | F/Laps | Podiums | Points | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Formula BMW UK Championship | Carlin M/sport - Team Portugal | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 13th |
| 2005 | Formula BMW UK Championship | Carlin Motorsport | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 64 | 10th |
| Formula BMW UK Winter Series | Motaworld Racing | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 18th | |
| 2006 | Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 | AR Motorsport | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32nd |
| Koiranen Bros Motorsport | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Formula Renault 2.0 NEC | AR Motorsport | 15 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 140 | 12th | |
| 2007 | SEAT León Supercopa | Bastos Sport | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 45 | 9th |
| 2008 | SEAT León Supercopa | Bastos Sport | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 25th |
| SEAT León Eurocup | Bastos Sport | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 31 | 9th | |
| FIA World Touring Car Championship | SUNRED Engineering | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC | |
| FIA World Touring Car Championship – Yokohama Independents' Trophy | SUNRED Engineering | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 24th | |
| 2009 | Portuguese Touring Car Championship | Bastos Sport | 16 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 81 | 2nd |
| International GT Open | Escudería Roger Racing | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 36th | |
| European Touring Car Cup | Bamboo Engineering | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9th | |
| 2010 | SEAT León Eurocup | Zengő Motorsport | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 28.5 | 6th |
| SEAT León Supercopa | Zengő Motorsport | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 29th | |
| 2011 | Blancpain Endurance Series – GT3 Pro-Am Cup | Team Rhino's Leipert | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 55 | 3rd |
| 2012 | 2012 American Le Mans Series – LMP2 | Project Libra | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC |
| 2018 | International GT Open | Drivex School | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 13th |
Complete Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Complete Formula Renault 2.0 NEC results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Complete World Touring Car Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)