| |
| Nationality |  Brazilian
|
| Born | 22 March 1978 |
| Maceió, Brazil | |
| Achievements | 2005, 2006 Formula A World Champion 2006, 2007 Monaco Grand Prix Winner |
| Formula A World Championship Career | |
|---|---|
| 104 races run over 6 season(s). | |
| Team(s) | Team Donovan, Scuderia Benedetti |
| Championships | 2 (2005, 2006) |
| Pole Positions | 15 |
| Wins | 19 |
| Podiums | 49 |
| First Start | 2001 Australian Grand Prix |
| First Win | 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix |
| Last Win | 2007 Italian Grand Prix |
| Last Start | 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix |
| World Stock Car Championship | |
| races run over season(s). | |
| Rookie Season | 2009 |
| Team(s) | Scuderia Benedetti, Parsonsport |
| Championships | |
| Pole Positions | |
| Wins | |
| WSCC Canon Driver | |
Antonio Camara da Costa is a Brazilian racing driver currently competing in the World Stock Car Championship for Parsonsport. He is a former two-time Formula A world champion, having won the title in 2005 and 2006 for Scuderia Benedetti before moving to stock cars in 2008 following a severe crash during the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix which nearly cost him his life. Camara moved to the World Stock Car Championship in 2009 season for Benedetti. Camara moved to Parsonsport following the 2013 season, ending a decade-long partnership with the Benedetti team and Ferrari.
Early Life and Career[edit | edit source]
Camara was born at the Hospital Universitário Prof. Alberto Antunes in Maceió. His father, João da Costa, owned several restaurants in the city, while his mother, Diana Camara da Costa, worked as a nurse at the hospital. Camara has a younger brother, Eugénio, and two younger twin sisters, Maria and Eliana. João left the family in 1985; Camara adopted his mother's surname soon after.
Camara's grandfather built him his first kart when he was ten, and he soon began racing in junior karting leagues. He would go on to win multiple South American karting championships during his teens, and by 1992 he was signed as a development driver with Ford.
Camara attended the Colégio Santa Madalena Sofia, where he graduated with high marks in mathematics and physics. He attended college in Recife but dropped out after one year to pursue his racing career. To this end, he moved to Germany to run Formula Ford in 1996. He won the Formula C title during his only season in 1997, and tested for multiple teams prior to 1998, including Jaguar and Fullman. He ran two seasons in Formula B in 1998 and 1999, and spent 2000 as the reserve driver for Team Donovan.
Formula A Career[edit | edit source]
Donovan (2001)[edit | edit source]
Camara was given a test in a Formula A car at Circuito de Juarez in late 1999 after his performance in Formula B. He was Team Donovan's test and reserve driver for 2000, before joining the race team as a full-time driver for the 2001 season. With a relatively non-competitive car, Camara's best finish was tenth in Germany. He finished 23rd with zero points scored.
Benedetti (2002 - 2007)[edit | edit source]
He signed with Scuderia Benedetti in 2002 and, per the orders of team principal Iacopo Benedetti, took to the reserve driver role to familiarize himself with the team and improve himself to run full-time in the future. He worked with the engineering department and lead driver Martin Schöne to improve the team's performance, allowing the Benedetti team to open a wider gap on the competition. He was promoted to full-time driver in 2003, and won the pole in his second race for the team in Malaysia. He would win the Hungarian Grand Prix later in the year, and finished sixth in the overall standings. Despite no race victories, his 2004 campaign showed improvement, as he took four podium positions en route to a fourth-place points finish. Remaining with Benedetti in 2005, he duelled with Fullman driver Kaj Rämö for the World Championship; despite his car lacking in speed compared to the Fullman, the reliability of the Benedetti car enabled Camara to secure the World Driver's Championship for the first time.
He signed a three-year extension with Benedetti in 2006 and was seen as the odds-on favorite to win the championship. His primary competition was teammate Martin Schöne, who was retiring at the end of the season. He scored 84 out of 90 possible points during the first nine races, and was tied with Schöne going into the penultimate round in Japan. Camara would ultimately win the race as Schöne retired due to an engine failure. He would finish second in Brazil, cliniching the championship while Schöne finished fourth.
Camara returned to defend his title in 2007, with his main competitors being teammate Kaj Rämö and Fullman driver Lachlan Hawthorne. He had four victories on the season and lead the championship for the majority of the season before being overtaken by Hawthorne. Going into the final round, he had 103 points to Hawthorne's 107 and Rämö's 100. He needed to win the event and have Hawthorne finish third or worse to secure his title. Despite having a strong run throughout the day, he was severely injured in a crash on lap 34 when BMW Schneider driver Ralf Krazoff attempted to overtake late in the braking zone in turn 4. The BMW clipped the front of Camara's Benedetti, causing a brake failure; Camara went off track at a high rate of speed and crashed into the barrier, suffering severe injuries to his head and chest. Despite the crash, Camara finished third in the championship. Camara would spend the next year in physical therapy after the accident, and announced his depature from Formula A midway through the 2008 season.
WSCC Career[edit | edit source]
Scuderia Benedetti (2009 - 2013)[edit | edit source]
Parsonsport (2014 - present)[edit | edit source]
Racing Record[edit | edit source]
Complete Formula A Championship Results[edit | edit source]
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | WDC | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | United Team Donovan | Donovan DC01 | Ford V10 | AUS 12 |
MAL 13 |
BRA Ret |
SMR Ret |
ESP 13 |
AUT Ret |
MON Ret |
CAN Ret |
EUR 14 |
FRA 17 |
GBR 16 |
GER 10 |
HUN Ret |
BEL DNS |
ITA 12 |
USA Ret |
JPN 11 |
23rd | 0 | ||
| 2003 | Scuderia Benedetti | Benedetti B2002 | Ferrari 051 V10 | AUS 7 |
MAL 3 |
BRA 3 |
SMR 6 |
6th | 55 | |||||||||||||||
| Benedetti B2003-A | Ferrari 052 V10 | ESP 2 |
AUT Ret |
MON 5 |
CAN 4 |
EUR 4 |
FRA Ret |
GBR Ret |
GER 4 |
HUN 1 |
ITA 8 |
USA Ret |
JPN Ret |
|||||||||||
| 2004 | Scuderia Benedetti | Benedetti B2004 | Ferrari 053 V10 | AUS 3 |
MAL 7 |
BHR 6 |
SMR 4 |
ESP 4 |
MON Ret |
EUR 5 |
CAN Ret |
USA Ret |
FRA 2 |
GBR 10 |
GER 3 |
HUN 3 |
BEL Ret |
ITA Ret |
CHN 4 |
JPN 5 |
BRA 4 |
4th | 59 | |
| 2005 | Scuderia Benedetti | Benedetti B2004-A | Ferrari 053 V10 | AUS 3 |
MAL 1 |
1st | 141 | |||||||||||||||||
| Benedetti B2005 | Ferrari 055 V10 | BHR 1 |
SMR 1 |
ESP 2 |
MON 4 |
EUR 1 |
CAN Ret |
USA 2 |
FRA 1 |
GBR 2 |
GER 1 |
HUN 11 |
TUR 2 |
ITA 2 |
BEL 2 |
BRA 3 |
JPN 3 |
CHN 1 | ||||||
| 2006 | Scuderia Benedetti | Benedetti B248 | Ferrari 056 V8 | BHR 1 |
MAL 2 |
AUS 1 |
SMR 2 |
EUR 2 |
ESP 1 |
MON 1 |
GBR 1 |
CAN 1 |
USA 5 |
FRA 2 |
GER 5 |
HUN Ret |
TUR 2 |
ITA Ret |
CHN 2 |
JPN 1 |
BRA 2 |
1st | 134 | |
| 2007 | Scuderia Benedetti | Benedetti B2007 | Ferrari 056 V8 | AUS 2 |
MAL 1 |
BHR 5 |
ESP 3 |
MON 1 |
CAN 7 |
USA 2 |
FRA 7 |
GBR 2 |
EUR 1 |
HUN 4 |
TUR 3 |
ITA 1 |
BEL 3 |
JPN Ret |
CHN 2 |
BRA Ret |
3rd | 103 |
Complete World Stock Car Championship Results[edit | edit source]
| Year | Entrant | Number | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | WSCC | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Scuderia Benedetti | 3 | Ferrari | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2012 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014 | Parsonsport | 24 | Lotus | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2016 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019 | Volvo | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021 |