Scuderia Bandeiras does not intend to return to Stock Car while Lincoln Oliveira (father of Formula 1 driver Gabriel Bortoleto) is in charge of the category. The position is held by Átila Abreu, driver and commander of the team that left the championship in the fifth round of the 2026 season, taking along Rubens Barrichello, Nelson Piquet Jr. and Rafael Suzuki. As long as this management remains, zero chance,” Abreu told AutoPapo, when asked about a possible return in 2027.
versions Atila also says that some sudden movement must be taken for the team to return to the category. “If this category is sold, something happens, then we would study the return, because we have a lot of affection and appreciation for what Stock Car is,” he said. “It’s been 47 years. A gigantic category, which unfortunately is going through a very complicated moment with the current management.”
Attila said he feels very aggrieved and upset for leaving the competition
Lincoln Oliveira is CEO of Vicar, promoter of Stock Car, controller of the Veloci Group and father of Gabriel Bortoleto, the only Brazilian in Formula 1.
It all started with the case of charging for the V8
kit The crisis that took Bandeiras off the grid begins in 2025, when Stock Car debuted a new generation of cars. Sedans and V8 engines are out; SUVs with a four-cylinder turbo engine are in, in a project called SNG01.
There have been serial failures of the engine and gearbox since the debut, to the point that the category earned the nickname “Stop Car” and the organization had to postpone an entire stage to try to solve the problem. Drivers complained publicly, some citing risk to their own safety.
Vicar’s reaction set the tone for the relationship with the grid. Felipe Massa and Bruno Baptista were fined R$ 100 thousand each for criticizing the organization after the Cascavel stage, based on a contractual clause that prohibits participants from making “discredited comments” about the category. A CBA technical council even attested to safety irregularities in SNG01.
For 2026, the category went back and resumed the naturally aspirated V8. The technical correction, however, opened the dispute that would reach the courts – because someone would have to pay for it.
In Stock Car, the teams do not build their own cars: they buy from Audace Tech, a manufacturer in the same group as Vicar, a closed package called Competition Kit. It is this unique standard that guarantees balance on the grid, and that also leaves the teams dependent on a single supplier, since parts and inputs must leave Audace, through its own system, the StockManager.
Bandeiras bought four kits, one for each car, for R$ 1,168,449.00, with a contractual warranty of use for ten years.
The contract provided that the project could change during this period and separated the changes into two categories:
Update: punctual body adjustment or facelift, which the team performs.
Upgrade: change in the basic characteristics of the project, such as an increase in power.
The contract determines that the upgrade is paid for by Audace, Vicar or a sponsor — never by the team. The logic is that the promoter chooses the engine and designs the car, while the team sets up a budget and sells sponsorship based on predictable costs.
Changing the engine is not just changing the engine. The return of the V8 required new harnesses, new cooling configuration, new electronic management, supports and different mechanical interfaces. And the bill reached the teams: R$ 178,807.00 per car, R$ 715,228.00 in the case of Bandeiras.
The invoices issued by Audace described the item as “sale of V8 Upgrade Kit” — precisely the term that, according to the contract, obliges the category to pay.
In addition to being four-cylinder turbo, the 2025 cars were SUVs
Justice interceded for the teams that race in Stock Car
On June 10, the 3rd Civil Court of Cotia (SP) granted an injunction prohibiting the charge, the blocking of access to StockManager and any punishment for non-payment, under a fine of R$ 100 thousand for non-compliance.
Abreu confirms that the process has not advanced since then. “Procedurally, no,” he replied.
Team says the problems have increased after the lawsuit
He rejects, however, the reading that the way out comes down to the V8 Kit.
It was one of the motivations. We had several issues of persecution against our team.”
According to Abreu, the environment worsened just after the litigation. He cites difficulties in the supply of parts and safety and safety problems against the cars.
The point he describes as the most serious is tax. Bandeiras claims to have questioned the category about procedures that, in the team’s assessment, exposed the team to fiscal risks that were not answered. It was this, says Abreu, that made it impossible to remain in the face of the compliance requirements of the team’s multinational sponsors.
“There was no longer any legal certainty,” he said. Abreu did not detail what the procedures would be questioned.
‘We feel very aggrieved’
With 19 years in Stock Car, Abreu says that the lost investment is in the order of eight figures. “We set up a structure never seen before in Brazilian motorsport, we invested more than R$ 20 million to set up the team, in addition to hiring professionals. To come across situations like this, I never imagined.”
“I went through some management, but there is no longer any legal or tax security, nor respect for the teams and the safety of the drivers,” he said. “These are problems with which we cannot be complicit.”
The team is now discussing reparation in court. In addition to contesting the charge, it asks for the return of R$ 211,817.68 already paid by her and her sponsors. “We are in legal proceedings, seeking to repair all our rights and everything that happened to us,” said Abreu.
Vicar attributes the departure to punishments upheld by the STJD
The organizer’s version is different. In a note released at the time, Vicar informed that the communication of the departure of the Bandeiras and Bandeiras Sports teams came after the Superior Court of Sports Justice (STJD) unanimously upheld penalties applied by the Brazilian Automobile Confederation (CBA).
Also according to Vicar, the punishments resulted from technical irregularities identified in components approved during inspections of the category, with a direct impact on the safety of competitors. The company claims that the process followed the regulations and guaranteed the right of defense.
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