2016 Formula Challenge season

**2016 Formula Challenge season**

Competition	Formula Challenge
Title Sponsor	VBMotorsport
Platform Used	rFactor 2
Rounds	18
Mod Used	Williams JPH1B FIA F2
Carshape
Engine Supplier(s)	Valiant
Tyre Supplier(s)	GPVWC
Drivers
Teams	16
Drivers' Champion
Teams' Champion
Formula Challenge Seasons
2012 · 2013 · 2014 · 2015 · 2016 · 2017 · 2018 · 2019· 2020 · 2021

GPVWC series in 2016
Career Ladder
Superleague Supercup Formula Challenge Open Series
Other series
Masters Series World Sport Series International Touring Cup World GT Vintage Series Atlantic Series

The 2016 Formula Challenge season will be the 5th GPVWC Formula Challenge season.

The 2016 Formula Challenge Spotters guide

Teams and drivers

The amount of team slots was reduced from 21 to 16 for the 2016 season, co-inciding with the move to rFactor 2 for the 2016 Career Ladder series.

The following teams have confirmed their 2016 participation.

Formula Challenge Team	Team Owner	Abbreviation	Chassis	Tyre	No.	Race Drivers	Rounds	Test/Reserve Driver(s)
Arrow International Racing	Sam Jones	AIR	FC-016	G	26	Jonathan Holmes	1	n/a
Arrow International Racing	Sam Jones	AIR	FC-016	G	72	Sam Jones	1	n/a
BackMarker Brigade	Simon Smith	BMB	FC-016	G	91	Simon Smith	1	n/a
					92	Andrew Waring	1
					92	Calvin Hermse
Scuderia Basilea	David Jundt	Basilea	FC-016	G	66	Marius Nicolae	1	n/a
Scuderia Basilea	David Jundt	Basilea	FC-016	G	89	Max Melamed	1	n/a
Bastvik Grand Prix	Mikael Tuomaala	Bastvik	FC-016	G	70	Joel Pereira	1	n/a
					70	Antonio Hreljanovic
					71	Rando Muru	1
Cosmo Autosport	Joshua Anderson	Cosmo	FC-016	G	39	Patrick Wannemuller	1	n/a
Cosmo Autosport	Joshua Anderson	Cosmo	FC-016	G	53	Philipp König	1	n/a
Deltec Racing Team	Marius van Wyk	Deltec	FC-016	G	81	Stephane Rouault	1	Michael Barnard
Deltec Racing Team	Marius van Wyk	Deltec	FC-016	G	82	Aidan Polson	1	Michael Barnard
Fanatec Draig Racing	Ben Willis	Draig	FC-016	G	34	Matthew Chirgwin	1	n/a
Fanatec Draig Racing	Ben Willis	Draig	FC-016	G	35	Cameron Brewster	1	n/a
Epic Racing	Lee Davidson	Epic	FC-016	G	38	Geoffrey Fournier	1	Paul Joseph
Epic Racing	Lee Davidson	Epic	FC-016	G	49	Rob Mason	1	Paul Joseph
EVAL Simracing Team	Argo Teder	EVAL	FC-016	G	46	Argo Teder	1	Argo Teder
					46	Hannes Ross
					54	Toomas Jõgi	1
GPVWC Academy¹	Menno Klont	GPVWC	FC-016	G	0	Bret Metcalf	1	n/a
GPVWC Academy¹	Menno Klont	GPVWC	FC-016	G	0	Paul Joseph	2	n/a
MadCape Racing Team	Xavier de Carvalho	MadCape	FC-016	G	61	James Johnson	1	n/a
MadCape Racing Team	Xavier de Carvalho	MadCape	FC-016	G	62	Michel De Jonge	1	n/a
Magenta WRT	Alexander van der Woude	MWRT	FC-016	G	93	Tommi Ojala	1	Tommi Ojala
					93	Alexander van der Woude
					95	Nicolas Hillebrand	1
Sportscar Driving Evolution	Niranjan Kumar	SDEv	FC-016	G	50	Niranjan Kumar	1	n/a
Sportscar Driving Evolution	Niranjan Kumar	SDEv	FC-016	G	51	Adrian Brezeanu	1	n/a
Tēafor Motorsport	Quintin Plane	Tēafor	FC-016	G	28	Mark Hutchinson	1	n/a
Tēafor Motorsport	Quintin Plane	Tēafor	FC-016	G	76	Carlos Fernandez	1	n/a
YTF1	Matthew Allington	YTF1	FC-016	G	13	Johan Lindberg	1	James Kirk
YTF1	Matthew Allington	YTF1	FC-016	G	24	Hansko Mebius	1	James Kirk
Zedderick Racing	Doug Hilliard	Zedderick	FC-016	G	85	Ben Willis	1	n/a
Zedderick Racing	Doug Hilliard	Zedderick	FC-016	G	87	Terence Grech	1	n/a

¹ GPVWC Academy will only run a single car in the 2016 season.

Team changes

Ice Cold Racing, Team Proline, Karjala Racing, Racing Team Schroten and TG Racing (formerly Centurion Grand Prix) were all promoted to the Supercup.
Dogecoin Racing, Downforce iZone Racing, Katana Motorsports, Triple Twenty and Viking Racing all did not continue into the 2016 season. Downforce's position as the 1-car team used to nuture drivers was subsequently taken over by the GPVWC Academy.

New entries

EVAL Simracing Team, Magenta WRT, Sportscar Driving Evolution and Tēafor Motorsport are all rookies to the career ladder in the 2016 season.

2016 Calendar

Round	Race Title	Grand Prix	Circuit	Conditions	Date	Start Time
Round	Race Title	Grand Prix	Circuit	Conditions	Date	Track time	GMT
1	Challenge Australian Grand Prix	Australian GP	Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne	TBC	23rd February	14:00	19:00
2	Challenge Bahrain Grand Prix	Bahrain GP	Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir	TBC	8th March	18:00	19:00
3	Challenge Russian Grand Prix	Russian GP	Sochi Autodrom, Sochi	TBC	22nd March	14:00	19:00
4	Challenge Spanish Grand Prix	Spanish GP	Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona	TBC	5th April	14:00	19:00
5	Challenge Turkish Grand Prix	Turkish GP	Istanbul Park, Istanbul	TBC	19th April	14:00	19:00
6	Challenge Monaco Grand Prix	Monaco GP	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	TBC	3rd May	14:00	19:00
7	Challenge Canadian Grand Prix	Canadian GP	Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal	TBC	17th May	14:00	19:00
8	Challenge British Grand Prix	British GP	Silverstone Circuit, Northamptonshire	TBC	31st May	14:00	19:00
9	Challenge Austrian Grand Prix	Austrian GP	Red Bull Ring, Spielberg	TBC	14th June	14:00	19:00
10	TBC	TBC	TBC	TBC	28th June	14:00	19:00
11	Challenge Hungarian Grand Prix	Hungarian GP	Hungaroring, Budapest	TBC	12th July	14:00	19:00
12	Challenge Belgian Grand Prix	Belgian GP	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Spa	TBC	26th July	14:00	19:00
13	Challenge Italian Grand Prix	Italian GP	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	TBC	30th August	14:00	19:00
14	Challenge Japanese Grand Prix	Japanese GP	Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka	TBC	13th September	14:00	19:00
15	Challenge Abu Dhabi Grand Prix	Abu Dhabi GP	Yas Marina Circuit, Yas Island	TBC	27th September	17:00	19:00
16	Challenge United States Grand Prix	United States GP	Circuit of the Americas, Austin	TBC	11th October	14:00	19:00
17	Challenge Mexican Grand Prix	Mexican GP	Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City	TBC	25th October	14:00	19:00
18	Challenge Brazilian Grand Prix	Brazilian GP	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo	TBC	8th November	14:00	19:00

Testing

The 2016 testing schedule is as follows:

Test	Date	Venue
Pre-Season Test	16th February 2016	Dubai Autodrome, Dubailand

Calendar changes

The Portuguese and Singapore Grands Prix were both removed from the calendar
The calendar was extended to 18 events seeing the return of the Mexican Grand Prix for the first time since the series' inaugural season in 2012 whilst also seeing the first running of the Russian Grand Prix.

Rule changes

Technical

For the first time since 2009, the simulator of choice for the Career Ladder was upgraded from rFactor to its sequel, rFactor 2.
With a change in simulator came a change in vehicle as the Williams JPH1B FIA F2 car was utilised for the first time.

Sporting

Also due to the switchover in simulator, for the first time in its history, the grid of Formula Challenge was decreased with a view towards more secure server stability alongside cleaner racing. Sixteen individual outfits (including the league owned GPVWC Academy) raced in 2016 compared to the twenty-one which raced in 2015.

Results and standings

Grands Prix

Round		Grand Prix	Pole Position	Pole Time	Fastest Lap	F/L Time	Winning Driver	Winning Team	Report
1	R1	Challenge Australian Grand Prix	Geoffrey Fournier	1:37.096	Johan Lindberg	1:37.994	Geoffrey Fournier	Epic Racing	Report
1	R2	Challenge Australian Grand Prix			Carlos Fernandez	1:37.502	Carlos Fernandez	Tēafor Motorsport	Report
2	R1	Challenge Bahrain Grand Prix	Carlos Fernandez¹	1:44.039	Carlos Fernandez	1:45.294	Terence Grech	Zedderick Racing	Report
2	R2	Challenge Bahrain Grand Prix			Carlos Fernandez	1:45.302	Carlos Fernandez	Tēafor Motorsport	Report
3	R1	Challenge Russian Grand Prix	James Johnson	1:51.972	Michel de Jonge	1:53.077	Antonio Hreljanovic	Bastvik Grand Prix	Report
3	R2	Challenge Russian Grand Prix			James Johnson	1:51.962	James Johnson	MadCape Racing Team	Report
4	R1	Challenge Spanish Grand Prix	Stephane Rouault	1.29.957		-			Report
4	R2	Challenge Spanish Grand Prix				-			Report
5	R1	Challenge Turkish Grand Prix		-		-			Report
5	R2	Challenge Turkish Grand Prix				-			Report
6	R1	Challenge Monaco Grand Prix		-		-			Report
6	R2	Challenge Monaco Grand Prix				-			Report
7	R1	Challenge Canadian Grand Prix		-		-			Report
7	R2	Challenge Canadian Grand Prix				-			Report
8	R1	Challenge British Grand Prix		-		-			Report
8	R2	Challenge British Grand Prix				-			Report
9	R1	Challenge Austrian Grand Prix		-		-			Report
9	R2	Challenge Austrian Grand Prix				-			Report
10	R1	Challenge Grand Prix		-		-			Report
10	R2	Challenge Grand Prix				-			Report
11	R1	Challenge Hungarian Grand Prix		-		-			Report
11	R2	Challenge Hungarian Grand Prix				-			Report
12	R1	Challenge Belgian Grand Prix		-		-			Report
12	R2	Challenge Belgian Grand Prix				-			Report
13	R1	Challenge Italian Grand Prix		-		-			Report
13	R2	Challenge Italian Grand Prix				-			Report
14	R1	Challenge Japanese Grand Prix		-		-			Report
14	R2	Challenge Japanese Grand Prix				-			Report
15	R1	Challenge Abu Dhabi Grand Prix		-		-			Report
15	R2	Challenge Abu Dhabi Grand Prix				-			Report
16	R1	Challenge United States Grand Prix		-		-			Report
16	R2	Challenge United States Grand Prix				-			Report
17	R1	Challenge Mexican Grand Prix		-		-			Report
17	R2	Challenge Mexican Grand Prix				-			Report
18	R1	Challenge Brazilian Grand Prix		-		-			Report
18	R2	Challenge Brazilian Grand Prix				-			Report

¹ Due to a track extension offence for not only Carlos Fernandez but many others, though the Spaniard achieved pole position it would be Philipp Konig who started from P1.

Scoring system

Points are awarded to the top 15 classified finishers.

Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	11th	12th	13th	14th	15th
Points	25	20	16	13	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1

Drivers' standings

Pos	Driver	AUS		BAH		RUS		ESP	TUR	MON	CAN	GBR	AUT	TBC	HUN	BEL	ITA	JPN	UAE	USA	MEX	BRA	Points
1	James Johnson	5	13	3	7	6	1																74
2	Geoffrey Fournier	1	16	11	2	4	6																73
3	Jonathan Holmes	2	Ret	2	DNS	3	4																69
4	Carlos Fernandez	10	1	10	1	13	Ret																65
5	Cameron Brewster	8	2	4	6	8	12																63
6	Terence Grech	16	8	1	3	Ret	13																52
7	Antonio Hreljanovic			7	Ret	1	3																50
8	Stephane Rouault	4	10			5	2																50
9	Matthew Chirgwin	11	5	8	12	9	7																44
10	Rando Muru	7	14	6	4	11	15																40
11	Niranjan Kumar	21	Ret	13	5	7	5																34
12	Max Melamed	3	3	21	Ret	Ret	DNS																32
13	Michel de Jonge	Ret	11	Ret	11	2	Ret																30
14	Philipp Konig	Ret	23	5	13	18	9																21
15	Nicholas Hillebrand	14	9	18	8																		17
16	Patrick Wannemuller	15	4	Ret	14	Ret	DNS																16
17	Aidan Polson	9	18^†	18	18	15	8																16
18	Hansko Mebius	13	6	Ret	Ret																		13
19	Mark Hutchinson	17	7	12	Ret	Ret	16																13
20	Alexander van der Woude			9	Ret	14	14																11
21	Kacper Kolodziejczyk					10	11																11
22	Bruno Sousa Ferreira			15	16	12	10																11
23	Marius Nicolae	6	Ret	24	Ret	Ret	Ret																10
24	Rob Mason	23	Ret	14	9	Ret	20																9
25	Johan Lindberg	12	12	22	Ret	20	22																8
26	Paul Joseph			16	10																		6
27	Bret Metcalf	Ret	15	20	17	16	21																1
28	Enno Tubin			25	15																		1
29	Ben Willis	20	17	19	21	17	18																0
30	Matthew Allington					Ret	17																0
31	Adrian Brezeanu	18	20	27^†	23	22	19																0
32	Sam Jones	24	21	23	20	19	24																0
33	Joel Pereira	22	19																				0
34	Tommi Ojala	19	Ret																				0
35	Simon Smith	25	22	26	22	21	23																0
36	Toomas Jõgi	Ret	26			Ret	DNS																0
37	Argo Teder	Ret	Ret																				0
38	Andrew Waring	Ret	Ret																				0
39	Theodoros Eziroglou			DSQ	DSQ																		0
Pos	Driver	AUS		BAH		RUS		ESP	TUR	MON	CAN	GBR	AUT	TBC	HUN	BEL	ITA	JPN	UAE	USA	MEX	BRA	Points

Key
Colour	Result
Gold	Winner
Silver	2nd place
Bronze	3rd place
Green	Points finish
Blue	Non-points finish
Blue	Non-classified finish (NC)
Purple	Did not finish (Ret)
Red	Did not qualify (DNQ)
Red	Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
Black	Disqualified (DSQ)
White	Did not start (DNS)
White	Race cancelled (C)
Light blue	Practiced only (PO)
Blank	Did not participate (-)
	Excluded (EX)
	Withdrew entry before the event (WD)

Bold - Pole
Italics - Fastest lap

^† Cars did not finish the Grand Prix, but were classified as they completed over 75% of the race distance.

Teams' standings

Pos	Team	Car No.	AUS		BAH		RUS		ESP	TUR	MON	CAN	GBR	AUT	TBC	HUN	BEL	ITA	JPN	UAE	USA	MEX	BRA	Points
1	Fanatec Draig Racing	34	11	5	8	12	9	7																107
1	Fanatec Draig Racing	35	8	2	4	6	8	12																107
2	MadCape Racing Team	61	5	13	3	7	6	1																104
2	MadCape Racing Team	62	Ret	11	Ret	11	2	Ret																104
3	Epic Racing	38	1	16	11	2	4	6																82
3	Epic Racing	49	23	Ret	14	9	Ret	20																82
4	Tēafor Motorsport	28	17	7	12	Ret	Ret	16																78
4	Tēafor Motorsport	76	10	1	10	1	13	Ret																78
5	Bastvik Grand Prix	70	22	19	7	Ret	1	3																72
5	Bastvik Grand Prix	71	7	14	15	16	12	10																72
6	Arrow International Racing	26	2	Ret	2	DNS	3	4																69
6	Arrow International Racing	72	24	21	23	20	19	24																69
7	Deltec Racing Team	81	4	10	DSQ	DSQ	5	2																66
7	Deltec Racing Team	82	9	18^†	18	18	15	8																66
8	Zedderick Racing	85	20	17	19	21	17	18																52
8	Zedderick Racing	87	16	8	1	3	Ret	13																52
9	Scuderia Basilea	66	6	Ret	24	Ret	Ret	Ret																42
9	Scuderia Basilea	89	3	3	21	Ret	Ret	DNS																42
10	Cosmo Autosport	39	15	4	Ret	14	Ret	DNS																37
10	Cosmo Autosport	53	Ret	23	5	13	18	9																37
11	Sportscar Driving Evolution	50	21	Ret	13	5	7	5																34
11	Sportscar Driving Evolution	51	18	20	27^†	23	22	19																34
12	EVAL Simracing Team	46	Ret	Ret	6	4	11	15																30
12	EVAL Simracing Team	54	Ret	26	25	15	Ret	DNS																30
13	Magenta WRT	93	19	Ret	9	Ret	14	14																28
13	Magenta WRT	95	14	9	18	8																		28
14	YTF1	13	12	12	22	Ret	20	22																21
14	YTF1	24	13	6	Ret	Ret	Ret	17																21
15	GPVWC Academy	0	Ret	15	16	10	10	11																18
16	BackMarker Brigade	91	25	22	26	22	21	23																0
16	BackMarker Brigade	92	Ret	Ret	20	17	16	21																0
Pos	Team	Car No.	AUS		BAH		RUS		ESP	TUR	MON	CAN	GBR	AUT	TBC	HUN	BEL	ITA	JPN	UAE	USA	MEX	BRA	Points

Key
Colour	Result
Gold	Winner
Silver	2nd place
Bronze	3rd place
Green	Points finish
Blue	Non-points finish
Blue	Non-classified finish (NC)
Purple	Did not finish (Ret)
Red	Did not qualify (DNQ)
Red	Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
Black	Disqualified (DSQ)
White	Did not start (DNS)
White	Race cancelled (C)
Light blue	Practiced only (PO)
Blank	Did not participate (-)
	Excluded (EX)
	Withdrew entry before the event (WD)