2016 Toyota Racing Series
The 2016 Toyota Racing Series was the twelfth running of the Toyota Racing Series, the premier open-wheel motorsport category held in New Zealand. The series, which consisted of fifteen races at five meetings, began on 16 January at Ruapuna Park in Christchurch, and ended on 14 February with the 61st running of the New Zealand Grand Prix, at Manfeild Autocourse in Feilding.
As the first European driver to win the Toyota Racing Series, M2 Competition's Lando Norris wrapped up the championship with a race to spare, amassing six wins, eight poles, five fastest laps, and three round wins on his way to the title. Norris won a race at every meeting, taking a pair of victories in Taupō, while only finishing off the podium four times.
Force India protégé Jehan Daruvala took the runner-up spot in the championship, with one pole and three wins. Daruvala struggled in Ruapuna, but a strategic tyre gamble in a soggy Race 3 paid off, enabling him to take the Lady Wigram Trophy, despite starting 15th. Two further wins followed in Teretonga and Taupō, and solid top-8 finishes in each of the last nine races helped the Indian to second place overall.
New Zealand's Brendon Leitch finished the season in a strong third, despite only one win and three podiums. However, it was his amazing consistency that gave him such a good championship position, as he finished every race in the top 10. Leitch's 754-point haul is also the most points accrued by a Victory Motor Racing driver in team history.
Of the other drivers, Ferdinand Habsburg was top Giles Motorsport driver, after a strong campaign saw him take two wins. Pedro Piquet also took victory on two occasions, first in the second race at Teretonga, and again at Hampton Downs, where a superb run from pole saw him take the NZ Motor Cup. Piquet was often runaway leader Norris's main challenger, both on track and in the standings. Ferrari Driver Academy member Guanyu Zhou scored a breakthrough win in Hampton Downs and finished strongly throughout the duration of the series, although a disastrous final weekend compromised his attack. Rookie Taylor Cockerton was the best-placed ETEC Motorsport driver, finishing in ninth.
Teams and drivers
[edit]All teams were New Zealand-registered.
| Team | No. | Driver | Status | Rounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ETEC Motorsport | 4 |  Theo Bean[1]
|
R | All |
| 11 |  Taylor Cockerton[2]
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R | All | |
| 13 |  Rodrigo Baptista[3]
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R | All | |
| 26 |  Timothé Buret[4]
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R | All | |
| M2 Competition | 5 | Pedro Piquet[5]
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All | |
| 6 |  Jehan Daruvala[6]
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R | All | |
| 10 |  Artem Markelov[7]
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All | ||
| 15 |  Kami Laliberté[8]
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| 31 |  Lando Norris[9]
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| 33 |  Guanyu Zhou[10]
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| Giles Motorsport | 17 | Devlin DeFrancesco
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| 21 |  Nicolas Dapero
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| 23 | Will Owen[11]
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| 40 | James Munro[12]
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All | ||
| 62 |  Ferdinand Habsburg[13]
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All | ||
| 67 |  Antoni Ptak Jr.[14]
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| Victory Motor Racing | 18 |  Julian Hanses[15]
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R | All |
| 25 | Bruno Baptista[16]
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R | All | |
| 49 |  Thomas Randle[17]
|
5 | ||
| 86 | Brendon Leitch[18]
|
All |
Race calendar and results
[edit]The calendar for the series was announced on 23 June 2015, and will be held over five successive weekends in January and February.[19] As opposed to the previous year, all rounds will be triple-headers.[20]
Championship standings
[edit]In order for a driver to score championship points, they have to complete at least 75% of the race winner's distance, and be running at the race's completion. All races counted towards the final championship standings.
- Scoring system
| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | 11th | 12th | 13th | 14th | 15th | 16th | 17th | 18th | 19th | 20th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 75 | 67 | 60 | 54 | 49 | 45 | 42 | 39 | 36 | 33 | 30 | 28 | 26 | 24 | 22 | 20 | 18 | 16 | 14 | 12 |
Drivers' championship
[edit]
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Bold – Pole
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References
[edit]- ^ "Cockerton primed for Toyota Racing Series". NZ Motor Racing. 23 December 2015. Archived from the original on 23 December 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
- ^ "Cockerton primed for Toyota Racing Series". NZ Motor Racing. 23 December 2015. Archived from the original on 23 December 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
- ^ "Brazilian cousins for Toyota Racing Series". Toyota New Zealand. 2 December 2015. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
- ^ "Pro Mazda team-mates Buret and Owen head to TRS". Paddock Scout. 1 December 2015. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
- ^ Allen, Peter (9 November 2015). "Pedro Piquet to return to Toyota Racing Series for 2016 edition". Paddock Scout. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
- ^ "Daruvala announces Formula Renault 2.0 and Toyota programme for 2016". 9 December 2015. Archived from the original on 19 July 2018. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
- ^ Allen, Peter (16 December 2015). "Markelov and Laliberte complete M2 Competition TRS line-up". Paddock Scout. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
- ^ Allen, Peter (16 December 2015). "Markelov and Laliberte complete M2 Competition TRS line-up". Paddock Scout. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
- ^ van Leeuwen, Andrew (30 November 2015). "MSA Formula champ secures TRS seat". motorsport.com. Archived from the original on 1 December 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
- ^ Allen, Peter (7 December 2015). "Ferrari sends Guan Yu Zhou to Toyota Racing Series". Paddock Scout. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
- ^ "Pro Mazda team-mates Buret and Owen head to TRS". Paddock Scout. 1 December 2015. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
- ^ Allen, Peter (19 November 2015). "James Munro to do 2016 Toyota Racing Series with Giles team". Paddock Scout. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
- ^ David, Gruz (23 November 2015). "Habsburg joins Giles for second Toyota Racing Series campaign". Paddock Scout. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
- ^ "Polish and German drivers added to TRS start list". Toyota New Zealand. 17 December 2015. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
- ^ "Polish and German drivers added to TRS start list". Toyota New Zealand. 17 December 2015. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
- ^ "Brazilian cousins for Toyota Racing Series". nzmotorracing. 2 December 2015. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
- ^ "Aussie driver Randle returns for NZ Grand Prix". Fairfax New Zealand. 10 February 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
- ^ "Brendon Leitch confirms late entry into Toyota Racing Series". Toyota New Zealand. 10 January 2016. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
- ^ "PREMIER RACING CALENDAR UNITES KIWI MOTORSPORT". MotorSport New Zealand. 23 June 2015. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
- ^ "2016 Toyota Racing Series Championship Articles" (PDF). MotorSport New Zealand. MotorSport New Zealand Inc. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 17 December 2015.