2016 IMSA SportsCar Championship
The 2016 IMSA SportsCar Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the 2016 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship) was the third season of the United SportsCar Championship and first to be under the name as the IMSA SportsCar Championship organized by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). It was the 46th season of IMSA-sanctioned GT Championship sportscar racing tracing its lineage to the 1971 IMSA Camel GT season. It began on January 30 with the 24 Hours of Daytona and ended on October 1 at Petit Le Mans.[1]
Classes
[edit]The class structure remained largely unchanged from 2015, with the major change coming in GTD which was now run full GT3 spec machinery.
- Prototype (P) (DP and LMP2)
- Prototype Challenge (PC)
- GT Le Mans (GTLM)
- GT Daytona (GTD)
Schedule
[edit]Race schedule
[edit]The 2016 schedule was released on August 8, 2015 and features twelve rounds.
There were also two test sessions before the beginning of the season. They were held on November 17–18 at Daytona International Speedway, as well as The Roar Before the 24, also at Daytona, January 8–10.[1]
NOTE: Because of a high car count for the Mazda Raceway event, there will be two separate two-hour races with two categories racing in each race.
Calendar changes
[edit]- PC has been added to the lineup at Long Beach.[1]
- GTD has been added to the lineup at the Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix, having the race feature all four classes.[1]
- The round at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca will return to a split race format because of field size.[2]
- GTLM will join PC and GTD at Lime Rock Park.[1]
Entries
[edit]Prototype
[edit]Prototype Challenge
[edit]All entries use an Oreca FLM09 chassis powered by a Chevrolet LS3 6.2 L V8.
GT Le Mans
[edit]GT Daytona
[edit]Team changes
[edit]- After 8 years sported the higher E85 Ethanol blend, Corvette Racing officially switched to traditional E20 Ethanol 20% blend as it was announced on October 13, 2015.[56]
Race results
[edit]Bold indicates overall winner.
Rnd | Circuit | Prototype Winning Team | PC Winning Team | GTLM Winning Team | GTD Winning Team | Report |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Prototype Winning Drivers | PC Winning Drivers | GTLM Winning Drivers | GTD Winning Drivers | |||
1 | Daytona | No. 2 Tequila Patrón ESM | No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports | No. 4 Corvette Racing | No. 44 Magnus Racing | Report |
Ed Brown Pipo Derani Johannes van Overbeek Scott Sharp | Mikhail Goikhberg Kenton Koch Chris Miller Stephen Simpson | Marcel Fässler Oliver Gavin Tommy Milner | Andy Lally John Potter René Rast Marco Seefried | |||
2 | Sebring | No. 2 Tequila Patrón ESM | No. 54 CORE Autosport | No. 4 Corvette Racing | No. 63 Scuderia Corsa | Report |
Ed Brown Pipo Derani Johannes van Overbeek Scott Sharp | Jon Bennett Colin Braun Mark Wilkins | Marcel Fässler Oliver Gavin Tommy Milner | Alessandro Balzan Christina Nielsen Jeff Segal | |||
3 | Long Beach | No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing | No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports | No. 911 Porsche North America | did not participate | Report |
Jordan Taylor Ricky Taylor | Mikhail Goikhberg Stephen Simpson | Patrick Pilet Nick Tandy | ||||
4 | Laguna Seca | No. 60 Michael Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian | No. 52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports | No. 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing | No. 23 Team Seattle / Alex Job Racing | Report |
Oswaldo Negri Jr. John Pew | Robert Alon Tom Kimber-Smith | Ryan Briscoe Richard Westbrook | Mario Farnbacher Alex Riberas | |||
5 | Belle Isle | No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing | No. 8 Starworks Motorsport | did not participate | No. 33 Riley Motorsports | Report |
Jordan Taylor Ricky Taylor | Alex Popow Renger van der Zande | Jeroen Bleekemolen Ben Keating | ||||
6 | Watkins Glen | No. 5 Action Express Racing | No. 8 Starworks Motorsport | No. 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing | No. 63 Scuderia Corsa | Report |
Filipe Albuquerque João Barbosa Christian Fittipaldi | Alex Popow Renger van der Zande | Ryan Briscoe Richard Westbrook | Alessandro Balzan Christina Nielsen Jeff Segal | |||
7 | Mosport | No. 31 Action Express Racing | No. 54 CORE Autosport | No. 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing | No. 96 Turner Motorsport | Report |
Dane Cameron Eric Curran | Jon Bennett Colin Braun | Ryan Briscoe Richard Westbrook | Bret Curtis Jens Klingmann | |||
8 | Lime Rock | did not participate | No. 8 Starworks Motorsport | No. 4 Corvette Racing | No. 44 Magnus Racing | Report |
Alex Popow Renger van der Zande | Oliver Gavin Tommy Milner | Andy Lally John Potter | ||||
9 | Road America | No. 31 Action Express Racing | No. 52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports | No. 4 Corvette Racing | No. 33 Riley Motorsports | Report |
Dane Cameron Eric Curran | Robert Alon Tom Kimber-Smith | Oliver Gavin Tommy Milner | Jeroen Bleekemolen Ben Keating | |||
10 | Virginia | did not participate | did not participate | No. 3 Corvette Racing | No. 48 Paul Miller Racing | Report |
Antonio García Jan Magnussen | Bryan Sellers Madison Snow | |||||
11 | Austin | No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing | No. 8 Starworks Motorsport | No. 912 Porsche North America | No. 96 Turner Motorsport | Report |
Jordan Taylor Ricky Taylor | Alex Popow Renger van der Zande | Earl Bamber Frédéric Makowiecki | Bret Curtis Jens Klingmann | |||
12 | Road Atlanta | No. 60 Michael Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian | No. 52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports | No. 62 Risi Competizione | No. 33 Riley Motorsports | Report |
Oswaldo Negri Jr. John Pew Olivier Pla | Robert Alon Tom Kimber-Smith José Gutiérrez | Giancarlo Fisichella Toni Vilander James Calado | Jeroen Bleekemolen Ben Keating Marc Miller |
Championship standings
[edit]Points systems
[edit]Championship points are awarded in each class at the finish of each event. Points are awarded based on finishing positions as shown in the chart below.[57]
Position | 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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Race | 35 | 32 | 30 | 28 | 26 | 25 | 24 | 23 | 22 | 21 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Drivers points
[edit]Points are awarded in each class at the finish of each event. Drivers must complete a minimum driving time (outlined to teams prior to each event) in order to score points. A driver does not score points if the minimum drive time is not met.[57]
In addition, for each car credited with a race start, each driver nominated in that car also receives one additional “starting point.”[57]
Team points
[edit]Team points are calculated in exactly the same way as driver points, using the point distribution chart and “starting points.” Each car entered is considered its own “team” regardless if it is a single entry or part of a two-car team.[57]
Manufacturer points
[edit]There are also a number of manufacturer championships which utilize the same season-long point distribution chart, minus the “starting points” used for the driver and team championships. (The “starting point” is not used in manufacturer championship points.) The manufacturer championships recognized by IMSA are as follows:[57]
- Prototype (P): Engine Manufacturer
- GT Le Mans (GTLM): Car Manufacturer
- GT Daytona (GTD): Car Manufacturer
Each manufacturer receives finishing points for its highest finishing car in each class. The positions of subsequent finishing cars from the same manufacturer are not taken into consideration, and all other manufacturers move up in the order.[57]
- Example: Manufacturer A finishes 1st and 2nd at an event, and Manufacturer B finishes 3rd. Manufacturer A receives 35 first-place points while Manufacturer B would earn 32 second-place points.[57]
The points system for the 2016 season is the same as in 2015.[58]
North American Endurance Cup
[edit]The points system for the North American Endurance Cup is different from the normal points system. Points are awarded on a 5-4-3-2 basis for drivers, teams and manufacturers. The first finishing position at each interval earns five points, four points for second position, three points for third, with two points awarded for fourth and each subsequent finishing position.[57]
Position | 1 | 2 | 3 | Other Classified |
---|---|---|---|---|
Race | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
At Daytona (24 hour race), points are awarded at six hours, 12 hours, 18 hours and at the finish. At the Sebring (12 hour race), points are awarded at four hours, eight hours and at the finish. At Watkins Glen (6 hour race), points are awarded at three hours and at the finish. At Road Atlanta (10 hour race), points are awarded at four hours, eight hours and at the finish.[57]
Like the season-long team championship, North American Endurance Cup team points are awarded for each car and drivers get points in any car that they drive, in which they are entered for points. The manufacturer points go to the highest placed car from that manufacturer (the others from that manufacturer not being counted), just like the season-long manufacturer championship.[57]
For example: in any particular segment manufacturer A finishes 1st and 2nd and manufacturer B finishes 3rd. Manufacturer A only receives first-place points for that segment. Manufacturer B receives the second-place points.[57]
Drivers' championships
[edit]Prototype
[edit]
|
Bold - Pole position |
- Notes
- Drivers denoted by † did not complete sufficient laps in order to score points.
Prototype Challenge
[edit]Pos. | Driver | DAY | SEB | LBH | LGA | BEL | WGL | MOS | LIM | ELK | AUS | ATL | Points | NAEC |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Alex Popow | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 355 | 30 |
Renger van der Zande | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 355 | 30 | |
2 | Robert Alon | 2 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 355 | 47 |
Tom Kimber-Smith | 2 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 355 | 47 | |
3 | Mikhail Goikhberg | 1 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 317 | 38 |
Stephen Simpson | 1 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 317 | 38 | |
4 | James French | 6† | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 305 | 27 |
5 | Kyle Marcelli | 6† | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 274 | 27 | |
6 | Johnny Mowlem | 3 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 7† | 6 | 4 | 8 | 5 | 246 | 26 | |
7 | Jon Bennett | 8† | 1 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 245 | 16 | ||
Colin Braun | 8† | 1 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 245 | 16 | |||
8 | José Gutiérrez | 2 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 210 | 47 | ||||
9 | Mark Kvamme | 7† | 5 | 7 | 6 | 3† | 7 | 5 | 9† | 8 | 4 | 186 | 6 | |
10 | Matt McMurry | 6 | 7† | 6 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 138 | 0 | |||||
11 | Kenton Koch | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 131 | 46 | |||||||
12 | Don Yount | 5 | 6 | 7† | 8 | 7 | 5 | 130 | 23 | |||||
13 | Chris Miller | 1 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 125 | 38 | |||||||
14 | Tomy Drissi | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 114 | 19 | |||||||
15 | Richard Bradley | 3 | 7 | 9† | 8 | 4 | 110 | 12 | ||||||
16 | Ashley Freiberg | 5 | 7 | 6 | 78 | – | ||||||||
17 | Nicholas Boulle | 2 | 3 | 64 | 16 | |||||||||
18 | Remo Ruscitti | 3 | 5 | 58 | 6 | |||||||||
19 | Marc Drumwright | 3 | 6 | 57 | 20 | |||||||||
20 | David Heinemeier Hansson | 3 | 6 | 57 | 13 | |||||||||
21 | Gustavo Yacamán | 4 | 5 | 56 | – | |||||||||
Bruno Junqueira | 5 | 4 | 56 | – | ||||||||||
22 | Ryan Lewis | 5 | 6 | 53 | 17 | |||||||||
23 | John Falb | 5 | 7 | 52 | 10 | |||||||||
24 | Ricardo Vera | 3 | 31 | 13 | ||||||||||
25 | Max Hanratty | 4 | 29 | 6 | ||||||||||
26 |