2016 Indy Lights
| 2016 Indy Lights season | |
|---|---|
| Indy Lights | |
| Season | |
| Races | 18 |
| Start date | March 12 |
| End date | September 11 |
| Awards | |
| Drivers' champion |  Ed Jones |
| Teams' champion |  Carlin |
| Rookie of the Year |  Santiago Urrutia |
| Chronology | |
| Previous season | Next season |
| 2015 | 2017 |
The 2016 Indy Lights season was a season of open wheel motor racing. It was the 31st season of the Indy Lights series and the 15th sanctioned by IndyCar, acting as the primary support series for the IndyCar Series.
British-Emirati sophomore driver Ed Jones won the championship by a narrow two point margin over rookie Uruguayan Santiago Urrutia. Jones won two races compared to Urrutia's four wins but Jones more consistently finished on the podium. American Kyle Kaiser won twice and made few mistakes and finished third in points. Kaiser finished just ahead of American Zach Veach whose season began poorly but won three of the last ten races. Dean Stoneman and Félix Serrallés also captured two wins, but were much less consistent and finished fifth and sixth in the championship respectively. Swede Felix Rosenqvist won three races but missed much of the season due to his role as a Mercedes factory driver in Europe.
Jones' Carlin team won the teams' championship and in the final race of the season, Jones' Carlin teammate Serrallés ceded fourth place to Jones on the final lap, allowing him to win the championship.
Team and driver chart
- All drivers compete in Cooper Tire–shod Dallara IL-15 chassis with Mazda AER engine.
| Team | No. | Drivers | Rounds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andretti Autosport | 27 | Dean Stoneman[1] |
All |
| 28 |  Dalton Kellett[2] |
All | |
| 51 |  Shelby Blackstock[3] |
All | |
| Belardi Auto Racing | 5 | Zach Veach[4] |
All |
| 14 |  Felix Rosenqvist[5] |
1–8, 12–13 | |
| 45 | James French |
9–10 | |
| Carlin[6] | 4 |  Félix Serrallés[7] |
All |
| 11 | Ed Jones[8] |
All | |
| 22 | Neil Alberico[9] |
All | |
| Juncos Racing | 13 | Zachary Claman DeMelo[10] |
All |
| 18 | Kyle Kaiser[11] |
All | |
| McCormack Racing | 34 | Davey Hamilton Jr. |
17–18 |
| Schmidt Peterson Motorsports | 7 | RC Enerson[12] |
1–8 |
| 17 |  André Negrão[13] |
All | |
| 55 | Santiago Urrutia[14] |
All | |
| 77 | Scott Anderson[13] |
1–2, 4–7 | |
 Heamin Choi |
3, 8, 11, 17–18 | ||
| Team Pelfrey[15] | 2 |  Juan Piedrahita[16] |
1–13 |
| Sean Rayhall[17] |
17–18 | ||
| 3 | Scott Hargrove[18] |
1–8 | |
| Garett Grist[19] |
9–10, 12–18 |
- Team Pelfrey purchased the assets of 8Star Motorsports
Schedule
The 2016 schedule was released on October 27, 2015.[20] Phoenix and Road America returned to the calendar. Long Beach was removed from the schedule, and with the IndyCar Series not returning to the Milwaukee Mile, Indy Lights will not return either.
The Grand Prix of Boston was announced in late May 2015. The race was scheduled to be run on Labor Day Weekend on September 4, 2016. The proposed street circuit was based in the Boston Seaport District. On April 29, 2016, Boston newspapers reported that the race weekend, which was to include an Indy Lights support race, had been canceled.[21] The race was replaced by a race at Watkins Glen International, on the same weekend.[22]
The season will expand to 18 races, two more than the previous season. All races on road courses and street circuits will be double headers with the exception of Watkins Glen, which, like the oval tracks, will have only one race.
All races will be run in support of IndyCar races except the final weekend at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, which will be a Mazda Road to Indy headliner weekend.
Race results
Championship standings
Drivers' championship
- Scoring system
| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | 11th | 12th | 13th | 14th | 15th | 16th | 17th | 18th | 19th | 20th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 30 | 25 | 22 | 19 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
- The driver who qualified on pole was awarded one additional point.
- An additional point was awarded to the driver who led the most laps in a race.
- The driver who obtained the fastest lap in a race was awarded one additional point.
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- Ties in points broken by number of wins, or best finishes.
Teams' championship
| Pos | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carlin |
413 |
| 2 | Schmidt Peterson Motorsports w/ Curb-Agajanian |
384 |
| 3 | Belardi Auto Racing |
322 |
| 4 | Andretti Autosport |
281 |
| 5 | Juncos Racing |
275 |
| 6 | Team Pelfrey |
135 |
See also
References
- ↑ Malsher, David. Andretti signs Stoneman for Indy Lights, Motorsport.com, February 24, 2016, Retrieved 2016-02-24
- ↑ Khorounzhiy, Valentin (September 22, 2015). "Andretti promotes Kellett to Indy Lights". Motorsport.com. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
- ↑ Malsher, David. Blackstock staying at Andretti Autosport, leads opening Lights test, Motorsport.com, November 21, 2015, Retrieved 2015-11-25
- ↑ Khorounzhiy, Valentin. Veach returns to Indy Lights with Belardi, Motorsport.com, November 25, 2015, Retrieved 2015-11-25
- ↑ "Belardi Auto Racing confirms Felix Rosenqvist for Indy Lights". Indy Lights. February 22, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
- ↑ Roberts, James (December 1, 2014). "Carlin aims for IndyCar after launching 2015 Indy Lights programme". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
- ↑ Allen, Peter (January 7, 2016). "Felix Serralles teams up with Carlin for second Indy Lights year". Paddock Scout. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
- ↑ Allen, Peter (October 19, 2015). "Ed Jones commits to a second season of Indy Lights with Carlin". Paddock Scout. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
- ↑ "Carlin sign Alberico for 2016 Indy Lights Series". Carlin. January 25, 2016. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
- ↑ "Canadian Zachary Claman DeMelo joins Juncos Racing for 2016 Indy Lights campaign". Juncos Racing. December 15, 2015. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
- ↑ Allen, Peter (October 29, 2015). "Kyle Kaiser sticks with Juncos for 2016 Indy Lights season". Paddock Scout. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
- ↑ "RC Enerson to compete with SPM in 2016". SPM IndyCar. Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. October 30, 2015. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
- 1 2 "Indy Lights Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Presented by Lucas School of Racing Entry List" (PDF). Indy Lights. Andersen Promotions. March 3, 2016. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
- ↑ "Santiago Urrutia a la IndyLights" [Santiago Urrutia goes up to IndyLights]. Velocidad Total (in Spanish). Velocidad Total. January 27, 2016. Retrieved January 27, 2016.
- ↑ "Team Pelfrey expands to Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires". Indy Lights. Andersen Promotions. October 26, 2015. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
- ↑ "Piedrahita signs with Team Pelfrey for 2016 IndyLights season". Team Pelfrey Indy Lights. Team Pelfrey. February 18, 2016. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
- ↑ Khorounzhiy, Valentin (September 6, 2016). "Pelfrey calls up Rayhall for Lights finale". motorsport.com. Motorsport.com. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
- ↑ http://motorsports.nbcsports.com/2016/03/24/hargrove-pelfrey-plan-phoenix-barber-in-working-towards-full-season/
- ↑ "Garett Grist to make Indy Lights debut with Team Pelfrey". Indy Lights. Andersen Promotions. June 14, 2016. Retrieved June 14, 2016.
- ↑ "2016 Mazda Road to Indy schedules announced". IndyLights. October 27, 2015. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
- ↑ Golen, Jimmy (April 29, 2016). "Scheduled IndyCar race on streets of Boston cancelled". Associated Press. Boston: AP Sports. Associated Press. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
- ↑ "IndyCar returning to Waktins Glen International for Labor Day weekend". IndyCar.com. May 13, 2016. Retrieved May 14, 2016.