2016 Indy Lights

Last updated

2016 Indy Lights season
Indy Lights
Season
Races18
Start dateMarch 12
End dateSeptember 11
Awards
Drivers' champion Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Ed Jones
Teams' champion Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Carlin
Rookie of the Year Flag of Uruguay.svg Santiago Urrutia
  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.

Contents

Dubai born British 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

TeamNo.DriversRounds
Andretti Autosport 27 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Dean Stoneman [1] All
28 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Dalton Kellett [2] All
51 Flag of the United States.svg Shelby Blackstock [3] All
Belardi Auto Racing 5 Flag of the United States.svg Zach Veach [4] All
14 Flag of Sweden.svg Felix Rosenqvist [5] 1–8, 12–13
45 Flag of the United States.svg James French 9–10
Carlin [6] 4 Flag of Puerto Rico.svg Félix Serrallés [7] All
11 Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Ed Jones [8] All
22 Flag of the United States.svg Neil Alberico [9] All
Juncos Racing 13 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Zachary Claman DeMelo [10] All
18 Flag of the United States.svg Kyle Kaiser [11] All
McCormack Racing34 Flag of the United States.svg Davey Hamilton Jr. 17–18
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports 7 Flag of the United States.svg RC Enerson [12] 1–8
17 Flag of Brazil.svg André Negrão [13] All
55 Flag of Uruguay.svg Santiago Urrutia [14] All
77 Flag of the United States.svg Scott Anderson [13] 1–2, 4–7
Flag of South Korea.svg Heamin Choi 3, 8, 11, 17–18
Team Pelfrey [15] 2 Flag of Colombia.svg Juan Piedrahita [16] 1–13
Flag of the United States.svg Sean Rayhall [17] 17–18
3 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Scott Hargrove [18] 1–8
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Garett Grist [19] 9–10, 12–18

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.

Rd.DateRace nameTrackLocationTV
1March 12 Indy Lights Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Presented by Lucas School of Racing Streets of St. Petersburg St. Petersburg, Florida NBCSN
2March 13
3April 2 Indy Lights Grand Prix of Phoenix Phoenix International Raceway Phoenix, Arizona NBCSN
4April 23 Legacy Indy Lights 100 Barber Motorsports Park Birmingham, Alabama NBCSN
5April 24
6May 13 Mazda Indy Lights Grand Prix of Indianapolis Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course Speedway, Indiana NBCSN
7May 14
8May 27 Mazda Freedom 100 Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval Speedway, Indiana NBCSN
9June 25 Mazda Indy Lights Grand Prix of Road America Road America Elkhart Lake, WI NBCSN
10June 26
11July 10 Indy Lights Iowa Challenge Iowa Speedway Newton, Iowa NBCSN
12July 16 Cooper Tires Grand Prix of Toronto Exhibition Place Toronto NBCSN
13July 17
14July 30 Cooper Tires Indy Lights Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Lexington, Ohio NBCSN
15July 31
16September 3 Mazda Indy Lights Grand Prix of Watkins Glen Watkins Glen International Watkins Glen, New York NBCSN
17September 10 Mazda Indy Lights Grand Prix of Monterey Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca Monterey, California NBCSN
18September 11
  Oval/Speedway
  Road Course
  Temporary Street Circuit

Race results

RoundRace Pole position Fastest lap Most laps ledRace Winner
DriverTeam
1 St. Petersburg 1 Flag of the United States.svg Kyle Kaiser Flag of the United States.svg Zach Veach Flag of the United States.svg Zach Veach Flag of Puerto Rico.svg Félix Serrallés Carlin
2 St. Petersburg 2 Flag of Sweden.svg Felix Rosenqvist Flag of Sweden.svg Felix Rosenqvist Flag of Sweden.svg Felix Rosenqvist Flag of Sweden.svg Felix Rosenqvist Belardi Auto Racing
3 Phoenix Flag of the United States.svg Kyle Kaiser Flag of the United States.svg Kyle Kaiser Flag of the United States.svg Kyle Kaiser Flag of the United States.svg Kyle Kaiser Juncos Racing
4 Birmingham 1 Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Ed Jones Flag of Uruguay.svg Santiago Urrutia Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Ed Jones Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Ed Jones Carlin
5 Birmingham 2 Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Ed Jones Flag of Uruguay.svg Santiago Urrutia Flag of Uruguay.svg Santiago Urrutia Flag of Uruguay.svg Santiago Urrutia Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
6 Indianapolis GP 1 Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Ed Jones Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Zachary Claman DeMelo Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Ed Jones Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Ed Jones Carlin
7 Indianapolis GP 2 Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Ed Jones Flag of Sweden.svg Felix Rosenqvist Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Dean Stoneman Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Dean Stoneman Andretti Autosport
8 Indianapolis Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Ed Jones Flag of the United States.svg Neil Alberico Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Dean Stoneman Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Dean Stoneman Andretti Autosport
9 Road America 1 Flag of the United States.svg Zach Veach Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Zachary Claman DeMelo Flag of the United States.svg Zach Veach Flag of the United States.svg Zach Veach Belardi Auto Racing
10 Road America 2 Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Ed Jones Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Dean Stoneman Flag of Uruguay.svg Santiago Urrutia Flag of Uruguay.svg Santiago Urrutia Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
11 Iowa Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Ed Jones Flag of the United States.svg Zach Veach Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Ed Jones Flag of Puerto Rico.svg Félix Serrallés Carlin
12 Toronto 1 Flag of Sweden.svg Felix Rosenqvist Flag of Sweden.svg Felix Rosenqvist Flag of Sweden.svg Felix Rosenqvist Flag of Sweden.svg Felix Rosenqvist Belardi Auto Racing
13 Toronto 2 Flag of Sweden.svg Felix Rosenqvist Flag of Puerto Rico.svg Félix Serrallés Flag of Sweden.svg Felix Rosenqvist Flag of Sweden.svg Felix Rosenqvist Belardi Auto Racing
14 Mid-Ohio 1 Flag of Uruguay.svg Santiago Urrutia Flag of Uruguay.svg Santiago Urrutia Flag of Uruguay.svg Santiago Urrutia Flag of Uruguay.svg Santiago Urrutia Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
15 Mid-Ohio 2 Flag of Uruguay.svg Santiago Urrutia Flag of Puerto Rico.svg Félix Serrallés Flag of Uruguay.svg Santiago Urrutia Flag of Uruguay.svg Santiago Urrutia Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
16 Watkins Glen Flag of Uruguay.svg Santiago Urrutia Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Dean Stoneman Flag of the United States.svg Zach Veach Flag of the United States.svg Zach Veach Belardi Auto Racing
17 Laguna Seca 1 Flag of the United States.svg Kyle Kaiser Flag of the United States.svg Kyle Kaiser Flag of the United States.svg Kyle Kaiser Flag of the United States.svg Kyle Kaiser Juncos Racing
18 Laguna Seca 2 Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Ed Jones Flag of the United States.svg Zach Veach Flag of the United States.svg Zach Veach Flag of the United States.svg Zach Veach Belardi Auto Racing

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 
Points3025221917151413121110987654321
PosDriver STP PHX ALA IND INDY RDA IOW TOR MOH WGL LAG Pts
1 Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Ed Jones 10721*21*4214133165611224363
2 Flag of Uruguay.svg Santiago Urrutia  RY 4134111*221491*5441*1*1252361
3 Flag of the United States.svg Kyle Kaiser 321*1566316666339641*3334
4 Flag of the United States.svg Zach Veach 16*38310510101*32*96541*31*332
5 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Dean Stoneman  R 86516331*1*2945143210139316
6 Flag of Puerto Rico.svg Félix Serrallés 1472157563141210410785311
7 Flag of Brazil.svg André Negrão  R 656811916151021311223396268
8 Flag of the United States.svg Shelby Blackstock 141114451074135121098561011227
9 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Zachary Claman DeMelo    R 111611571314135481313779127199
10 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Dalton Kellett  R 15101099161231412981111911713193
11 Flag of the United States.svg Neil Alberico  R 121591214111371111111281285610193
12 Flag of Sweden.svg Felix Rosenqvist  R 71*151484691*1*185
13 Flag of Colombia.svg Juan Piedrahita 98127161511812771412135
14 Flag of the United States.svg RC Enerson 51236481511111
15 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Garett Grist  R 71077101281115102
16 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Scott Hargrove  R 214131312149593
17 Flag of the United States.svg Scott Anderson 139101312861
18 Flag of South Korea.svg Heamin Choi  R 161210151240
19 Flag of the United States.svg Sean Rayhall 4832
20 Flag of the United States.svg James French  R 8826
21 Flag of the United States.svg Davey Hamilton Jr.  R 141414
PosDriver STP PHX ALA IND INDY RDA IOW TOR MOH WGL LAG Pts
ColorResult
GoldWinner
Silver2nd place
Bronze3rd place
Green4th & 5th place
Light Blue6th–10th place
Dark BlueFinished
(Outside Top 10)
PurpleDid not finish
RedDid not qualify
(DNQ)
BrownWithdrawn
(Wth)
BlackDisqualified
(DSQ)
WhiteDid not start
(DNS)
BlankDid not
participate
(DNP)
Not competing
In-line notation
Bold Pole position
(1 point)
ItalicsRan fastest race lap
(1 point)
*Led most race laps
(1 point)
1Qualifying cancelled
no bonus point awarded
Rookie

Teams' championship

PosTeamPoints
1 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Carlin 413
2 Flag of the United States.svg Schmidt Peterson Motorsports w/ Curb-Agajanian 384
3 Flag of the United States.svg Belardi Auto Racing 322
4 Flag of the United States.svg Andretti Autosport 281
5 Flag of the United States.svg Juncos Racing 275
6 Flag of the United States.svg Team Pelfrey 135

See also

References

  1. Malsher, David. Andretti signs Stoneman for Indy Lights, Motorsport.com, February 24, 2016, Retrieved 2016-02-24
  2. Khorounzhiy, Valentin (September 22, 2015). "Andretti promotes Kellett to Indy Lights". Motorsport.com . Retrieved November 3, 2015.
  3. Malsher, David. Blackstock staying at Andretti Autosport, leads opening Lights test, Motorsport.com, November 21, 2015, Retrieved 2015-11-25
  4. Khorounzhiy, Valentin. Veach returns to Indy Lights with Belardi Archived 2016-03-12 at the Wayback Machine , Motorsport.com, November 25, 2015, Retrieved 2015-11-25
  5. "Belardi Auto Racing confirms Felix Rosenqvist for Indy Lights". Indy Lights. February 22, 2016. Archived from the original on June 23, 2020. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  6. Roberts, James (December 1, 2014). "Carlin aims for IndyCar after launching 2015 Indy Lights programme". Autosport . Haymarket Publications . Retrieved December 1, 2014.
  7. Allen, Peter (January 7, 2016). "Felix Serralles teams up with Carlin for second Indy Lights year". Paddock Scout. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
  8. Allen, Peter (October 19, 2015). "Ed Jones commits to a second season of Indy Lights with Carlin". Paddock Scout. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
  9. "Carlin sign Alberico for 2016 Indy Lights Series". Carlin . January 25, 2016. Archived from the original on June 25, 2020. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
  10. "Canadian Zachary Claman DeMelo joins Juncos Racing for 2016 Indy Lights campaign". Juncos Racing . December 15, 2015. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  11. Allen, Peter (October 29, 2015). "Kyle Kaiser sticks with Juncos for 2016 Indy Lights season". Paddock Scout. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
  12. "RC Enerson to compete with SPM in 2016". SPM IndyCar . Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. October 30, 2015. Archived from the original on February 7, 2016. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  13. 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. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 26, 2020. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  14. "Santiago Urrutia a la IndyLights" [Santiago Urrutia goes up to IndyLights]. Velocidad Total (in Spanish). Velocidad Total. January 27, 2016. Retrieved January 27, 2016.
  15. "Team Pelfrey expands to Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires". Indy Lights . Andersen Promotions. October 26, 2015. Archived from the original on November 17, 2015. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  16. "Piedrahita signs with Team Pelfrey for 2016 IndyLights season". Team Pelfrey Indy Lights. Team Pelfrey. February 18, 2016. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
  17. Khorounzhiy, Valentin (September 6, 2016). "Pelfrey calls up Rayhall for Lights finale". motorsport.com. Motorsport.com. Archived from the original on November 4, 2016. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
  18. "Hargrove, Pelfrey, plan Phoenix, Barber in working towards full season". March 24, 2016.
  19. "Garett Grist to make Indy Lights debut with Team Pelfrey". Indy Lights . Andersen Promotions. June 14, 2016. Retrieved June 14, 2016.
  20. "2016 Mazda Road to Indy schedules announced". IndyLights. October 27, 2015. Archived from the original on March 1, 2016. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
  21. Golen, Jimmy (April 29, 2016). "Scheduled IndyCar race on streets of Boston cancelled". Associated Press. Boston: AP Sports. Associated Press. Archived from the original on May 1, 2016. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  22. "IndyCar returning to Waktins Glen International for Labor Day weekend". IndyCar.com. May 13, 2016. Retrieved May 14, 2016.