2015–16 MRF Challenge Formula 2000 Championship explained

The 2015–2016 MRF Challenge Formula 2000 Championship was the fourth running of the MRF Challenge Formula 2000 Championship. It began on 31 October 2015 at Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi and finished on 31 January 2016 at the Madras Motor Racing Track, India. The series comprised 14 races, spread across four meetings, with the second round in Sakhir being a support event to the FIA World Endurance Championship.^[1]

Drivers

	Driver	Rounds
2	Tatiana Calderón^[2]	All
3	Dylan Young	All
4	Nikita Troitskiy	All
5	Max Fewtrell	All
6	Sean Walkinshaw	1–3
7	Harrison Newey	All
8	Matt Draper^[3]	1–3
9	Jake Dennis	1
10	Nobuharu Matsushita	1
11	Alice Powell	1
12	Karthik Tharani	1–2, 4
14	Arjun Narendran	All
15	Tarun Reddy	All
16	Laura Tillett	All
17	Nerses Isaakyan	All
18	Matheus Leist^[4]	2
19	Sebastian Balthasar	1
20	Jessica Hawkins	2
21	Pietro Fittipaldi	All
22	Christophe Mariot	2
23	Sam Dejonghe	2
24	Alessio Picariello	2–4
25	Rik Breukers^[5]	3
26	José Luis Abadín	3
27	Giuliano Alesi	3
28	Aleksanteri Huovinen^[6]	4
29	Mick Schumacher	4
85	Enzo Bortoleto	4

Race calendar and results

The second round in Bahrain was held in support of the FIA World Endurance Championship.

Round		Circuit	Date	Pole position	Fastest lap	Winning driver
2015
1	1	Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi	30 October	Nobuharu Matsushita	Nobuharu Matsushita	Nobuharu Matsushita
	R2				Nobuharu Matsushita	Nikita Troitskiy
	R3		31 October	Nobuharu Matsushita	Nobuharu Matsushita	Nobuharu Matsushita
	R4				Jake Dennis	Pietro Fittipaldi
2	R1	Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir	20 November	Alessio Picariello	Alessio Picariello	Alessio Picariello
	R2				Alessio Picariello	Alessio Picariello
3	R1	Dubai Autodrome, Dubai	18 December	Alessio Picariello	Alessio Picariello	Alessio Picariello
	R2				Tatiana Calderón	Tatiana Calderón
	R3		19 December	Alessio Picariello	Pietro Fittipaldi	Alessio Picariello
	R4				Alessio Picariello	Pietro Fittipaldi
2016
4	R1	Madras Motor Racing Track, Chennai	30 January	Pietro Fittipaldi	Pietro Fittipaldi	Pietro Fittipaldi
	R2				Alessio Picariello	Nikita Troitskiy
	R3		31 January	Pietro Fittipaldi	Harrison Newey	Pietro Fittipaldi
	R4				Alessio Picariello	Alessio Picariello

Championship standings

Scoring system

Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th
Points	25	18	15	12	10	8	6	4	2	1	2	2

Drivers' standings

Driver ABU BHR DUB CHE Points 1 Pietro Fittipaldi 2 3 5 1 4 2 2 5 3 1 1 5 1 4 244 2 Tatiana Calderón 5 2 3 2 3 6 4 1 4 3 5 4 4 3 199 3 Nikita Troitskiy 4 1 6 6 2 3 3 2 2 DSQ 8 1 3 5 191 4 Alessio Picariello 1 1 1 8 1 2 4 Ret 6 1 181 5 Harrison Newey 10 7 7 16 7 4 7 Ret 5 DSQ 2 2 2 8 107 6 Nobuharu Matsushita 1 5 1 4 80 7 Tarun Reddy 6 4 4 3 11 Ret 5 12 7 10 6 Ret 12 9 74 8 Nerses Isaakyan 12 9 11 7 Ret 9 8 4 13 4 7 3 Ret Ret 59 9 Jake Dennis 3 6 2 5 53 10 Mick Schumacher 3 6 5 2 51 11 Max Fewtrell 11 11 10 13 10 10 6 3 8 Ret 10 7 7 6 51 12 Sean Walkinshaw 8 8 8 10 6 8 Ret Ret 6 9 35 13 Dylan Young 15† 12 12 11 8 11 9 6 Ret 7 9 9 9 7 32 14 Matheus Leist 5 5 20 15 Rik Breukers 15 11 10 5 11 16 Laura Tillett Ret 15 14 9 Ret 16 12 10 14 6 12 Ret 11 13 11 17 José Luis Abadín 11 7 11 8 10 18 Alice Powell 9 10 9 8 9 19 Sam Dejonghe 9 7 8 20 Sebastian Balthasar 7 17 Ret 15 6 21 Enzo Bortoleto 11 8 Ret 10 5 22 Aleksanteri Huovinen Ret 10 8 12 5 23 Giuliano Alesi 10 Ret 9 12 3 24 Matt Draper 13 14 15 14 13 13 13 9 12 Ret 2 25 Arjun Narendran 14 16 16 Ret 14 14 14 13 15 11 14 12 10 11 1 26 Karthik Tharani Ret 13 13 12 12 12 13 11 Ret Ret 0 27 Jessica Hawkins 15 15 0 28 Christophe Mariot 16 17 0 Driver ABU BHR DUB CHE Points

Bold – Pole Italics – Fastest Lap

Notes and References

1. Web site: MRF Challenge 2015 Brochure. MRF Limited. 30 October 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20180430045328/http://www.mrfracing.in/pdf/MRF-Challenge-2015-Brochure.pdf?v=2. 30 April 2018. dead.
2. News: Matsushita, Dennis and Fittipaldi for MRF opener in Abu Dhabi. Allen. Peter. 27 October 2015. Paddock Scout. 27 October 2015.
3. News: Alesi misses MRF finale after visa problems. Chokhani. Darsan. 29 January 2016. Motorsport.com. 6 February 2016. 20 December 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161220214309/http://www.motorsport.com/indian-openwheel/news/alesi-misses-mrf-finale-after-visa-problems-670369/?s=1. dead.
4. News: Fittipaldi, Calderon and Reddy set to resume MRF Challenge battle. Chokhani. Darsan. 16 November 2015. Motorsport.com. 6 February 2016. 20 December 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161220214313/http://www.motorsport.com/indian-openwheel/news/fittipaldi-calderon-and-reddy-set-to-resume-mrf-challenge-battle/?s=1. dead.
5. News: Fittipaldi, Troitskiy and Calderon ready for Dubai; Alesi to debut. Chokhani. Darsan. 14 December 2015. Motorsport.com. 6 February 2016. 20 December 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161220210722/http://www.motorsport.com/indian-openwheel/news/fittipaldi-troitskiy-and-calderon-ready-for-dubai-alesi-to-debut/?s=1. dead.
6. News: Mick Schumacher to race in MRF Challenge title decider. Chokhani. Darsan. 27 January 2016. Motorsport.com. 6 February 2016.