Auto GP explained

Pixels:200
Category:Single seaters
Region:Europe
Inaugural:1999
Folded:2016
Drivers:9
Teams:5
Constructors:Lola
Engines:Zytek
Tyres:Kumho Tires[1]
Champion Driver: Luis Michael Dörrbecker
Champion Team: Torino Squadra Corse

Auto GP, sometimes referred to as the Auto GP World Series and formerly known as both Euro Formula 3000 and the Euroseries 3000, was a European formula racing series.

The series' roots can be traced back to 1999 and the Italian Formula 3000 series, organised by Pierluigi Corbari, which used old Lola chassis with Zytek engines. The teams used the Lola T96/50 in the first two years. At the beginning nearly all races were held in Italy, but very quickly the series expanded and had venues in different European countries.

The series became European Formula 3000 in 2001. The next three years (2001–2003) saw the Lola B99/50 in use. For 2004, Superfund became the series' title sponsor, planning to use a new car with a new set of regulations, named Formula Superfund, but the funding was pulled before the 2005 season got under way and the series was cancelled.

For 2005, Coloni Motorsport established an Italian national-level championship, using the Italian Formula 3000 name. In 2006, Coloni expanded this to form a new European championship named Euroseries 3000 with the Lola B02/50. The Italian series continued to run as part of Euroseries races.

In 2009, the organisers announced that the first-generation A1 Grand Prix Lola B05/52 were allowed alongside the Lola F3000 chassis, replacing the old cars completely from 2010.[2]

The championship itself was rebranded for the 2010 season, with it adopting the Auto GP name. As well as that, the championship offered a €200,000 prize fund at each of its six rounds.[3]

2015 marked the start of the Auto GP World Series working with ISRA, a company from the Netherlands who set up the 2014 FA1 Series, this partnership, however, has not lasted long with the Auto GP Organisation announcing at Round 1 (of the 2015 season) that the two companies have parted ways. The 2015 season was "archived" midway through the season and midway through the 2016 season the series merged with the BOSS GP series.

Results

Formula 3000 era

SeasonChampionSecondThirdTeam ChampionSecondary Class Champion
Italian Formula 3000
1999 Giorgio Vinella Werner Lupberger Marco Apicella Team Martelloalign=center rowspan=3not awarded
2000 Ricardo Sperafico Warren Hughes Gabriele Lancieri Arden Team Russia
Euro Formula 3000
2001 Felipe Massa Thomas Biagi Alex Müller Draco Junior Teamalign=center rowspan=3not awarded
2002 Jaime Melo, Jr. Romain Dumas Jaroslav Janiš Team Great Wall
2003 Augusto Farfus Fabrizio del Monte Gianmaria Bruni Draco Junior Team
Superfund Euro Formula 3000
2004 Nicky Pastorelli Fabrizio del Monte Norbert Siedler Draco Junior Teamnot awarded
Italian Formula 3000
2005 Luca Filippi Jaroslav Janiš Giacomo Ricci FMS International

Stefano Gattuso

Euroseries 3000
2006 Giacomo Ricci Marco Bonanomi Vitaly Petrov FMS International

Giacomo Ricci

2007 Davide Rigon Diego Nunes Luiz Razia Minardi by GP Racing

Davide Rigon

2008 Nicolas Prost Fabio Onidi Adam Khan Bull Racing

Omar Leal

2009 Will Bratt Marco Bonanomi Fabio Onidi FMS International

Will Bratt

Auto GP

SeasonChampionSecondThirdTeam ChampionSecondary Class Champion
Auto GP
2010 Romain Grosjean Edoardo Piscopo Duncan Tappy DAMS

Adrien Tambay

2011 Kevin Ceccon Luca Filippi Sergey Afanasyev DAMS

Kevin Ceccon

Auto GP World Series
2012 Adrian Quaife-Hobbs Pål Varhaug Sergey Sirotkin Super Nova International

Adrian Quaife-Hobbs

Auto GP
2013 Vittorio Ghirelli Kimiya Sato Sergio Campana Super Nova International

Vittorio Ghirelli

2014 Kimiya Sato Tamás Pál Kiss Markus Pommer Super Nova Internationalalign=center rowspan=2not awarded
2015align=center colspan=4cancelled
Auto GP Formula Open Championship
2016 Luis Michael Dörrbecker Mahaveer Raghunathan Christof von Grünigen Torino Squadra Corsenot awarded

Scoring system

Current system

Teams only score from their two highest placed cars. 48 points is the maximum possible haul for one driver in a race weekend.

2012 Auto GP points system[4] [5]
Race 1st  2nd  3rd  4th  5th  6th  7th  8th  9th  10th Pole PositionFastest Lap
R125181512108642111
R2201512108643211

Previous points systems

Previous Auto GP points systems
YearsRace 1st  2nd  3rd  4th  5th  6th  7th  8th  9th  10th Pole PositionFastest Lap
2011R125181512108642111
R2181310864211
2006–2010R110865432111
R26543211
200510865432111
1999–20041064321

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Kumho Tyres and double compound for 2012. https://archive.today/20120723112429/http://www.autogp.org/en/news.php?id=0580. dead. 23 July 2012. 3 February 2012. Auto GP. Auto GP Organisation. 3 February 2012.
  2. Web site: Euro 3000 com antigos carros do A1GP - Autosport.pt. 2013-05-15. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120217012831/http://autosport.aeiou.pt/gen.pl?p=stories&op=view&fokey=as.stories%2F66146. 2012-02-17.
  3. Freeman. Glenn . 2009-10-29. Pit & Paddock: Euroseries 3000; Euro 3000 revamped for 2010. Autosport. 198. 5. 29.
  4. News: Auto GP tweaks race 2 points system for 2012 season. Autosport. Haymarket Publications. 29 February 2012. 29 February 2012.
  5. News: More points awarded for Race 2. Auto GP World Series. Auto GP Organisation. 29 February 2012. 29 February 2012. 24 February 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150224095018/http://autogp.org/en/news.php?id=0592. dead.