2006 was the ninth year of the

Formula Palmer Audi Formula Palmer Audi, officially abbreviated to FPA, and sometimes informally abbreviated to Palmer Audi, was a one-make class of open wheel Formula racing founded in 1998 by former Formula One driver, Jonathan Palmer. It was based in the United ...

open-wheel racing Formula racing (known as open-wheel racing in North America) is any of several forms of open-wheeled single-seater motorsport. The origin of the term lies in the nomenclature that was adopted by the FIA for all of its post-World War II single- ...

series. Briton Jon Barnes won the Championship, while American

Dane Cameron Dane Cameron (born October 18, 1988) is an American racing driver from Glen Ellen, California. He won the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship overall in 2016 and 2019, and also in the GTD class in 2014. Racing career After karting, Cameron ...

took the Autumn Trophy

2006 Championship

The 2006 FPA Championship took in 15 rounds at six meetings.

Brands Hatch Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently host ...

was visited in both Indy and Grand Prix configurations, while

Snetterton Snetterton is a village and civil parish in Norfolk, England. The village is about east-northeast of Thetford and southwest of Norwich. The civil parish has an area of . The 2011 Census recorded a parish population of 201 people living in 74 h ...

was added to the calendar and the series returned to

Spa-Francorchamps The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (), frequently referred to as ''Spa'', is a motor-racing circuit located in Stavelot, Belgium. It is the current venue of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix, hosting its first Grand Prix in 1925, and has he ...

. Two

FIA GT Championship The FIA GT Championship was a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) at the behest of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship was mostly concentrated in Europe, but throughout ...

-supporting rounds at

Dijon-Prenois Dijon-Prenois is a motor racing circuit located in Prenois, near Dijon, France. The undulating track is noted for its fast, sweeping bends. Opened in 1972, Dijon-Prenois hosted the Formula One French Grand Prix five times, and the Swiss Grand ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and at

Mugello The Mugello is a historic region and valley in northern Tuscany, in Italy, corresponding to the course of the River Sieve. It is located to the north of the city of Florence and includes the northernmost portion of the Metropolitan City of Fl ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

concluded the season. At the start of the season, Viktor Jensen, son of radio DJ

David Jensen David Allan "Kid" Jensen (born 4 July 1950) is a Canadian-born British radio DJ and television presenter. Born in Victoria, British Columbia, Jensen began as a radio DJ on Radio Luxembourg. Jensen was later a broadcaster for the BBC from 1976 ...

, romped away from the rest of the field, winning the first four races. But after that, having found his feet in his first year of open-wheel racing, Jon Barnes emerged as the dominant force, winning nine of the last 10 rounds to take the title with a race to spare. Barnes was nominated for the

McLaren Autosport BRDC Award The Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Award is an award set up in 1989 to reward and recognise young racing drivers from the UK. As its names suggest, the award is backed by Aston Martin, motorsport magazine Autosport, and the British Racing Drivers' Cl ...

for his efforts throughout the season, breaking numerous FPA records such as most wins (nine), most consecutive wins (seven) and most points in a season (326). 2006 FPA Championship Schedule

2006 Championship Standings

Notes: * 0 denotes a finish outside the points. * DNF denotes a failure to finish. * A blank space denotes a non-participation, i.e. did not start. * Bold denotes race winner. * Ludovico Manfredi was not eligible to score championship points due to licence issues. However, the points he would have scored (51 in total, enough for 20th in the final standings) are shown in the table.

2006 Autumn Trophy

The 2006 Autumn Trophy, held on consecutive weekends at

and

in early November, heralded the dawn of the next generation of young FPA stars. At Snetterton, 16-year-old T Cars star

Luciano Bacheta Akshay Luciano Bacheta (born 26 April 1990 in Romford, England) is a British professional racecar driver, born to Indian parents with Italian ancestry. Career Bacheta started karting at the age of fourteen in 2004 and stepped up to cars in 200 ...

proved to be a contender, winning his very first race in an open-wheel car, and following it up with a third place and another victory to lead the series at the half-way stage. Meanwhile, Team USA Scholarship driver

won the second race to remain just two points behind Bacheta. At Brands Hatch, however, Cameron put in a stunning weekend performance on a track the Californian had never driven before, winning all three races to become the third American to claim the title. Bacheta had to settle for third in the series, as the consistent Aaron Steele took the runner-up spot by virtue of podium finishes in all six races. The Autumn Trophy was also notable for the open-wheel racing debuts of Alex Brundle, son of former

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

driver

Martin Brundle Martin John Brundle (born 1 June 1959) is a British former racing driver, best known as a Formula One driver and as a commentator for ITV Sport from 1997 to 2008, the BBC from 2009 to 2011, and Sky Sports since 2012. Brundle contested the 1 ...

, and Stefan Wilson, brother of

ChampCar Champ Car World Series (CCWS) was the series sanctioned by Open-Wheel Racing Series Inc., or Champ Car, a sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing that operated from 2004 to 2008. It was the successor to Championship Auto Racing Teams ...

star and former FPA champion Justin Wilson. 2006 Autumn Trophy Schedule

2006 Autumn Trophy Standings

Notes: * 0 denotes a finish outside the points. * DNF denotes a failure to finish. * A blank space denotes a non-participation, i.e. did not start. * Bold denotes race winner. {{Formula Palmer Audi years

Formula Palmer Audi seasons Palmer Audi