The 2016 Toyota Racing Series was the twelfth running of the

Toyota Racing Series The Formula Regional Oceania Championship is New Zealand's premier formula racing category. The series includes races for every major trophy in New Zealand circuit racing including the New Zealand Motor Cup and the Denny Hulme Memorial Trophy. ...

, the premier

open-wheel An open-wheel single-seater (often known as formula car) is a car with the wheels outside the car's main body, and usually having only one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, sports cars, stock cars, and touring cars, which have thei ...

motorsport category held in New Zealand. The series, which consisted of fifteen races at five meetings, began on 16 January at Ruapuna Park in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

, and ended on 14 February with the 61st running of the

New Zealand Grand Prix The New Zealand Grand Prix, sometimes known as the New Zealand International Grand Prix, is an annual motor racing event held in New Zealand. First held in 1950, it is best known for hosting rounds of the Tasman Series in the 1960s and 1970s. It ...

, at

Manfeild Autocourse Manfeild: Circuit Chris Amon (formerly Manfeild Autocourse) is a motor sport circuit located in Feilding, New Zealand. It was built by thManawatu Car Clubin 1973 as a purpose-built course. In 1990 extra land was acquired and the circuit extensio ...

Feilding Feilding ( mi, Aorangi) is a town in the Manawatū District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on State Highway 54, 20 kilometres north of Palmerston North. The town is the seat of the Manawatū District Council. Feilding has ...

. As the first European driver to win the Toyota Racing Series, M2 Competition's

Lando Norris Lando Norris (born 13 November 1999) is a Belgian-British racing driver currently competing in Formula One with McLaren, racing under the British flag. He won the MSA Formula championship in 2015, and the Toyota Racing Series, Eurocup Form ...

wrapped up the championship with a race to spare, amassing six wins, eight poles, five fastest laps, and three round wins on his way to the title. Norris won a race at every meeting, taking a pair of victories in Taupo, while only finishing off the podium four times. Force India protégé Jehan Daruvala took the runner-up spot in the championship, with one pole and three wins. Daruvala struggled in Ruapuna, but a strategic tyre gamble in a soggy Race 3 paid off, enabling him to take the Lady Wigram Trophy, despite starting 15th. Two further wins followed in Teretonga and Taupo, and solid top-8 finishes in each of the last nine races helped the Indian to second place overall. New Zealand's Brendon Leitch finished the season in a strong third, despite only one win and three podiums. However, it was his amazing consistency that gave him such a good championship position, as he finished every race in the top 10. Leitch's 754-point haul is also the most points accrued by a Victory Motor Racing driver in team history. Of the other drivers, Ferdinand Habsburg was top Giles Motorsport driver, after a strong campaign saw him take two wins.

Pedro Piquet Pedro Estácio Leão Piquet Souto Maior (born 3 July 1998) is a Brazilian former racing driver. He is the son of three-time Formula One world champion Nelson Piquet and younger half brother of Formula E champion Nelson Piquet Jr. He is known for ...

also took victory on two occasions, first in the second race at Teretonga, and again at Hampton Downs, where a superb run from pole saw him take the NZ Motor Cup. Piquet was often runaway leader Norris's main challenger, both on track and in the standings.

Ferrari Driver Academy Ferrari Driver Academy is an initiative from Formula One team Scuderia Ferrari to promote young talent inside its own organisation, with several drivers being selected and funded by the team, being under long-term contracts. Some notable former ...

member Guanyu Zhou scored a breakthrough win in Hampton Downs and finished strongly throughout the duration of the series, although a disastrous final weekend compromised his attack. Rookie Taylor Cockerton was the best-placed ETEC Motorsport driver, finishing in ninth.

Teams and drivers

All teams were New Zealand-registered.

Race calendar and results

The calendar for the series was announced on 23 June 2015, and will be held over five successive weekends in January and February. As opposed to the previous year, all rounds will be triple-headers.

Championship standings

In order for a driver to score championship points, they have to complete at least 75% of the race winner's distance, and be running at the race's completion. All races counted towards the final championship standings. ;Scoring system

Drivers' championship

References

External links

* {{New Zealand Toyota Racing Series Toyota Racing Series