The 2012 Auto GP World Series was the third year of the

Auto GP 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 serie ...

series, and the fourteenth season of the former Euroseries 3000. The championship began on 11 March at

Monza Monza (, ; lmo, label=Lombard language, Lombard, Monça, locally ; lat, Modoetia) is a city and ''comune'' on the River Lambro, a tributary of the Po River, Po in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capit ...

in Italy and finished on 23 September at Sonoma in the United States, after seven double-header rounds. Each meeting's sprint race now lasts for a longer duration – a minimum of , up from – while also introducing a mandatory pit-stop to the race. The series also introduced an overboost system that has already been used in the

FIA Formula Two Championship The FIA Formula 2 Championship is a second-tier single-seater championship organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Held on road racing, racing circuits, the championship was introduced in 2017, following the rebrandi ...

. The points system for the second race was also amended.

Adrian Quaife-Hobbs Adrian Rodney Quaife-Hobbs (born 3 February 1991) is a British racing driver, notable for being the youngest driver to win the T Cars championship and the youngest ever winner of a MSA-sanctioned car racing series. He currently resides in Tonbri ...

won the opening race of the season at Monza after qualifying on pole position by 0.04 seconds.

Pål Varhaug Pål Varhaug (born 26 January 1991 in Stavanger) is a professional racing driver from Norway. Career Karting Varhaug began his motorsport career in karting in 2005, finishing fifth in the Norwegian Championship ICA Junior category. He also ...

finished in second place and returnee

Daniël de Jong Daniël de Jong (born 9 July 1992) is a professional racing driver from the Netherlands. Career Formula Renault 2.0 After a lengthy karting career in his native Holland and a brief stint in the Dutch Winter Endurance Series, de Jong made his s ...

attained his maiden podium in third. The reverse-grid second race was won by Varhaug, who left the meeting tied for the championship lead with Quaife-Hobbs. Three weeks later at

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

, Quaife-Hobbs claimed pole again, but was unable to convert pole into another win, losing to Sergey Sirotkin, who became the youngest Auto GP winner, while Varhaug completed the podium. Quaife-Hobbs and Sirotkin continued their battle into the sprint race until an error during Sirotkin's pit-stop ended the battle early. Sirotkin recovered to finish the race in third place behind Quaife-Hobbs – who extended his championship lead with the race win – and

Facu Regalia Facundo "Facu" Regalia (born 23 November 1991 in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine racing driver. He competed in his first two Formula BMW seasons under a Spanish racing licence. Career Karting Regalia began karting in 2006 and raced primarily in S ...

, who scored his first podium. Two weeks later, the series' first non-European round was held in

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

, where Sirotkin claimed his first pole position. He made a poor getaway, after being distracted by a marshal at the start. he lost many positions with Varhaug taking the lead. Varhaug was chased by

Italian Formula Three The Italian Formula Three Championship was the Formula Three racing competition in Italy. History Formula Three has traditionally been regarded as the first major stepping stone for F1 hopefuls - it is typically the first point in a driver's care ...

champion Sergio Campana, leading until the pit-stop phase. Varhaug stalled in pit lane, losing positions to both Campana and Quaife-Hobbs, with Campana eventually taking his first series win, and the first for Team MLR71, after a close battle with Quaife-Hobbs. Sirotkin took the lead at the start of the second race, but lost time after his pit-stop, allowing Manor MP Motorsport's

Chris van der Drift Christopher Jason van der Drift (born 8 March 1986) is a New Zealand racing driver of Dutch descent. Career Van der Drift started karting at the age of 7 and in 1994 he raced his first year in cadets. From there he went on to win 6 New Zealand ...

through to take his first win in the series ahead of Sirotkin. Varhaug, Quaife-Hobbs and

Giacomo Ricci Giacomo Ricci (born 30 March 1985 in Baveno) is an Italian racing driver. Career Formula BMW Ricci began his car racing career by driving in the German-based Formula BMW ADAC series in 2001 and 2002, with a best finish of seventh in the drivers ...

battled over the final podium position with Varhaug taking the position on-the-road before receiving a 25-second time penalty post-race for cutting a chicane. Ricci was promoted into third place ahead of Quaife-Hobbs, while Varhaug dropped to seventh and lost ground in the championship, falling behind Sirotkin, who moved into second.

Teams and drivers

Race calendar and results

A seven-round calendar was published on 23 December 2011, with all rounds supporting

World Touring Car Championship The FIA World Touring Car Championship was an international touring car championship promoted by Eurosport Events and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). It has had several different incarnations, including a sin ...

events. On 9 March 2012, it was announced that the Portuguese round moved from

Estoril Estoril () is a town in the Municipality of Cascais, Portugal, on the Portuguese Riviera. It is a tourist destination, with luxury hotels, beaches, and the Casino Estoril. It has been home to numerous royal families and celebrities, and has host ...

Portimão Portimão () is a city and a municipality in the district of Faro, in the Algarve region of southern Portugal. The population in 2011 was 55,614, in an area of 182.06 km2. It was formerly known as Vila Nova de Portimão (). In 1924, it was ...

Championship standings

* Points for both championships were awarded as follows: In addition: * One point will be awarded for

Pole position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the rac ...

for Race One. * One point will be awarded for fastest lap in each race.

Drivers' Championship

Under-21 Trophy

Teams' Championship

References

External links

Official Auto GP World Series site
{{Use dmy dates, date=September 2013 Auto GP Auto GP World Series