2012 Auto GP World Series explained

The 2012 Auto GP World Series was the third year of the Auto GP series, and the fourteenth season of the former Euroseries 3000. The championship began on 11 March at Monza 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 90km (60miles), up from 70km (40miles) – while also introducing a mandatory pit-stop to the race.^[1] The series also introduced an overboost system that has already been used in the FIA Formula Two Championship.^[2] The points system for the second race was also amended.^[3]

Adrian Quaife-Hobbs won the opening race of the season at Monza after qualifying on pole position by 0.04 seconds.^[4] Pål Varhaug finished in second place and returnee Daniël de Jong attained his maiden podium in third.^[5] The reverse-grid second race was won by Varhaug, who left the meeting tied for the championship lead with Quaife-Hobbs.^[6] Three weeks later at Valencia, 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,^[7] 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, who scored his first podium.^[8]

Two weeks later, the series' first non-European round was held in Morocco, where Sirotkin claimed his first pole position.^[9] He made a poor getaway, after being distracted by a marshal at the start.^[10] he lost many positions with Varhaug taking the lead. Varhaug was chased by Italian Formula Three 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.^[11] 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 through to take his first win in the series ahead of Sirotkin. Varhaug, Quaife-Hobbs and Giacomo Ricci 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.^[12]

Teams and drivers

Team		Driver	Rounds
Campos Racing[13]	1	Facu Regalia[14]	1–5
		Pippa Mann[15]	7
	2	Giuseppe Cipriani	All
	3	Max Snegirev	All
Team MLR71[16]	5	Sergio Campana[17]	1–5
		Giacomo Ricci[18]	7
	71	Michele La Rosa	All
Virtuosi UK[19]	6	Matteo Beretta	1
		Sten Pentus[20]	2
		Francesco Dracone[21]	3–7
	7	Pål Varhaug[22]	All
Zele Racing[23]	8	Giacomo Ricci	1, 3
		Matteo Beretta[24]	2
		Sten Pentus[25]	4–5
		Sergio Campana[26]	7
	9	Peter Milavec	2
		Juan Carlos Sistos[27]	5
		Antônio Pizzonia	7
Super Nova International	10	nowrap	Adrian Quaife-Hobbs	All
11	Victor Guerin[28]	1–5
Euronova Racing[29]	12	Sergey Sirotkin[30]	All
	14	Antonio Spavone	1–5
		Sergio Campana	6
		Kotaro Sakurai[31]	7
Ombra Racing	23	Adderly Fong	1, 4
		Yann Cunha[32]	2–3
		Antônio Pizzonia[33]	6
		Antonio Spavone[34]	7
	45	Giancarlo Serenelli[35]	1–5, 7
		Rafael Suzuki	6
Manor MP Motorsport[36]	32	Daniël de Jong	All
	33	Chris van der Drift	1–6

Race calendar and results

A seven-round calendar was published on 23 December 2011,^[37] with all rounds supporting World Touring Car Championship events. On 9 March 2012, it was announced that the Portuguese round moved from Estoril to Portimão.^[38]

Round		Circuit/Location	Date	Pole Position	Fastest Lap	Winning Driver	Winning Team	Supporting
1	R1	Monza Circuit	10 March	Adrian Quaife-Hobbs	Sergey Sirotkin	Adrian Quaife-Hobbs	Super Nova International	FIA WTCC Race of Italy
	R2		11 March		Sergey Sirotkin	Pål Varhaug	Virtuosi UK
2	R1	Circuit Ricardo Tormo, Cheste	31 March	Adrian Quaife-Hobbs	Sergey Sirotkin	Sergey Sirotkin	Euronova Racing	FIA WTCC Race of Spain
	R2		1 April		Sergey Sirotkin	Adrian Quaife-Hobbs	Super Nova International
3	R1	Marrakech Street Circuit	14 April	Sergey Sirotkin	Sergio Campana	Sergio Campana	Team MLR71	FIA WTCC Race of Morocco
	R2		15 April		Sergey Sirotkin	Chris van der Drift	Manor MP Motorsport
4	R1	Hungaroring	5 May	nowrap	Adrian Quaife-Hobbs	nowrap	Adrian Quaife-Hobbs	nowrap	Adrian Quaife-Hobbs	nowrap	Super Nova International	FIA WTCC Race of Hungary
	R2		6 May		Adrian Quaife-Hobbs	Pål Varhaug	Virtuosi UK
5	R1	Autódromo Internacional do Algarve	2 June	Adrian Quaife-Hobbs	Adrian Quaife-Hobbs	Adrian Quaife-Hobbs	Super Nova International	FIA WTCC Race of Portugal
	R2		3 June		Adrian Quaife-Hobbs	Adrian Quaife-Hobbs	Super Nova International
6	R1	Autódromo Internacional de Curitiba	21 July	Adrian Quaife-Hobbs	Daniël de Jong	Antônio Pizzonia	Ombra Racing	FIA WTCC Race of Brazil
	R2	22 July		Pål Varhaug	Antônio Pizzonia	Ombra Racing
7	R1	Sonoma Raceway	nowrap	22 September	Adrian Quaife-Hobbs	Daniël de Jong	Pål Varhaug	Virtuosi UK	FIA WTCC Race of the United States
	R2		nowrap	23 September		Daniël de Jong	Sergey Sirotkin	Euronova Racing

Championship standings

• Points for both championships were awarded as follows:

Race
Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th
Race One	25	18	15	12	10	8	6	4	2	1
Race Two	20	15	12	10	8	6	4	3	2	1

In addition:

• One point will be awarded for Pole position for Race One.
• One point will be awarded for fastest lap in each race.

Drivers' Championship

valign=middle Pos valign=middle Driver MNZ VAL MAR HUN ALG CUR SON valign=middle Points 1 Adrian Quaife-Hobbs 1 3 2 1 2 4 1 2 1 1 6 12† Ret 2 221 2 Pål Varhaug 2 1 3 8 3 7 5 1 2 Ret 2 5 1 5 183 3 Sergey Sirotkin 14 4 1 3 6 2 13† 3 3 3 3 4 3 1 175 4 Chris van der Drift 5 2 6 7 4 1 7 5 8 2 5 2 127 5 Daniël de Jong 3 Ret 4 4 7 Ret 11 12 7 7 4 3 2 6 104 6 Sergio Campana 10 13 5 9 1 13 Ret 7 5 4 11† 8 4 3 90 7 Facu Regalia 4 9 7 2 Ret 10 3 10 6 5 68 8 Victor Guerin 15 11 16† 5 Ret 5 2 Ret 4 Ret 46 9 Antônio Pizzonia 1 1 Ret 12† 45 10 Antonio Spavone 8 5 9 11 8 Ret 8 8 11 9 8 4 41 11 Giacomo Ricci 6 14 5 3 5 11† 40 12 Giancarlo Serenelli 9 8 11 12 11 11 4 9 10 6 6 Ret 34 13 Max Snegirev 7 6 8 6 13 Ret Ret 11 12 8 10† 7 Ret 7 34 14 Giuseppe Cipriani 11 10 12 14 Ret 9 6 6 Ret Ret Ret 10 Ret Ret 18 15 Sten Pentus 10 10 9 4 14† Ret 14 16 Francesco Dracone 10 8 10 14 13 10 8 9 Ret 9 14 17 Rafael Suzuki 7 6 12 18 Yann Cunha 13 Ret 9 6 8 19 Kotaro Sakurai 7 Ret 6 20 Pippa Mann 9 8 5 21 Adderly Fong 13 7 Ret 13 4 22 Michele La Rosa 12 12 14 15 12 12 12 Ret DNS 11 9 11 10 10 4 23 Juan Carlos Sistos 9 Ret 2 24 Matteo Beretta DNS 15 17† 13 0 25 Peter Milavec 15 16 0 valign=middle Pos valign=middle Driver MNZ VAL MAR HUN ALG CUR SON valign=middle Points

Bold – Pole for Race One Italics – Fastest Lap

Under-21 Trophy

valign=middle	Pos	valign=middle	Driver	MNZ		VAL		MAR		HUN		ALG		CUR		SON		valign=middle	Points
1	Adrian Quaife-Hobbs	1	3	2	1	2	4	1	2	1	1	6	12†	Ret	2	250
2	Sergey Sirotkin	14	4	1	3	6	2	13†	3	3	3	3	4	3	1	216
3	Pål Varhaug	2	1	3	8	3	7	5	1	2	Ret	2	5	1	5	208
4	Daniël de Jong	3	Ret	4	4	7	Ret	11	12	7	7	4	3	2	6	137
5	Facu Regalia	4	9	7	2	Ret	10	3	10	6	5					96
6	Antonio Spavone	8	5	9	11	8	Ret	8	8	11	8			8	4	96
7	Victor Guerin	15	11	16†	5	Ret	5	2	Ret	4	Ret					66
8	Yann Cunha			13	Ret	9	6									24
10	Kotaro Sakurai													7	Ret	12
9	Matteo Beretta	DNS	15	17†	13											9
10	Juan Carlos Sistos									9	Ret					6
valign=middle	Pos	valign=middle	Driver	MNZ		VAL		MAR		HUN		ALG		CUR		SON		valign=middle	Points

Teams' Championship

valign=middle Pos valign=middle Team MNZ VAL MAR HUN ALG CUR SON valign=middle Points 1 Super Nova International 1 3 2 1 2 4 1 2 1 1 6 12† Ret 2 267 15 11 16† 5 Ret 5 2 Ret 4 Ret 2 Manor MP Motorsport 3 2 4 4 4 1 7 5 7 2 4 2 2 6 231 5 Ret 6 7 7 Ret 11 12 8 7 5 3 3 Euronova Racing 8 4 1 3 6 2 8 3 3 3 3 4 3 1 219 14 5 9 11 8 Ret 13† 8 11 9 11† 8 7 Ret 4 Virtuosi UK 2 1 3 8 3 7 5 1 2 10 2 5 1 5 198 DNS 15 10 10 10 8 10 14 13 Ret 8 9 Ret 9 5 Campos Racing 4 6 7 2 13 9 3 6 6 5 10† 7 9 7 124 7 9 8 6 Ret 10 6 10 12 8 Ret 10 Ret 8 6 Ombra Racing 9 7 11 12 9 6 4 9 10 6 1 1 6 4 117 13 8 13 Ret 11 11 Ret 13 7 6 8 Ret 7 Team MLR71 10 12 5 9 1 12 12 7 5 4 9 11 5 10 77 12 13 14 15 12 13 Ret Ret DNS 11 10 11† 8 Zele Racing 6 14 15 13 5 3 9 4 9 Ret 4 3 68 17† 16 14† Ret Ret 12† valign=middle Pos valign=middle Team MNZ VAL MAR HUN ALG CUR SON valign=middle Points

Bold – Pole for Race One Italics – Fastest Lap

External links

• Official Auto GP World Series site

Notes and References

1. News: Longer distance and pit-stop for Race 2 in 2012. 25 November 2011. Auto GP World Series. Auto GP Organization. 24 December 2011.
2. News: Auto GP introduces Overboost for 2012. 2 December 2011. Auto GP. Auto GP Organization. 24 December 2011.
3. News: More points awarded for Race 2. Auto GP World Series. Auto GP Organisation. 29 February 2012. 9 March 2011. 24 February 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150224095018/http://autogp.org/en/news.php?id=0592. dead.
4. News: Quaife-Hobbs takes first World Series pole . https://archive.today/20120722073841/http://www.autogp.org/en/news.php?id=0612 . dead . 22 July 2012 . 9 March 2012 . . Auto GP Organisation . 13 April 2012 .
5. News: Race 1: Quaife-Hobbs from flag to flag. 10 March 2012. Auto GP World Series. Auto GP Organisation. 13 April 2012.
6. News: Varhaug clinches Race 2 win in Monza. 11 March 2012. Auto GP World Series. Auto GP Organisation. 13 April 2012.
7. News: Sirotkin clinches Race 1 win in Valencia . https://archive.today/20120719185859/http://www.autogp.org/en/news.php?id=0641 . dead . 19 July 2012 . 31 March 2012 . . Auto GP Organisation . 13 April 2012 .
8. News: Quaife-Hobbs storms to Valencia Race 2 win. 1 April 2012. Auto GP World Series. Auto GP Organisation. 13 April 2012.
9. News: Sirotkin takes Marrakech pole . https://archive.today/20120719082520/http://www.autogp.org/en/news.php?id=0671 . dead . 19 July 2012 . 13 April 2012 . . Auto GP Organisation . 15 April 2012 .
10. News: Sirotkin says start board confusion to blame for delayed getaway in race one. Autosport. Haymarket Publications. 14 April 2012. 16 April 2012. Peter. Mills. I saw there was a marshal carrying a five-second board to the side of the grid, and I was waiting for him to raise it..
11. News: Campana beats Quaife-Hobbs to Race 1 win. 14 April 2012. Auto GP World Series. Auto GP Organisation. 15 April 2012.
12. News: Van der Drift clinches Race 2 win. 15 April 2012. Auto GP World Series. Auto GP Organisation. 15 April 2012.
13. News: Facu Regalia, Max Snegirev y Giuseppe Cipriani son los pilotos Campos Racing en el Campeonato de AUTOGP 2012. 22 February 2012. Campos Racing. Campos Racing Team. Spanish. 22 February 2012. Facu Regalia, Max Snegirev and Giuseppe Cipriani are the Campos Racing pilots for 2012 AUTOGP Championship. https://web.archive.org/web/20140502182725/http://www.camposracing.com/es/autogp/noticia?id=50. 2 May 2014. dead.
14. News: Regalia joins the Auto GP grid with Campos. 29 December 2011. Auto GP World Series. Auto GP Organization. 29 December 2011.
15. News: Pippa Mann joins Campos Racing in Sonoma. 10 September 2012. Auto GP World Series. Auto GP Organisation. 10 September 2012.
16. News: Team MLR71 is the first new entry for 2012. 2 November 2011. Auto GP World Series. Auto GP Organization. 24 December 2011.
17. News: 16 drivers on the Auto GP World Series grid. 8 March 2012. Auto GP World Series. Auto GP Organization. 8 March 2012.
18. News: Ricci on the grid with MLR71 in Sonoma. 12 September 2012. Auto GP World Series. Auto GP Organisation. 12 September 2012.
19. News: New British team joins Auto GP grid for 2012 season. Autosport. Haymarket Publications. 12 January 2012. 12 January 2012.
20. News: Pentus joins the Series with Virtuosi UK. 27 March 2012. Auto GP World Series. Auto GP Organization. 27 March 2012.
21. News: Sergio Campana leads Marrakech Auto GP practice. Autosport. Haymarket Publications. 13 April 2012. 13 April 2012. Peter. Mills. Norwegian Varhaug has a new team-mate at Virtuosi UK this weekend. Former Euro Series 3000 veteran and IndyCar starter Franceso Dracone replaces Formula Renault 3.5 race winner Sten Pentus..
22. News: Pal Varhaug nel primo round di Monza con il team Virtuosi UK. Pal Varhaug in first round at Monza for team Virtuosi UK. Rubino. Jacopo. 5 March 2012. stopandgo.tv. Stop&Go. Italian. 5 March 2012. 2 May 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140502191822/http://www.stopandgo.tv/news/campionati/auto-gp/it/pal-varhaug-nel-primo-round-di-monza-con-il-team-virtuosi-uk.html. dead.
23. News: Zele Racing targets Auto GP commitment. 21 January 2012. Auto GP World Series. Auto GP Organization. 21 January 2012.
24. News: Matteo Beretta and Peter Milavec to race with Zele-Racing at Valencia. 28 March 2012. zele-racing.com. Zele Racing. 28 March 2012.
25. News: Fong and Pentus back on the grid. 2 May 2012. Auto GP World Series. Auto GP Organization. 3 May 2012.
26. News: Pizzonia and Campana on the grid in Sonoma. 18 September 2012. Auto GP World Series. Auto GP Organization. 18 September 2012.
27. News: Sistos joins Zele Racing in Portimão. 31 May 2012. Auto GP World Series. Auto GP Organization. 31 May 2012.
28. News: Victor Guerin "agguanta" il sedile della Super Nova in Auto GP. Victor Guerin grabs the Super Nova's seat in Auto GP. Rubino. Jacopo. 5 March 2012. stopandgo.tv. Stop&Go. Italian. 5 March 2012. 17 December 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131217222356/http://www.stopandgo.tv/news/campionati/auto-gp/it/victor-guerin-agguanta-il-sedile-della-super-nova-in-auto-gp.html. dead.
29. News: Euronova Racing returns to Auto GP. 2 February 2012. Auto GP World Series. Auto GP Organization. 2 February 2012.
30. News: Sirotkin stays with Euronova for double programm . 19 February 2012 . euronova-racing.com . . 19 February 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140219012021/http://www.euronova-racing.com/control/upload/190212_105245_1563_Press%20Release%20120219.pdf . 19 February 2014 .
31. News: Sakurai in Sonoma with Euronova Racing. 21 September 2012. Auto GP World Series. Auto GP Organisation. 21 September 2012.
32. News: Cunha in Valencia with Ombra Racing. 28 March 2012. Auto GP World Series. Auto GP Organization. 28 March 2012.
33. News: Pizzonia joins Ombra Racing in Curitiba. 18 July 2012. Auto GP World Series. Auto GP Organization. 18 July 2012.
34. News: Spavone back in the Series with Ombra Racing. 14 September 2012. Auto GP World Series. Auto GP Organisation. 15 September 2012.
35. News: Serenelli joins Auto GP with Ombra Racing . 13 January 2011 . . Auto GP Organization . 13 January 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120120031809/http://www.autogp.org/en/news.php?id=0568 . 20 January 2012 .
36. News: MP team and Daniel de Jong commit to full Auto GP campaign in 2012. 27 January 2012. Autosport. Haymarket Publications. 27 January 2012.
37. Web site: Dates & Events 2012. 23 December 2011. Auto GP World Series. Auto GP Organization. 24 December 2011.
38. News: Portimão replaces the Estoril round. 9 March 2012. Auto GP World Series. Auto GP Organisation. 9 March 2012.