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.

Auto GP
CategorySingle seaters
RegionEurope
Inaugural season1999
Folded2016
Drivers9
Teams5
ConstructorsLola
Engine suppliersZytek
Tyre suppliersKumho Tires[1]
Last Drivers' championMexico Luis Michael Dörrbecker
Last Teams' championItaly Torino Squadra Corse

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

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Formula 3000 era

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Season Champion Second Third Team Champion Secondary Class Champion
Italian Formula 3000
1999   Giorgio Vinella   Werner Lupberger   Marco Apicella   Team Martello not awarded
2000   Ricardo Sperafico   Warren Hughes   Gabriele Lancieri   Arden Team Russia
Euro Formula 3000
2001   Felipe Massa   Thomas Biagi   Alex Müller   Draco Junior Team not 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 Team not awarded
Italian Formula 3000
2005   Luca Filippi   Jaroslav Janiš   Giacomo Ricci   FMS International L:   Stefano Gattuso
Euroseries 3000
2006   Giacomo Ricci   Marco Bonanomi   Vitaly Petrov   FMS International I:   Giacomo Ricci
2007   Davide Rigon   Diego Nunes   Luiz Razia   Minardi by GP Racing I:   Davide Rigon
2008   Nicolas Prost   Fabio Onidi   Adam Khan   Bull Racing I:   Omar Leal
2009   Will Bratt   Marco Bonanomi   Fabio Onidi   FMS International I:   Will Bratt

Auto GP

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Season Champion Second Third Team Champion Secondary Class Champion
Auto GP
2010   Romain Grosjean   Edoardo Piscopo   Duncan Tappy   DAMS U21:   Adrien Tambay
2011   Kevin Ceccon   Luca Filippi   Sergey Afanasyev   DAMS U21:   Kevin Ceccon
Auto GP World Series
2012   Adrian Quaife-Hobbs   Pål Varhaug   Sergey Sirotkin   Super Nova International U21:   Adrian Quaife-Hobbs
Auto GP
2013   Vittorio Ghirelli   Kimiya Sato   Sergio Campana   Super Nova International U21:   Vittorio Ghirelli
2014   Kimiya Sato   Tamás Pál Kiss   Markus Pommer   Super Nova International not awarded
2015 cancelled
Auto GP Formula Open Championship
2016   Luis Michael Dörrbecker   Mahaveer Raghunathan   Christof von Grünigen   Torino Squadra Corse not awarded

Scoring system

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Current system

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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 Position Fastest Lap
R1 25 18 15 12 10 8 6 4 2 1 1 1
R2 20 15 12 10 8 6 4 3 2 1 1

Previous points systems

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Previous Auto GP points systems
Years Race  1st   2nd   3rd   4th   5th   6th   7th   8th   9th   10th  Pole Position Fastest Lap
2011 R1 25 18 15 12 10 8 6 4 2 1 1 1
R2 18 13 10 8 6 4 2 1 1
2006–2010 R1 10 8 6 5 4 3 2 1 1 1
R2 6 5 4 3 2 1 1
2005 10 8 6 5 4 3 2 1 1 1
1999–2004 10 6 4 3 2 1

References

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  1. ^ "Kumho Tyres and double compound for 2012". Auto GP. Auto GP Organisation. 3 February 2012. Archived from the original on 23 July 2012. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
  2. ^ "Euro 3000 com antigos carros do A1GP - Autosport.pt". Archived from the original on 2012-02-17. Retrieved 2013-05-15.
  3. ^ Freeman, Glenn, ed. (2009-10-29). "Pit & Paddock: Euroseries 3000; Euro 3000 revamped for 2010". Autosport. Vol. 198, no. 5. p. 29.
  4. ^ "Auto GP tweaks race 2 points system for 2012 season". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. 29 February 2012. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  5. ^ "More points awarded for Race 2". Auto GP World Series. Auto GP Organisation. 29 February 2012. Archived from the original on 24 February 2015. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
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