2016 International V8 Supercars Championship

The 2016 International V8 Supercars Championship (often simplified to the 2016 V8 Supercars Championship and known from 1 July as the 2016 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship ) was an FIA -sanctioned international motor racing series for Supercars . It was the eighteenth running of the Supercars Championship and the twentieth series in which Supercars have contested the premier Australian touring car title.

Mark Winterbottom started the season as the defending drivers' champion, while Triple Eight Race Engineering were the defending teams' champions.

Shane van Gisbergen , driving for Triple Eight Race Engineering , secured his first championship title with one race remaining, winning eight races during the season. Triple Eight Race Engineering won the Teams' Championship for the seventh consecutive season. [ 1 ] Van Gisbergen, along with Alexandre Prémat , also won the Pirtek Enduro Cup.

Twenty-six cars contested the 2016 season. [ 2 ] Holden , Nissan and Volvo were all represented by factory-backed teams. [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ] Ford , having scaled back its involvement in 2015 , were providing no financial or technical assistance, [ 6 ] but were still represented by Prodrive Racing Australia [ 7 ] and DJR Team Penske .

The following drivers contested the 2016 championship.

Scott Pye took his first pole position in the series in qualifying for the first race in Adelaide. [ 67 ] He would only finish the race in twelfth place, however, after a slow pit stop. Jamie Whincup won the race after starting from second place, ahead of James Courtney and Shane van Gisbergen . [ 68 ] Chaz Mostert , in his first race meeting since being injured at the 2015 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 , took pole position for the second race. [ 67 ] Courtney won the race after a close battle w...

Shane van Gisbergen took his first championship race win for Triple Eight Race Engineering in the first race of the Tyrepower Tasmania SuperSprint, taking victory over his teammate Jamie Whincup . Will Davison scored his first podium finish for Tekno Autosports by finishing third. Mark Winterbottom had qualified on pole position, but finished ninth after a slow pit stop and running off the circuit. [ 72 ] Davison was fastest and qualifying for the second race, but was given a two-place grid pena...

The Phillip Island event was dominated by Scott McLaughlin , who won both races from pole position. He beat Jamie Whincup by just over one second in the first race, while Fabian Coulthard scored his first podium finish for DJR Team Penske . Chaz Mostert had been on course to finish third before suffering a tyre failure on the final lap, which dropped him to 23rd place. Coulthard's teammate Scott Pye also had a puncture late in the race, causing him to finish last and two laps off the lead. [ 75 ...

Cameron Waters took his first pole position in the series in a rain-affected qualifying session prior to Race 8. [ 77 ] He would only finish 13th in the race, however, due to poor tyre life. The race started in wet conditions but it was dry enough for drivers to change to slick tyres within the first ten laps. Craig Lowndes utilised a two-pit stop strategy to take his first victory of the season, ahead of his teammates Shane van Gisbergen and Jamie Whincup . Chris Pither scored his best result o...

Tim Slade won both races at the Winton event, the first of which was his maiden victory in the series. He won the first race from pole position ahead of Scott McLaughlin and Mark Winterbottom . Cameron Waters had a high-speed spin after making contact with James Courtney halfway through the race. [ 80 ] Chaz Mostert took pole position for Race 11 but would only finish 20th after clashing with Courtney and suffering a puncture. The incident also damaged Courtney's car and he finished 25th, 14 lap...

Michael Caruso took his first race win since 2009, and the first for Nissan Motorsport since 2013, in the first race of the CrownBet Darwin Triple Crown. Jamie Whincup regained the championship lead by finishing second, with Mark Winterbottom and Scott McLaughlin finishing ninth and tenth respectively, while Chaz Mostert scored his second podium finish of the season in third place. Shane van Gisbergen had started from pole position but he received a drive-through penalty for a restart infringeme...

Aaren Russell and his sponsor Plus Fitness split with Erebus Motorsport ahead of the event; he was replaced by one of the team's endurance co-drivers, Craig Baird . [ 88 ] Chris Pither took his first pole position in the series in qualifying for the Saturday race, [ 89 ] but lost places early in the race and finished eleventh. Shane van Gisbergen passed his teammates Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes late in the race to take victory, with Mark Winterbottom and Chaz Mostert completing the top five....

Two drivers changes took place ahead of the Sydney SuperSprint. Karl Reindler replaced Kurt Kostecki at Team 18 , [ 93 ] while Shae Davies was announced as the full-time replacement for Aaren Russell at Erebus Motorsport after Craig Baird filled in at the previous event. [ 94 ] Triple Eight Race Engineering further extended its winning streak, with Shane van Gisbergen taking victory in the first race after a close battle with teammate Jamie Whincup . James Courtney completed the podium ahead of ...

Points were awarded for each race at an event, to the driver or drivers of a car that completed at least 75% of the race distance and was running at the completion of the race, up to a maximum of 300 points per event. [ 97 ]

Italics - Fastest lap

Bold - Pole position Italics - Fastest lap

Notes: