2016 International V8 Supercars Championship

Erebus Motorsport switched from running Mercedes-Benz E63 AMGs (top) to Holden VF Commodores (bottom).

• Charlie Schwerkolt Racing terminated its customer arrangement with the Holden Racing Team, to field an in-house entry under the new Team 18 name.[53]
• DJR Team Penske expanded to run two cars, having run a single car in 2015.[38] The team took back the Racing Entitlement Contract (REC) it had leased to Super Black Racing in 2015.[54]
• Erebus Motorsport switched from running Mercedes-Benz E63 W212s to Holden Commodore VFs.[22]
• Triple Eight Race Engineering expanded to field three cars, purchasing a REC last used in 2014 by James Rosenberg Racing.[55]
• Walkinshaw Racing ceased at the end of 2015, with its REC sold to Super Black Racing.[56]

Changed teams

• Tim Blanchard moved from Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport to Britek Motorsport.[35]
• Fabian Coulthard moved from Brad Jones Racing to DJR Team Penske.[38]
• Will Davison moved from Erebus Motorsport to Tekno Autosports.[44]
• Andre Heimgartner moved from Super Black Racing to Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport.[18]
• James Moffat moved from Nissan Motorsport to Garry Rogers Motorsport to replace David Wall.[48]
• Chaz Mostert moved from Prodrive Racing Australia to Rod Nash Racing, a customer team whose car is prepared by Prodrive Racing Australia. The team cited commercial reasons for Mostert's move.[12]
• David Reynolds moved from Rod Nash Racing to Erebus Motorsport.[27]
• Tim Slade moved from Walkinshaw Racing to Brad Jones Racing.[37]
• Shane van Gisbergen moved from Tekno Autosports to Triple Eight Race Engineering.[51]
• Dale Wood moved from Britek Motorsport to Nissan Motorsport.[33]

Entering series

• Aaren Russell, having raced a wildcard entry at the 2015 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000, joined Erebus Motorsport for his first full-time season, replacing Ashley Walsh.[23]
• Cameron Waters replaced Chaz Mostert at Prodrive Racing Australia after winning the 2015 V8 Supercars Dunlop Series for the team. Waters had previously raced for the team in the main series as a substitute for Mostert while the latter recovered from an injury.[10]

• Lee Holdsworth was injured in a heavy crash at the start of Race 13 at the CrownBet Darwin Triple Crown. His team, Team 18, originally planned to use its endurance co-driver, Karl Reindler, to replace Holdsworth at the Townsville event. However, as the team's car could not be fixed in time for the event, a deal was made with Dunlop Series driver Kurt Kostecki, with Kostecki to race for the team at the Townsville and Ipswich events using his own chassis.[42] The team completed the build of a new car ahead of the Sydney SuperSprint and Reindler drove the car at the event,[43] with Holdsworth making his racing return at the Sandown 500.[57]
• Aaren Russell and his sponsor Plus Fitness split with Erebus Motorsport prior to the Coates Hire Ipswich SuperSprint. He was replaced by Craig Baird, one of the team's endurance co-drivers, for the event.[25] Dunlop Series racer Shae Davies, who was scheduled to contest the Enduro Cup events with the team,[58] was announced as the full-time replacement for Russell.

• The Phillip Island SuperSprint moved from November to April.[59]
• The series was scheduled to visit Malaysia for the first time, with a round of the championship to be held as part of the Kuala Lumpur City Grand Prix.[62] However, the event was cancelled following a legal dispute involving the event promoters.[63]

• The two 60 kilometre races held on the Saturday of SuperSprint events were replaced by a single 120 km race, with a compulsory pit stop to change tyres.[64]
• The Auckland event used the International SuperSprint format that was also used at the non-championship V8 Supercars Challenge event at the Australian Grand Prix, with four 100 km races held across the weekend.[64]
• The Sydney 500 reverted to its original two race format, with a single 250 km race held on each of Saturday and Sunday, after a pair of 125 km races were held on Saturday in 2014 and 2015.[64]
• Soft tyres were used at all events except for the Bathurst 1000 and Phillip Island SuperSprint, with the season allocation increasing from 324 to 400 soft tyres per car.[64]
• Practice sessions for endurance co-drivers were held at the Winton and Queensland Raceway rounds.[65]

• The compulsory pre-season test was scrapped. Teams were allowed three test days, one of which had to be used before the season commences. Rookie drivers and drivers who had not competed in the series for over three years were allowed an additional three days of testing.[66]

Results
Event 1	Race 1	Race 2	Race 3
Pole position	Scott Pye (DJR Team Penske)	Chaz Mostert (Rod Nash Racing)	Fabian Coulthard (DJR Team Penske)
Race winner	Jamie Whincup (Triple Eight Race Engineering)	James Courtney (Holden Racing Team)	Nick Percat (Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport)

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 with Whincup, while Mostert finished third. Chris Pither crashed at Turn 8,[69] with the car sustaining enough damage to rule it out of the third race.[70] The third race was marred by heavy rain and controversy over the start of the race and fuel regulations. Nick Percat took his first solo victory in the series, having completed only 48 of the scheduled 78 laps. Polesitter Fabian Coulthard and his teammate Pye finished second and third on the road, but were given a one-minute penalty each as neither had taken on 140 litres of fuel during the race as required by the regulations. Michael Caruso inherited second place ahead of Garth Tander. Caruso left the event with the championship lead ahead of Whincup and van Gisbergen.[71]

Results
Event 2	Race 4	Race 5
Pole position	Mark Winterbottom (Prodrive Racing Australia)	Mark Winterbottom (Prodrive Racing Australia)
Race winner	Shane van Gisbergen (Triple Eight Race Engineering)	Will Davison (Tekno Autosports)

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 penalty for impeding James Courtney, which gave pole position to Winterbottom.[73] Van Gisbergen looked set to take victory until late in the race, when oil dropped by Cameron Waters' car caused him to go off the circuit and get stuck in a gravel trap. This allowed Davison through to take victory, with Craig Lowndes finishing second ahead of Winterbottom. Chris Pither suffered another heavy crash, when contact with Nick Percat caused his car to spin into the wall. Davison's win gave him the lead in the championship, with Lowndes moving up to second place ahead of Whincup and Winterbottom.[74]

Results
Event 3	Race 6	Race 7
Pole position	Scott McLaughlin (Garry Rogers Motorsport)	Scott McLaughlin (Garry Rogers Motorsport)
Race winner	Scott McLaughlin (Garry Rogers Motorsport)	Scott McLaughlin (Garry Rogers Motorsport)

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] Whincup looked set to again finish second in the Sunday race but went off the circuit after a safety car period late in the race. This allowed Mark Winterbottom to take second place ahead of Pye, with Whincup finishing fourth. As Will Davison struggled across the weekend, Whincup took the championship lead while McLaughlin moved into second place, ahead of Winterbottom and Lowndes.[76]

Results
Event 4	Race 8	Race 9
Pole position	Cameron Waters (Prodrive Racing Australia)	Chaz Mostert (Rod Nash Racing)
Race winner	Craig Lowndes (Triple Eight Race Engineering)	Mark Winterbottom (Prodrive Racing Australia)

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 of the season by finishing eighth. Mark Winterbottom had a difficult race, finishing 22nd after going off the circuit and later being spun.[78] He recovered to take victory in Race 9, despite being slowed when Aaren Russell unlapped himself in the closing stages. Scott McLaughlin and Lowndes completed the podium. Whincup finished eleventh, allowing Lowndes to take the championship lead.[79]

Results
Event 5	Race 10	Race 11
Pole position	Tim Slade (Brad Jones Racing)	Chaz Mostert (Rod Nash Racing)
Race winner	Tim Slade (Brad Jones Racing)	Tim Slade (Brad Jones Racing)

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 laps off the lead. Slade took a comfortable victory over Winterbottom, while Fabian Coulthard scored his second podium finish of the season. Waters and David Reynolds both had strong races, finishing fifth and sixth respectively. Winterbottom's two podium finishes elevated him to the championship lead ahead of McLaughlin and Jamie Whincup.[81]

Results
Event 6	Race 12	Race 13
Pole position	Shane van Gisbergen (Triple Eight Race Engineering)	Shane van Gisbergen (Triple Eight Race Engineering)
Race winner	Michael Caruso (Nissan Motorsport)	Shane van Gisbergen (Triple Eight Race Engineering)

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 infringement which dropped him down the order.[82] The second race of the weekend was marred by two major crashes on the opening lap, the first of which left Lee Holdsworth in hospital with fractures to his pelvis, right knee and two ribs.[83] The second involved Mostert, James Moffat and Fabian Coulthard and left Coulthard's car with significant damage. Todd Kelly led the opening lap but was hit by Winterbottom following a safety restart and fell down the order. Winterbottom received a drive-through penalty for his actions; he would receive another later in the race when he made contact with Aaren Russell. Van Gisbergen won the race, having again started from pole position, ahead of Tim Slade and Craig Lowndes. Whincup finished eighth to maintain the championship lead, with Lowndes in second and McLaughlin in third.[84]

Results
Event 7	Race 14	Race 15
Pole position	Jamie Whincup (Triple Eight Race Engineering)	Mark Winterbottom (Prodrive Racing Australia)
Race winner	Jamie Whincup (Triple Eight Race Engineering)	Shane van Gisbergen (Triple Eight Race Engineering)

The Castrol Edge Townsville 400 was dominated by Triple Eight Race Engineering, with two of its drivers, Jamie Whincup and Shane van Gisbergen, sharing the race wins between them. Kurt Kostecki made his championship debut, substituting for the injured Lee Holdsworth.[85] Whincup took his first pole position of the season in qualifying for Race 14 and went on to win the race, his first victory since Adelaide. Van Gisbergen finished second ahead of Mark Winterbottom. Scott McLaughlin lost ground in the championship after contact with Dale Wood on the first lap damaged his car, leaving him to finish in 24th place.[86] Van Gisbergen took victory in Race 15 ahead of James Courtney, who used fresh tyres in the closing stages to pass a number of cars. Winterbottom was third after starting from pole position while Whincup finished fourth after using an alternative strategy. Whincup maintained the championship lead, 53 points clear of van Gisbergen, with Winterbottom a further 22 points behind in third.[87]

Results
Event 8	Race 16	Race 17
Pole position	Chris Pither (Super Black Racing)	Jamie Whincup (Triple Eight Race Engineering)
Race winner	Shane van Gisbergen (Triple Eight Race Engineering)	Craig Lowndes (Triple Eight Race Engineering)

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.[90] Nick Percat was disqualified from the race after it was found his car's front bumper was underweight.[91] The Sunday race was won by Lowndes with Whincup and Mostert completing the podium. Van Gisbergen finished twelfth after struggling with the balance of his car. He was also involved in an incident with Rick Kelly and James Courtney which damaged the suspension on Courtney's car, forcing him to retire from the race. Whincup extended his championship lead to 110 points over van Gisbergen while Winterbottom remained in third, a further ten points behind.[92]

Jamie Whincup took his 100th championship race win at the Sydney SuperSprint.

Results
Event 9	Race 18	Race 19
Pole position	Chaz Mostert (Rod Nash Racing)	Chaz Mostert (Rod Nash Racing)
Race winner	Shane van Gisbergen (Triple Eight Race Engineering)	Jamie Whincup (Triple Eight Race Engineering)

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 polesitter Chaz Mostert.[95] Mostert took his second pole position of the weekend in qualifying for the Sunday race but it was Whincup who took victory. It was his 100th race win in the series, making him the second driver after Craig Lowndes to reach the mark. Lowndes finished second and celebrated a milestone himself, the race being his 600th in the championship, while Mostert completed the podium. Van Gisbergen finished fifth despite being spun by James Moffat in the closing stages; this result saw Whincup extend his championship lead to 137 points, while Lowndes moved past Mark Winterbottom for third after Winterbottom finished both races outside the top ten.[96]

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]

• Short format: Used for the first two races at the Clipsal 500 Adelaide and all International SuperSprint races.
• Long format: Used for all SuperSprint and SuperStreet races, with the exception of the first two races of the Clipsal 500 Adelaide, and for both races of the Gold Coast 600.
• Endurance format: Used for the Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000.

Pos. Team No. ADE SYM PHI BAR WIN HID TOW QLD SMP SAN BAT SUR PUK SYD Pen. Pts. 1 Triple Eight Race Engineering 88 1 2 14 2 19 2 4 3 11 5 9 2 8 1 4 2 2 2 1 13 11 3 1 1 2 25 1 1 4 0 6546 97 3 5 10 1 Ret 4 10 2 4 9 4 16 1 2 1 1 12 1 5 2 2 1 2 2 1 3 2 3 1 2 Holden Racing Team 2 5 23 3 11 6 9 16 5 7 25 12 23 14 7 20 14 13 8 7 1 Ret 15 11 5 10 10 7 2 2 30 4434 22 2 1 21 13 7 21 7 6 8 19 25 21 5 6 2 13 Ret 3 8 11 13 20 10 6 13 11 14 5 6 3 Garry Rogers Motorsport 33 4 4 12 26 4 1 1 11 2 2 11 10 7 24 5 15 6 5 6 4 15 2 3 3 7 7 3 4 5 0 4250 34 17 15 22 20 16 7 15 14 17 26 19 Ret 10 17 19 9 11 12 18 Ret Ret 5 12 20 14 12 10 24 10 4 Prodrive Racing Australia 1 8 11 9 9 3 5 2 22 1 3 2 9 20 3 3 4 5 11 14 23 Ret 4 5 4 5 1 5 23 12 0 3962 6 15 12 4 7 Ret 18 23 13 26 16 5 24 22 16 6 Ret 16 20 16 Ret 4 Ret 14 12 17 20 17 21 Ret 5 DJR Team Penske 12 10 14 16 18 8 3 Ret 17 15 17 3 6 Ret 8 15 10 10 10 4 6 6 Ret 15 11 4 5 8 11 21 30 3855 17 12 7 17 14 14 26 3 24 19 12 7 5 Ret 18 7 20 24 Ret 15 15 5 18 23 9 11 2 9 14 13 6 Brad Jones Racing 8 19 8 8 6 10 10 Ret 16 13 11 16 12 16 14 9 16 18 18 17 21 Ret 12 19 Ret DNS 16 19 18 Ret 0 3722 14 Ret 17 20 8 13 8 13 10 16 1 1 13 2 13 13 6 7 7 12 16 7 11 8 17 23 19 16 9 7 7 Nissan Motorsport 7 6 16 6 19 12 11 12 7 23 13 13 7 13 10 23 12 9 24 9 7 Ret 8 21 19 16 15 11 12 19 0 3643 15 9 13 7 4 Ret 14 11 9 5 4 15 15 15 21 12 8 14 9 11 10 Ret 21 17 7 12 9 24 6 Ret 8 Nissan Motorsport 23 13 6 2 21 11 13 6 26 9 8 10 1 6 9 8 22 4 13 10 14 8 17 9 8 9 13 12 13 14 0 3547 96 20 18 Ret 22 20 20 18 18 20 14 14 20 18 23 18 17 19 15 21 18 9 7 22 Ret 21 21 18 Ret Ret 9 Triple Eight Race Engineering‡ 888 7 10 13 5 2 6 5 1 3 15 8 11 3 12 10 3 1 6 2 8 16 6 4 16 15 4 6 8 9 0 2770 10 Tekno Autosports‡ 19 11 9 15 3 1 16 9 4 10 6 17 4 4 5 11 7 17 21 26 3 1 16 13 10 6 8 13 7 8 0 2589 11 Erebus Motorsport 4 25 22 DNS 23 17 25 22 25 24 24 24 22 19 22 21 24 22 25 25 22 17 19 DNS 23 25 24 23 22 17 0 2580 9 14 19 5 16 18 12 14 19 21 22 6 17 9 11 14 21 23 17 19 DSQ 18 Ret 20 13 8 17 25 10 3 12 Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport 3 22 20 19 25 Ret 24 21 21 25 23 21 18 12 15 Ret 19 15 23 24 19 Ret 13 Ret 22 22 22 Ret 20 20 0 2450 222 21 DNS 1 24 15 17 20 20 18 21 23 Ret 17 Ret Ret DSQ 20 16 20 9 3 Ret 16 14 18 18 21 15 16 13 Rod Nash Racing‡ 55 16 3 Ret 10 5 23 8 12 6 7 20 3 23 4 16 5 3 4 3 5 19 9 6 21 3 6 4 17 11 0 2376 14 Super Black Racing‡ 111 18 Ret DNS 17 Ret 19 24 8 14 18 18 14 11 20 22 11 8 14 13 17 12 10 Ret 24 24 23 22 Ret 18 0 1369 15 Team 18‡ 18 23 21 18 12 9 15 19 15 12 10 Ret 8 Ret 25 Ret 23 21 22 23 12 Ret Ret 7 15 19 14 15 16 15 0 1297 16 Britek Motorsport‡ 21 24 24 11 15 Ret 22 17 23 22 20 22 19 21 19 17 18 25 19 22 20 10 14 18 18 20 26 20 19 Ret 0 1266 17 Nissan Motorsport‡ 360 14 0 126 Pos. Team No. ADE SYM PHI BAR WIN HID TOW QLD SMP SAN BAT SUR PUK SYD Pen. Pts.

Colour Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Retired (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Withdrew (WD) Race cancelled (C) Blank Did not participate (DNP) Did not arrive (DNA) Excluded (EX) Bold - Pole position Italics - Fastest lap

Notes:

• ^‡ — Denotes a single-car team.