2018 Formula Challenge Season

"2018 Formula Challenge Season" table of contents

  1. 2018 Formula Challenge Season
  2. Videos
  3. Teams and Drivers
  4. Calendar
  5. Results and standings

The 2018 Formula Challenge season was the 7th GPVWC Formula Challenge season. After deciding not to apply for a promotion into Supercup, STAX Racing entered the series with an All-English lineup consisting of Adrian Campfield and Chris Shepherd.

The GPVWC Formula Challenge is an established series at the league which features two short races. The qualifying session which precedes these races is a conventional 15-minute qualifying session. The series is aimed towards developing drivers and teams into potential Supercup candidates, with the cars being slower and not featuring as many setup options as their more complex siblings. 2018 saw the introduction of a modular car for all three Career Ladder series in the GPVWC. The Formula Challenge car is called GPVWC FC-018 and is powered by a 3.5L V6 engine. Drag Reduction System (DRS) was introduced to Formula Challenge for the first time in 2018.

Englishman Chris Butcher won the the Drivers’ Championship while his team, Red Arrow Racing, run by former Superleague champion David Fidock, wrapped up the Teams’ Championship.

Butcher won by 23 points from fellow countryman Chris Shepherd, who actually scored more wins than Butcher; nine to Butcher’s seven. Though over 150 points behind, third in the championship was Butcher’s Swiss teammate David Jundt; together, they secured a dominant win for Red Arrow Racing in the team’s championship; 246 points ahead of Shepherd’s STAX Racing in second place. STAX were 95 points ahead of third-placed Cenobite Motorsports, the latter competing in their first season in the Career Ladder. Despite missing out on the title, STAX was given the best livery award, which was a double honour for owner Christian Zoerner, as he was the one who painted the cars, and many others beside.

2018 was to mark the end of an era that had run since 2013, in which Formula Challenge acted as the third-tier of the Career Ladder while following the rest of the Career Ladder’s calendar explicitly. While the latter was still somewhat true, from 2019 Formula Challenge was instead run in the week before the main Career Ladder events, and furthermore essentially became the fourth-tier, with the creation of the tentatively-called “Superleague-2” championship. The new championship created a tremendous shift in the Career Ladder makeup and most Formula Challenge teams from 2018 were promoted either to Supercup, or especially the new championship, for 2019. Only three teams from the end of the 2018 season stayed on for 2019, including the quasi-institutional GPVWC Academy team.

Show Season Summary
Rd Event Pole Position   Fastest Lap Winning Driver Winning Team
1 Australian Grand Prix Chris Shepherd
01:33.330
R1 Chris Shepherd
01:34.446
Chris Butcher Red Arrow
R2 Chris Butcher
01:34.452
Osvaldo Angelone McKinlay
2 Chinese Grand Prix Chris Shepherd
01:43.363
R1 Konrad Zerebiec
01:44.763
Chris Butcher Red Arrow
R2 Ross Woodford
01:44.779
Ivan Leonov Cenobite
3 Azerbaijan Grand Prix Luke Maguire
01:51.016
R1 Luke Maguire
01:51.740
Luke Maguire Shift Gear
R2 Adrian Campfield
01:51.726
Chris Shepherd STAX
4 Spanish Grand Prix Luke Maguire
01:33.151
R1 Daniele Brambilla
01:32.144
Osvaldo Angelone McKinlay
R2 Chris Butcher
01:36.536
Chris Butcher Red Arrow
5 Monaco Grand Prix Matthew Williams
01:16.071
R1 Matthew Williams
01:17.514
Chris Shepherd STAX
R2 Chris Shepherd
01:17.250
David Jundt Red Arrow
6 Canadian Grand Prix Harry Graham
01:21.462
R1 Luke Browning
01:22.079
Matthew Williams Cenobite
R2 Matthew Williams
01:22.250
Chris Shepherd STAX
7 French Grand Prix Miguel de los Rios
01:45.148
R1 Thomas Andriamiharisoa
01:43.732
Chris Shepherd STAX
R2 Matthew Williams
01:41.703
Chris Butcher Red Arrow
8 Austrian Grand Prix Matthew Williams
01:13.187
R1 Luke Browning
01:13.850
Chris Shepherd STAX
R2 Luke Maguire
01:14.137
Luke Maguire Shift Gear
9 British Grand Prix Chris Shepherd
01:38.957
R1 Luke Maguire
01:39.964
Chris Shepherd STAX
R2 Matthew Williams
01:40.374
Chris Butcher Red Arrow
10 German Grand Prix Matthew Williams
01:22.283
R1 Luke Browning
01:23.406
Matthew Williams Cenobite
R2 Chris Butcher
01:23.251
Ivan Leonov Cenobite
11 Hungarian Grand Prix Matthew Williams
01:25.557
R1 Luke Browning
01:27.058
Matthew Williams Cenobite
R2 Marcin Rybaczuk
01:26.925
Chris Shepherd STAX
12 Belgian Grand Prix Chris Shepherd
01:54.324
R1 Chris Butcher
01:55.758
Chris Shepherd STAX
R2 Cliff Van de Vin
01:55.562
Matthew Beavis TR Motorsports
13 Italian Grand Prix Chris Shepherd
01:31.886
R1 Chris Butcher
01:32.320
Chris Shepherd STAX
R2 Alari Algpeus
01:32.359
Matthew Beavis TR Motorsports
14 Singapore Grand Prix Matthew Williams
01:49.544
R1 Matthew Williams
01:51.065
Matthew Williams Cenobite
R2 Alari Algpeus
01:50.906
Alari Algpeus CM-Tech
15 Japanese Grand Prix Chris Shepherd
01:39.002
R1 Chris Butcher
01:40.237
Alari Algpeus CM-Tech
R2 Dawid Krupa
01:40.381
Michal Galka Idos
16 United States Grand Prix David Jundt
01:55.758
R1 Ivan Leonov
01:49.301
Chris Butcher Red Arrow
R2 Dawid Krupa
01:51.567
Cliff Van de Vin TTF
17 Brazilian Grand Prix Alari Algpeus
01:15.617
R1 Danny van der Niet
01:16.668
Alari Algpeus CM-Tech
R2 David Jundt
01:16.611
Chris Butcher Red Arrow
18 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Luke Maguire
01:47.328
R1 Luke Maguire
01:48.620
Matthew Williams Cenobite
R2 Matthew Williams
01:48.722
Marcin Rybaczuk TR Motorsports

"2018 Formula Challenge Season" table of contents

  1. 2018 Formula Challenge Season
  2. Videos
  3. Teams and Drivers
  4. Calendar
  5. Results and standings