World Grand Prix Championship 20
| Races | 10 |
|---|---|
| Start Event | Liventian Grand Prix |
| End Event | Esmerelian Grand Prix |
| Support Series | AOGP 2 |
| WGPC 19 | WGPC 21 |
The World Grand Prix Championship 20 is the twentieth season of the World Grand Prix Championship (WGPC). The championship is being contested over ten Grands Prix over the course of 2023. It started with the Liventian Grand Prix in May and will be concluded with the Esmerelian Grand Prix in July.
A record-tying twenty-eight drivers and fourteen teams compete for the titles of World Drivers' Champion and World Constructors' Champion, respectively. iBen Toralmintii, driving for Tropicorp, is the reigning Drivers' Champion, while Badai Angin Tim Motorsport, the reigning Constructors' Champion, did not return to defend their title.
Entries
The following constructors and drivers are under contract to compete in the World Championship. Each team is required to enter at least two drivers, one for each of the mandatory two cars. For this season, the role of test driver was not promoted by the WGPO, leading to fewer teams electing to sign one.
| Team | Constructor | Chassis | Engine | Tyre | # | Race Drivers | Rounds | Test Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cygnus-Tropicorp | C101 | Tropicorp TRE-2T24V8 2.4 V8 | Tropicorp | 71 | 1-4 | |||
| 84 | 1-4 | |||||||
| Eminent-Sidus | E20 | Sidus 616M-2 1.6 V6 | Phoenician-In Motion | 40 | 1-4 | |||
| 7 | 1-4 | |||||||
| Pryfors Bilar-Sidus | PF-2 | Sidus 616M-2 1.6 V6 | Phoenician-In Motion | 37 | 1-4 | |||
| 33 | 1-4 | |||||||
| Kaylan | T190 | Kaylan Taika 1 1.6 V6 | Phoenician-In Motion | 88 | 1-4 | |||
| 12 | 1-4 | |||||||
| Nexus Racing | UHSGV-5 | Paragon Warp Array v2.9.5.23 | Phoenician-In Motion | 94 | 1-4 | |||
| 17 | 1-4 | |||||||
| Carvenlo | Carvenlo | Carvenlo | Tabtac | 19 | 1-4 | |||
| 51 | 1-4 | |||||||
| Pressley-Kaylan | PRE-023 | Kaylan Taika 1 1.6 V6 | Brústeinn | 42 | 1-4 | |||
| 87 | 1-4 | |||||||
| Preston | PGP-03 | Preston Skychief 3.4 V6 | Tropicorp | 5 | 1-4 | |||
| 96 | 1-4 | |||||||
| VTGP-Tropicorp | TBA | Tropicorp TRE-2T24V8 2.4 V8 | Tropicorp | 11 | 1-4 | |||
| 23 | 1-4 | |||||||
| Orange Cow-Tropicorp | PRL03-1 | Tropicorp TRE-2T24V8 2.4 V8 | Tropicorp | 24 | 1-4 | |||
| 9 | 1-4 | |||||||
| Sivaleinen-Preston | LC-04 | Preston Skychief 3.4 V6 | Tropicorp | 10 | 1-4 | |||
| 91 | 1-4 | |||||||
| Tropicorp | AGP005 AGP004[b] |
Tropicorp TRE-2T24V8 2.4 V8 | Tropicorp | 1 | 1-4 | |||
| 13 | 1-4 | |||||||
| Pridnestrovia Urotovsky-Gatutin Motorsports Division | UrGa-Preston | TBA | Preston Skychief 3.4 V6 | Tropicorp | 14 | 1-4 | ||
| 74 | 1-4 | |||||||
| Viska | VK-03H | Viska VT-160F/H-III 1.6 V6 | Phoenician-In Motion | 28 | 1-4 | |||
| 50 | 1-4 |
Team Changes
Exited the WGPC
- After a three-year campaign, which culminated in the WGPC 19 World Constructors' Championship, Badai Angin withdrew from the sport.
- Teusbank TMW Rennsport, who finished 11th in the WGPC 19 Constructors' Championship, did not return.
- With the WGPO prioritizing team entries from foreign applicants, WGPC Motorworks was not included in the entry list, marking the team's first missed season since WGPC 13.
Entered the WGPC
- Baker Park team Scuderia Orange Cow, Teams' Champion from the previous WGP2 season, were guaranteed a promotion to the WGPC. The team chose Tropicorp to supply both their engines and tyres.
- Pridnestrovian team Urotovsky-Gatutin also promoted from WGP2, having scored 2 wins and placing 6th in the Teams' Championship. The team chose Preston as their engine supplier and Tropicorp as their tyre supplier.
- Pressley Racing Engineering, owned by Tumbran Charles Pressley, father of Kaylan WGPC driver Ted Pressley, joined the sport. The team chose Kaylan as their engine supplier and Brústeinn as their tyre supplier.
- Cygnus Motorsport Team entered from Esmerel, led by doctor of engineering William Emerson. The team chose Tropicorp to supply both their engines and tyres.
- Sivaleinen LCR Origas from Mertagne joined the sport, led by Vitaly Aaltonen, who last raced in WGPC 12 for the Obeveklig-Farautoo team. Sivaleinen chose Preston as their engine supplier and Tropicorp as their tyre supplier.
Name and Supplier Changes
- In August 2022, following a fraud scandal involving Togonistani enterprise Echocoin, Ælund Racing had its assets frozen by Abovian authorities, which left the future of its WGPC entry at risk. After all appeals by the team were denied, an exemption was made to allow the team to temporarily operate under a different name, at a different headquarters and without the use of previous branding. The team entered the championship as "Tropicorp-Colorworks Grand Prix", later changing the spelling to "Colourworks".
- Six time World Constructors' Champion Carvenlo Racing sold a 35% stake in their team to Portland Racing, owned by two-time World Drivers' Champion Matthew Portland. The team entered the championship as "Portland-Carvenlo Racing"; they also changed tyre suppliers to Tabtac.
- Eminent WGPC Team dropped its Fireline+Heroes pretitle after the Lisanderian wing of the team, Bitten Heroes GPE, folded. After negotiations, all of the team's employees were re-contracted, effectively leaving them as direct employees of Eminent. In addition, without official engine and tyre suppliers designated by the WGPC, Eminent chose Sidus to supply their engines and Phoenician-In Motion to supply their tyres.
- Viska completed their takeover of the Schkeska engine program, entering the championship with a complete in-house engine.
Other Team Bids
- The WGPO also had several entry bids from other teams which did not manage to make the final entry list, those being Halozia Racing Team from Atheara, Valentian MeowMeow Racing from Valentine Z, EHF-Motospiel from Schutzenphalia and West Ruhntuhnkuhnland, and Don Juan Racing Company from Gran Saguaro.
Driver Changes
With Badai Angin out, Dom Falepeau was invited to join Portland-Carvenlo. Janne Laukkanen, having been leased to Carvenlo the previous season, as well as serving as Nexus Racing's test driver, was promoted to a race seat at Nexus, replacing the outgoing Jean Mercer-Daly; Mercer-Daly, while intending to retire from the sport, remained with Nexus as their test driver. Samantha Blaatschapen, previously a WGP2 driver and test driver for Pryfors Bilar, was promoted to a race seat at the team, replacing Dario Nülkeschläger, who signed as a test driver for new team Pressley Racing. Darian Vilau replaced Anola Melani at Kaylan, after her sudden disappearance. Another driver promoted from WGP2 was Aaron Deering, replacing Kinu Luminna at Viska, who remained as the team's test driver. In the other seat of the Aurunan team, Olivia Stone was replaced by Sara Luna, who left Tropicorp. At Tropicorp, Chromatik newcomer Ji So-Yeong filled the empty seat. Skiia Vialiv, formerly a Tropicorp reserve, joined the promoted Urotovsky-Gatutin along with the Fleftic Adonis Fitzpatrick, promoted from the team stint in WGP2. WGP2 Champions Scuderia Orange Cow also promoted their WGP2 duo of Jordan Crowe and Batu Tüvshinbayar. Also moving from WGP2, Angela Tan Fang Ling and Bryce Yannec found seats in the newcomer teams Cygnus and Pressley respectively. Cocoabo #23, formerly in the WGPC Motorworks team, joined Lane Carter at Race Eelandii.
Two teams, Eminent WGPC Team and Preston Autos Grand Prix Racing, kept the same drivers from the previous season.
Calendar
The WGPC 20 calendar comprises two pre-season tests, one mid-season test, and ten Grands Prix.
| Round | Grand Prix | Circuit | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liventian Grand Prix | 22 May | |
| 2 | Togonistani Grand Prix | 28 May | |
| 3 | Cocoabo Preservation Grand Prix | 4 June | |
| 4 | Ramgardian Grand Prix | 11 June | |
| 5 | Nimban Grand Prix | 18 June | |
| 6 | Aurun Grand Prix | 2 July | |
| 7 | Hapiloppian Grand Prix | 9 July | |
| 8 | Tumbran Grand Prix | 16 July | |
| 9 | Abovian Grand Prix | 23 July | |
| 10 | Esmerelian Grand Prix | 30 July |
Notes
- ↑ Tropicorp's initial name on the entry list was "Tropicorp-Colorworks Grand Prix", using the American English spelling of the word. Several of its press materials have used the British English spelling of "Colourworks", and the team's entry has since been changed on official WGPC documents to reflect this.
- ↑ Tropicorp ran the AGP005 chassis in the first two races of the season, before reverting to the AGP004 before the Cocoabo Preservation Grand Prix.