The 2016 Pirelli World Challenge was the 27th running of the Sports Car Club of America's World Challenge series. Johnny O'Connell was the defending champion in the highest class, the GT class.
The final calendar was revealed on November 3, 2015. The season comprised 11 rounds, with several rounds in support of the IndyCar Series and the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. All tracks from the previous season were returning except for the Belle Isle, which was replaced by Lime Rock Park. On May 4, 2016 WC Vision announced that the TC class races at Mid-Ohio would be replaced by races at Lime Rock Park to give the drivers more track time.
Every driver participated in a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.
Points were awarded based on finishing positions as shown in the chart below. The driver had to complete at least 50% of the class winner's number of laps to receive points. The Pole position winner of every class received 7 points with the exception of the GTA class.
. – GTA class
Bold – Pole position
Italics – Fastest Lap
Every driver competes in a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.
Drivers that were not able to attend the Lime Rock round of the championship, but competed in all other rounds of the full season, received double points in both races at Laguna Seca. Drivers that participated in the entire 2016 season and entered Lime Rock Park, were able to choose the better of one of the Lime Rock driver points results, or one of their Laguna Seca driver points results, and be given double points for just that round. The driver may drop driver points from one of the other weakest three races from Lime Rock or Laguna Seca only. Points for Pole position for these two rounds are included in the calculation. This applies only to driver points. Results dropped are denoted by parentheses. Results with double points are denoted by x2.
The rules about points received at Lime Rock and Laguna Seca applying to the TC class, applies to the TCA class too.
The rules about points received at Lime Rock and Laguna Seca applying to the TC class, applies to the TCB class too.