Petr Kopfstein and Peter Podlunšek made their debuts in the Master Class, having finished equal 1st and 5th respectively in the previous years' Challenger Class standings.
Mid-season changes
Cristian Bolton stepped up to the Master Class following the death of Hannes Arch before the Indianapolis round of the series.[2]
Mélanie Astles, Kevin Coleman, Luke Czepiela and Ben Murphy will make their debuts in the Challenger Class. Astles will become the first female pilot to compete in a Red Bull Air Race event.
Race calendar and results
The eight-event calendar for the 2016 season was announced on 16 December 2015.[3]
* Arch finished 4th but was later excluded from the results; thus the points for 4th place were not awarded to any pilot.
** The final four wasn't held because of bad weather, 75% of points were awarded for this situation.