1996 Australian Touring Car Championship

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1996 Champion, Craig Lowndes' Holden VR Commodore Lowndes-vr96.jpg
1996 Champion, Craig Lowndes' Holden VR Commodore

The 1996 Australian Touring Car Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing title for drivers of 5.0 Litre Touring Cars [1] complying with Australian Group 3A regulations. [2] The championship, which was the 37th Australian Touring Car Championship, [3] was promoted as the Shell Australian Touring Car Championship. [4] It was contested over ten rounds between January 1996 and June 1996. [5] The championship was contested earlier in the year than usual as much of telecaster Channel 7's broadcast equipment was required for its 1996 Summer Olympics coverage. 1996 was the last year in which Channel 7 would broadcast the championship until 2007, with Network Ten taking over the broadcast rights from the 1997 season onwards.

The championship was won by Craig Lowndes driving a Holden VR Commodore entered by the Holden Racing Team.

Television coverage

Channel 7's coverage was again a same day delayed broadcast which saw Garry Wilkinson return to the coverage as host and eventually as a commentator alongside Mark Oastler after Andy Raymond was moved from the broadcast booth (where he started the season) to the pits and Brad Jones joined the team as their full-time expert.

Mike Raymond retired from broadcasting full-time after the 1995 Bathurst 1000.

Pre season

At the end of 1995, tobacco sponsorship was prohibited by the Federal Government. A tight sponsorship market resulted in both Gibson Motorsport and Glenn Seton Racing scaling back to one car. Philip Morris sought to circumnavigate this by sponsoring Alan Jones Racing under a generic name.

Teams and drivers

Movements
Arrivals / returnees
Departures

The following teams and drivers competed in the 1996 Australian Touring Car Championship:

TeamVehicleNoDrivers
Dick Johnson Racing Ford EF Falcon 1 Flag of Australia (converted).svg John Bowe
17 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Dick Johnson
Gibson Motorsport Holden VR Commodore 2 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mark Skaife
Lansvale Racing Team Holden VP Commodore 3 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Trevor Ashby
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Steve Reed
Wayne Gardner Racing Holden VR Commodore 4 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Wayne Gardner
7 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Neil Crompton
Holden Racing Team Holden VR Commodore 05 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Peter Brock
15 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Craig Lowndes
Perkins Engineering Holden VR Commodore 8 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Russell Ingall
11 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Larry Perkins
Larkham Motor Sport Ford EF Falcon 10 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mark Larkham
Malcolm Stenniken Holden VR Commodore 14 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Malcolm Stenniken
Tim Slako Holden VR Commodore 24 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Tim Slako
Longhurst Racing Ford EF Falcon 25 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Tony Longhurst
52 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Steven Ellery
M3 Motorsport Holden VP Commodore 26 Flag of Australia (converted).svg John Cotter
29 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Peter Doulman
Terry Finnigan Holden VP Commodore 27 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Terry Finnigan
Playscape Racing Ford EF Falcon 28 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Kevin Waldock
Glenn Seton Racing Ford EF Falcon 30 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Glenn Seton
Phil Johnson Holden VR Commodore 31 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Grant Johnson
Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden VR Commodore 32 Flag of New Zealand.svg Steven Richards
Pro-Duct Racing Holden VR Commodore 33 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bob Pearson
Claude Gorgi Ford EB Falcon 34 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Claude Giorgi
Scotty Taylor Racing Holden VP Commodore 37 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bill Attard
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Alan Taylor
James Rosenberg Racing Holden VR Commodore 38 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mark Poole
Challenge Motorsport Holden VR Commodore 39 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Chris Smerdon
Garry Willmington Performance Ford EB Falcon 41 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Garry Willmington
Mal Rose Racing Holden VR Commodore 44 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mal Rose
John Faulkner Racing Holden VR Commodore 46 Flag of New Zealand.svg John Faulkner
Daily Planet Racing Ford EB Falcon 47 Flag of Australia (converted).svg John Trimbole
Flag of Australia (converted).svg David Attard
Alcair Racing Holden VR Commodore 49 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Greg Crick
Peter McLeod Holden VR Commodore 50 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Peter McLeod
David Parsons Holden VR Commodore 55 Flag of Australia (converted).svg David "Truckie" Parsons
Novocastrian Motorsport Holden VP Commodore 62 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Wayne Russell
Pace Racing Holden VP Commodore 74 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Kevin Heffernan
John Sidney Racing Ford EF Falcon 75 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Max Dumesny
Cadillac Productions Holden VP Commodore 79 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mike Conway
Shaun Walker Holden VR Commodore 99 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Shaun Walker
Alan Jones Racing Ford EF Falcon 201 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Paul Romano
301 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Alan Jones

Race calendar

The championship was contested over a ten-round series with three races per round. [6]

Rd.CircuitLocation / stateDateWinnerCarTeamReport
1 Eastern Creek Raceway Sydney, New South Wales 25 - 27 Jan Craig Lowndes Holden VR Commodore Holden Racing Team
2 Sandown International Raceway Melbourne, Victoria 2 - 4 FebCraig Lowndes Holden VR Commodore Holden Racing Team
3 Mount Panorama Circuit Bathurst, New South Wales 23 - 25 Feb John Bowe Ford EF Falcon Dick Johnson Racing
4 Symmons Plains Raceway Launceston, Tasmania 15 - 17 MarCraig Lowndes Holden VR Commodore Holden Racing Team
5 Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit Phillip Island, Victoria 12 - 14 Apr Larry Perkins Holden VR Commodore Perkins Engineering
6 Calder Park Raceway Melbourne, Victoria 26 - 28 Apr Russell Ingall Holden VR Commodore Perkins Engineering
7 Lakeside International Raceway Brisbane, Queensland 3–5 MayCraig Lowndes Holden VR Commodore Holden Racing Team
8 Barbagallo Raceway Perth, Western Australia 24–26 MayCraig Lowndes Holden VR Commodore Holden Racing Team
9 Mallala Motor Sport Park Mallala, South Australia 31 May - 2 JunCraig Lowndes Holden VR Commodore Holden Racing Team
10 Oran Park Raceway Sydney, New South Wales 14 - 16 Jun Peter Brock Holden VR Commodore Holden Racing Team

Points system

Championship points were awarded on a 20-16-14-12-10-8-6-4-2-1 basis to the top ten finishers in each race. [6]

Results

PosDriverCarPenaltyRd 1Rd 2Rd 3Rd 4Rd 5Rd 6Rd 7Rd 8Rd 9Rd 10Pts [7]
1 Craig Lowndes Holden VR Commodore 056461360202660605032423
2 John Bowe Ford EF Falcon 032406036144234243230344
3 Glenn Seton Ford EF Falcon 02844203237302742444308
4 Peter Brock Holden VR Commodore 010263448121032302260286
5 Larry Perkins Holden VR Commodore 0712321640301452214192
6 Russell Ingall Holden VR Commodore 02026882252148187183
7 Wayne Gardner Holden VR Commodore 0361414218204222824182
8 Alan Jones Ford EF Falcon 0141101425036283220180
9 Mark Skaife Holden VR Commodore 08401616Ret1610261530177
10 Dick Johnson Ford EF Falcon 02210407281328Ret187173
11 Tony Longhurst Ford EF Falcon 012Ret10111226820Ret1100
12 Steven Richards Holden VR Commodore 0012021689524884
13 Neil Crompton Holden VR Commodore 02262124Ret73
14Paul Romano Ford EF Falcon 0101RetRet13232RetRet31
15 Steve Ellery Ford EF Falcon 00101121056228
16 Max Dumesny Ford EF Falcon 08Ret5DNS13
17 John Faulkner Holden VR Commodore 023RetRet5
18Greg Crick Holden VR Commodore 01011Ret0Ret0RetRet3
19Kevin Waldock Ford EF Falcon 0Ret22
20Terry Finnigan Holden VP Commodore 01001
20Mark Poole Holden VP Commodore 00011
PosDriverCarPenaltyRd 1Rd 2Rd 3Rd 4Rd 5Rd 6Rd 7Rd 8Rd 9Rd 10Pts
ColourResult
GoldWinner
SilverSecond place
BronzeThird place
GreenPoints finish
BlueNon-points finish
Non-classified finish (NC)
PurpleRetired (Ret)
RedDid not qualify (DNQ)
Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
BlackDisqualified (DSQ)
WhiteDid not start (DNS)
Withdrew (WD)
Race cancelled (C)
BlankDid not practice (DNP)
Did not arrive (DNA)
Excluded (EX)

See also

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References

  1. Specific Conditions, 1996 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, page 7-10
  2. Specifications, 1996 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, page 7-72
  3. Records, Titles & Awards, 2002 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, page 14-7
  4. Official Programme, Round 9, Shell Australian Touring Car Championship, Mallala, 2 June 1996
  5. Tracking the Shell Series, Official Programme, Round 9, Shell Australian Touring Car Championship, Mallala, 2 June 1996, pages 91-96
  6. 1 2 Pointing the Way, Official Programme, Round 9, Shell Australian Touring Car Championship, Mallala, 2 June 1996, page 88
  7. 1996 Championship Results, Motor Racing Australia No 25, January / February 1997, page 84