1996 Australian Touring Car Championship


The 1996 Australian Touring Car Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing title for drivers of 5.0 Litre Touring Cars complying with Australian Group 3A regulations. The championship, which was the 37th Australian Touring Car Championship, was promoted as the Shell Australian Touring Car Championship. It was contested over ten rounds between January 1996 and June 1996. 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 Gary Wilkinson return to the coverage as host and eventually as a commentator alongside Mark Oastler after Andy Raymond was moved from the broadcast booth 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 RacingFord EF Falcon1 John Bowe
Dick Johnson RacingFord EF Falcon17 Dick Johnson
Gibson MotorsportHolden VR Commodore2 Mark Skaife
Lansvale Racing TeamHolden VP Commodore3 Trevor Ashby
Steve Reed
Wayne Gardner RacingHolden VR Commodore4 Wayne Gardner
Wayne Gardner RacingHolden VR Commodore7 Neil Crompton
Holden Racing TeamHolden VR Commodore05 Peter Brock
Holden Racing TeamHolden VR Commodore15 Craig Lowndes
Perkins EngineeringHolden VR Commodore8 Russell Ingall
Perkins EngineeringHolden VR Commodore11 Larry Perkins
Larkham Motor SportFord EF Falcon10 Mark Larkham
Malcolm StennikenHolden VR Commodore14 Malcolm Stenniken
Tim SlakoHolden VR Commodore24 Tim Slako
Longhurst RacingFord EF Falcon25 Tony Longhurst
Longhurst RacingFord EF Falcon52 Steven Ellery
M3 MotorsportHolden VP Commodore26 John Cotter
M3 MotorsportHolden VP Commodore29 Peter Doulman
Terry FinniganHolden VP Commodore27 Terry Finnigan
Playscape RacingFord EF Falcon28 Kevin Waldock
Glenn Seton RacingFord EF Falcon30 Glenn Seton
Phil JohnsonHolden VR Commodore31 Grant Johnson
Garry Rogers MotorsportHolden VR Commodore32 Steven Richards
Pro-Duct RacingHolden VR Commodore33 Bob Pearson
Claude GorgiFord EB Falcon34 Claude Giorgi
Scotty Taylor RacingHolden VP Commodore37 Bill Attard
Alan Taylor
James Rosenberg RacingHolden VR Commodore38 Mark Poole
Challenge MotorsportHolden VR Commodore39 Chris Smerdon
Garry Willmington PerformanceFord EB Falcon41 Garry Willmington
Mal Rose RacingHolden VR Commodore44 Mal Rose
John Faulkner RacingHolden VR Commodore46 John Faulkner
Daily Planet RacingFord EB Falcon47 John Trimbole
David Attard
Alcair RacingHolden VR Commodore49 Greg Crick
Peter McLeodHolden VR Commodore50 Peter McLeod
David ParsonsHolden VR Commodore55 David "Truckie" Parsons
Novocastrian MotorsportHolden VP Commodore62 Wayne Russell
Pace RacingHolden VP Commodore74 Kevin Heffernan
John Sidney RacingFord EF Falcon75 Max Dumesny
Cadillac ProductionsHolden VP Commodore79 Mike Conway
Shaun WalkerHolden VR Commodore99 Shaun Walker
Alan Jones RacingFord EF Falcon201 Paul Romano
Alan Jones RacingFord EF Falcon301 Alan Jones

Race Calendar

The championship was contested over a ten-round series with three races per round.
Rd.CircuitLocation / StateDateWinnerCarTeamReport
1Eastern Creek RacewaySydney, New South Wales25 - 27 JanCraig LowndesHolden VR CommodoreHolden Racing Team
2Sandown International RacewayMelbourne, Victoria2 - 4 FebCraig LowndesHolden VR CommodoreHolden Racing Team
3Mount Panorama CircuitBathurst, New South Wales23 - 25 FebJohn BoweFord EF FalconDick Johnson Racing
4Symmons Plains RacewayLaunceston, Tasmania15 - 17 MarCraig LowndesHolden VR CommodoreHolden Racing Team
5Phillip Island Grand Prix CircuitPhillip Island, Victoria12 - 14 AprLarry PerkinsHolden VR CommodorePerkins Engineering
6Calder Park RacewayMelbourne, Victoria26 - 28 AprRussell IngallHolden VR CommodorePerkins Engineering
7Lakeside International RacewayBrisbane, Queensland3–5 MayCraig LowndesHolden VR CommodoreHolden Racing Team
8Barbagallo RacewayPerth, Western Australia24–26 MayCraig LowndesHolden VR CommodoreHolden Racing Team
9Mallala Motor Sport ParkMallala, South Australia31 May - 2 JunCraig LowndesHolden VR CommodoreHolden Racing Team
10Oran Park RacewaySydney, New South Wales14 - 16 JunPeter BrockHolden VR CommodoreHolden 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.

Results