# 1996 Australian Drivers' Championship

The 1996 Australian Drivers' Championship was an Australian motor racing competition for racing cars complying with CAMS Formula Holden regulations. The championship winner was awarded the 1996 CAMS Gold Star as the Australian Drivers' Champion. It was the 40th running of the Australian Drivers' Championship and the eighth to feature the Formula Holden category. The championship began on 8 March 1996 at the Albert Park Street Circuit and ended on 2 June at Mallala Motor Sport Park after eight races held over four rounds.
Paul Stokell won his third Australian Drivers' Championship in a season dominated by him and his Birrana Racing teammate Jason Bright. The two dark blue Reynard 91Ds won every race of the season except one. Bright's early season unreliability became the difference between the two at season's end. The only race they did not claim was race two at the 1996 Australian Grand Prix meeting which saw Europe-bound Mark Webber in a guest drive in the Graham Watson owned Reynard, take the win when both Stokell and Bright retired. Darren Edwards was consistently best of the rest of the field, claiming four top three finishes over the season. Stephen Cramp took three second places at the start of the season but faded, dropping to fifth position in the championship behind Adam Kaplan.

## Teams and drivers

The following drivers competed in the 1996 Australian Drivers' Championship.
| Driver | No | Car | Entrant |
| Paul Stokell | 1 | Reynard 91D Holden | Birrana Racing |
| Allan Galloway | 2 | Reynard 91D Holden | Allan Galloway |
| Geoff Fickling | 3 | Reynard 90D Holden | Graham Watson |
| Steven Johnson | 3 | Reynard 90D Holden | Graham Watson |
| Graham Watson | 3 | Reynard 90D Holden | Graham Watson |
| Bryan Hartley | 4 | Dome F102 Holden | Bryan Hartley |
| Stan Keen | 5 | Shrike NB89H Holden | Stan Keen |
| Graham Sims | 6 | Reynard 90D Holden | Graham Sims |
| Adam Kaplan | 7 | Reynard 91D Holden | Adam Kaplan |
| Dean Irwin | 8 | Ralt RT21 Holden | Dean Irwin |
| Jason Bright | 9 | Reynard 91D Holden | Birrana Racing |
| Darren Edwards | 10 | Reynard 90D Holden | Clem Smith |
| James Taylor | 11 | Reynard 91D Holden | Ken Smith |
| Ken Smith | 11 | Reynard 92D Holden | Ken Smith |
| Chas Talbot | 14 | March 87B Holden | Chas Talbot |
| Roger Seward | 16 | Ralt RT23 Holden | Roger Seward |
| Arthur Abrahams | 19 | Reynard 92D Holden | Arthur Abrahams |
| Stephen Cramp | 21 | Ralt RT23 Holden | Stephen Cramp |
| Bob Minogue | 29 | Reynard 92D Holden | RA Minogue |
| Mark Webber | 30 | Reynard 91D Holden | Graham Watson |
| Owen Osborne | 34 | SPA 002 Holden | Owen Osborne |
| Sam Astuti | 47 | Reynard 92D Holden | SH Racing |
| Kevin Weeks | 70 | Reynard 91D Holden | Kevin Weeks |
| Maurice O'Reilly | 71 | Reynard 91D Holden | Kevin Weeks |
| Chris Hocking | 74 | Reynard 91D Holden | GL Knight & Assoc |
| Brian Sampson | 78 | Cheetah Mk. 9 Holden | Brian Sampson |
| Chas Jacobsen | 87 | Reynard 92D Holden | Chas Jacobsen |
| Darren Pate | 99 | Reynard 90D Holden | Auz Racing Team Pty Ltd |

## Race calendar

The 1996 Australian Drivers' Championship was contested over eight races at four rounds held in two states.
| Rd/Race. | Circuit | Location / state | Date | Winner |
| R1/1 | Albert Park Circuit | Melbourne, Victoria | 8 March | Paul Stokell |
| R1/2 | Albert Park Circuit | Melbourne, Victoria | 9 March | Mark Webber |
| R2/1 | Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit | Phillip Island, Victoria | 14 April | Paul Stokell |
| R2/2 | Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit | Phillip Island, Victoria | 14 April | Paul Stokell |
| R3/1 | Calder Park Raceway | Melbourne, Victoria | 28 April | Jason Bright |
| R3/2 | Calder Park Raceway | Melbourne, Victoria | 28 April | Jason Bright |
| R4/1 | Mallala Motor Sport Park | Mallala, South Australia | 2 June | Paul Stokell |
| R4/2 | Mallala Motor Sport Park | Mallala, South Australia | 2 June | Jason Bright |

## Results

Points were awarded 20–15–12–10–8–6–4–3–2–1 based on the top ten race positions in each race. Only half points were awarded for Race 1 of Round 2 at Phillip Island.
| Pos. | Driver | Rd1/1 | Rd2/2 | Rd2/1 | Rd2/2 | Rd3/1 | Rd3/2 | Rd4/1 | Rd4/2 | Pts |
| 1 | Paul Stokell | 1st | Ret | 1st | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 1st | Ret | 97 |
| 2 | Jason Bright | Ret | Ret | Ret | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 2nd | 1st | 90 |
| 3 | Darren Edwards | 3rd | 4th | 6th | 3rd | 4th | 2nd | 3rd | 6th | 80 |
| 4 | Adam Kaplan | 4th | 3rd | 5th | 6th | 5th | Ret | 5th | 3rd | 60 |
| 5 | Stephen Cramp | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 11th | 8th | 7th | Ret | 4th | 54.5 |
| 6 | Arthur Abrahams | DNS | 5th | Ret | 5th | 6th | 6th | 6th | 5th | 42 |
| 7 | Kevin Weeks | 5th | DNS | 4th | 7th | 7th | 5th | Ret | DNS | 29 |
| 8 | Darren Pate | | | | | | | 4th | 2nd | 25 |
| 8 | Sam Astuti | | | 7th | 10th | 3rd | 4th | | | 25 |
| 10 | Mark Webber | Ret | 1st | | | | | | | 20 |
| 11 | Ken Smith | | | 3rd | 4th | | | | | 16 |
| 12 | Bryan Hartley | 8th | 7th | | | DNS | 8th | 11th | 8th | 13 |
| 13 | James Taylor | 6th | 6th | | | | | | | 12 |
| 14 | Bob Minogue | 7th | 8th | DNS | Ret | DNS | Ret | 7th | DNS | 11 |
| 15 | Chas Jacobsen | | | Ret | 8th | 9th | 9th | 14th | 9th | 9 |
| 16 | Stan Keen | Ret | 9th | | | | | 9th | 7th | 8 |
| 17 | Chris Hocking | | | 9th | Ret | 10th | 10th | 8th | Ret | 6 |
| 18 | Dean Irwin | | | 8th | 9th | | | Ret | 11th | 3.5 |
| 19 | Alan Galloway | 9th | DNS | Ret | DNS | | | | | 2 |
| 19 | Maurice O'Reilly | 10th | 10th | | | | | | | 2 |
| 21 | Owen Osborne | | | 10th | DNS | | | 10th | DNS | 1.5 |
| 22 | Roger Seward | | | | | | | 15th | 10th | 1 |
| Pos | Driver | Rd1/1 | Rd2/2 | Rd2/1 | Rd2/2 | Rd3/1 | Rd3/2 | Rd4/1 | Rd4/2 | Pts |
| Colour | Result |
| Gold | Winner |
| Silver | Second place |
| Bronze | Third place |
| Green | Points finish |
| Blue | Non-points finish |
| Blue | Non-classified finish (NC) |
| Purple | Retired (Ret) |
| Red | Did not qualify (DNQ) |
| Red | Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) |
| Black | Disqualified (DSQ) |
| White | Did not start (DNS) |
| White | Withdrew (WD) |
| White | Race cancelled (C) |
| Blank | Did not practice (DNP) |
| Blank | Did not arrive (DNA) |
| Blank | Excluded (EX) |