# 1996 British Formula Three Championship

The 1996 British Formula Three season was the 46th British Formula Three Championship. The season started on 31 March at Silverstone and ended there on 13 October following sixteen races. After losing out in the final reckoning to Oliver Gavin in 1995, Ralph Firman was able to clinch the crown on his second attempt from Kurt Mollekens and teammate Jonny Kane. New Zealander Simon Wills took the Class B title.

## Drivers and Teams

| Team | No | Driver | Chassis | Engine | Rounds |
| Class A ||||||
| Paul Stewart Racing | 1 | Ralph Firman | Dallara F396 | Mugen-Honda | All |
| Paul Stewart Racing | 2 | Jonny Kane | Dallara F396 | Mugen-Honda | All |
| Fortec Motorsport | 3 | Guy Smith | Dallara F396 | HKS-Mitsubishi | All |
| Fortec Motorsport | 4 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Dallara F396 | HKS-Mitsubishi | All |
| Promatecme | 5 | James Matthews | Dallara F396 | Renault | All |
| Promatecme | 6 | Nicolas Minassian | Dallara F396 | Renault | All |
| Alan Docking Racing | 7 | Brian Cunningham | Dallara F396 | Mugen-Honda | All |
| Alan Docking Racing | 8 | Gonzalo Rodríguez | Dallara F396 | Mugen-Honda | 1-4 |
| Alan Docking Racing | 8 | Akbar Ebrahim | Dallara F396 | Mugen-Honda | 8 |
| Alan Docking Racing | 8 | Steven Arnold | Dallara F396 | Mugen-Honda | 9 |
| Alan Docking Racing | 11 | Kurt Mollekens | Dallara F396 | Mugen-Honda | All |
| Alan Docking Racing | 12 | Risto Virtanen | Dallara F396 | Mugen-Honda | 1-4 |
| TWR Junior Team | 9 | Jamie Davies | Dallara F396 | TWR GM | All |
| TWR Junior Team | 10 | Mark Shaw | Dallara F396 | TWR GM | All |
| Intersport | 14 | Ángel Burgueño | Dallara F396 | Opel | All |
| SpeedSport F3 | 15 | Darren Manning | Dallara F396 | Mugen-Honda | All |
| TOM'S GB | 16 | Christian Horner | TOM'S 036 | TOM'S-Toyota | 1-6 |
| TOM'S GB | 16 | Naoki Kurose | Dallara F396 | TOM'S-Toyota | 16 |
| TOM'S GB | 17 | Brian Smith | TOM'S 036 | TOM'S-Toyota | All |
| TOM'S GB | 18 | Takashi Yokoyama | Dallara F396 | TOM'S-Toyota | 1-3 |
| TOM'S GB | 18 | Takashi Yokoyama | TOM'S 036 | TOM'S-Toyota | 4-16 |
| TOM'S GB | 19 | Kazuto Yanagawa | Dallara F396 | TOM'S-Toyota | All |
| DC Cook Motorsport | 20 | Paula Cook | Dallara F396 | Mugen-Honda | 1-11 |
| Graff Racing | 23 | Boris Derichebourg | Dallara F396 | Opel | 11 |
| Graff Racing | 23 | Patrice Gay | Dallara F396 | Opel | 14-15 |
| Z-Speed | 27 | Martin Byford | Dallara F396 | Opel | 1–9, 11-15 |
| Class B ||||||
| Z-Speed | 31 | Simon Wills | Dallara F394 | Vauxhall | All |
| Hopkins Motorsport | 33 | Philip Hopkins | Dallara F393 | Fiat | 1–6, 8–9, 11–13, 16 |
| Hopkins Motorsport | 33 | James Carney | Dallara F393 | Fiat | 14-15 |
| Render Racing | 34 | Martin O'Connell | Dallara F394 | Vauxhall | 1–3, 7–9, 12-13 |
| Render Racing | 34 | Masami Nakamura | Dallara F394 | Vauxhall | 14-16 |
| SpeedSport F3 | 35 | Michael Bentwood | Dallara F394 | Vauxhall | All |
| Team Magic Racing | 36 | Shingo Tachi | Dallara F394 | TOM'S-Toyota | All |
| Team Magic Racing | 37 | Ben Collins | Dallara F394 | Mugen-Honda | 7-16 |
| Mark Bailey Racing | 47 | Tavo Hellmund | Dallara F394 | TOM'S-Toyota | 1-7 |
| Mark Bailey Racing | 48 | Chris Clark | Dallara F394 | TOM'S-Toyota | 1-4 |

## Race calendar and results

| Round | Circuit | Date | Pole Position | Fastest Lap | Winning Driver | Winning Team | Class B Winner |
| 1 | Silverstone | 31 March | Guy Smith | Ralph Firman | Guy Smith | Fortec Motorsport | Martin O'Connell |
| 2 | Silverstone | 31 March | Guy Smith | Jamie Davies | Jamie Davies | TWR Junior Team | Martin O'Connell |
| 3 | Thruxton | 14 April | Ralph Firman | Ralph Firman | Jamie Davies | TWR Junior Team | Simon Wills |
| 4 | Donington Park | 5 May | Ralph Firman | Juan Pablo Montoya | Juan Pablo Montoya | Fortec Motorsport | Shingo Tachi |
| 5 | Brands Hatch | 27 May | Ralph Firman | Ralph Firman | Ralph Firman | Paul Stewart Racing | Simon Wills |
| 6 | Brands Hatch | 27 May | Ralph Firman | Ralph Firman | Ralph Firman | Paul Stewart Racing | Philip Hopkins |
| 7 | Oulton Park | 8 June | Jonny Kane | Juan Pablo Montoya | Ralph Firman | Paul Stewart Racing | Martin O'Connell |
| 8 | Donington Park | 23 June | Brian Smith | Juan Pablo Montoya | Kurt Mollekens | Alan Docking Racing | Martin O'Connell |
| 9 | Silverstone | 13 July | Darren Manning | Jonny Kane | Darren Manning | SpeedSport F3 | Martin O'Connell |
| 10 | Thruxton | 28 July | Darren Manning | Juan Pablo Montoya | Juan Pablo Montoya | Fortec Motorsport | Ben Collins |
| 11 | Snetterton | 11 August | Jonny Kane | Jonny Kane | Jonny Kane | Paul Stewart Racing | Ben Collins |
| 12 | Pembrey | 1 September | Jonny Kane | Jonny Kane | Nicolas Minassian | Promatecme | Ben Collins |
| 13 | Pembrey | 1 September | Jonny Kane | Jonny Kane | Jonny Kane | Paul Stewart Racing | Shingo Tachi |
| 14 | Zandvoort | 29 September | Juan Pablo Montoya | Kurt Mollekens | Kurt Mollekens | Alan Docking Racing | Ben Collins |
| 15 | Zandvoort | 29 September | Brian Smith | Ralph Firman | Jonny Kane | Paul Stewart Racing | Ben Collins |
| 16 | Silverstone | 13 October | Nicolas Minassian | Nicolas Minassian | Nicolas Minassian | Promatecme | Simon Wills |
^1 Round 11 was shortened due to heavy rain, and a planned second race at Snetterton was also cancelled.

## Drivers Championship

| Pos | Driver | SIL | SIL | THR | DON | BRH | BRH | OUL | DON | SIL | THR | SNE | PEM | PEM | ZAN | ZAN | SIL | Pts |
| Class A |||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Ralph Firman | 4 | 2 | 3 | Ret | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 13 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 188 |
| 2 | Kurt Mollekens | 5 | 5 | 11 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 148 |
| 3 | Jonny Kane | Ret | 6 | 5 | Ret | 4 | Ret | 10 | Ret | 3 | Ret | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 146 |
| 4 | Nicolas Minassian | 9 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 9 | Ret | 17 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 139 |
| 5 | Juan Pablo Montoya | 2 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 9 | 13 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 4 | Ret | 5 | 137 |
| 6 | Guy Smith | 1 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 2 | 12 | 12 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 132 |
| 7 | Darren Manning | 7 | 10 | 17 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 12 | 7 | 6 | 105 |
| 8 | Jamie Davies | 3 | 1 | 1 | Ret | 10 | 10 | 4 | 20 | 11 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 2 | Ret | Ret | DNS | 98 |
| 9 | James Matthews | 6 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 20 | 11 | 8 | 19 | 10 | 7 | 4 | 8 | 9 | Ret | 8 | 12 | 59 |
| 10 | Brian Smith | Ret | DNS | 25 | Ret | 8 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 8 | DNS | 8 | 6 | 3 | 7 | Ret | DSQ | 44 |
| 11 | Brian Cunningham | Ret | 13 | 9 | Ret | 7 | Ret | WD | 5 | 5 | 8 | 11 | 9 | 14 | 6 | Ret | 10 | 34 |
| 12 | Ángel Burgueño | Ret | DNS | 10 | Ret | 13 | 4 | 11 | 7 | Ret | 3 | Ret | 15 | 16 | Ret | 11 | 8 | 31 |
| 13 | Mark Shaw | 14 | 7 | 8 | 13 | Ret | Ret | 18 | 9 | 13 | Ret | 19† | Ret | 18 | 10 | Ret | DSQ | 12 |
| 14 | Gonzalo Rodríguez | 8 | Ret | 12 | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | | 9 |
| 15 | Patrice Gay | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 9 | 6 | | 8 |
| 16 | Takashi Yokoyama | 13 | 9 | 20 | 8 | 11 | Ret | 19 | 17 | Ret | 14† | 10 | 18 | 21 | 11 | Ret | 9 | 8 |
| 17 | Martin Byford | 11 | 11 | Ret | Ret | 9 | 9 | 14 | 11 | Ret | | 12 | Ret | DNS | 15† | 12 | | 7 |
| 18 | Risto Virtanen | 21 | 21 | 14 | 7 | | | | | | | | | | | | | 4 |
| 19 | Kazuto Yanagawa | 16 | 18 | 19 | Ret | 17 | Ret | Ret | 14 | 16 | 13 | 13 | Ret | 13 | Ret | 9 | 15 | 3 |
| 20 | Christian Horner | Ret | 24 | 16 | Ret | 16 | 13 | | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| 21 | Paula Cook | 17 | 16 | 21 | Ret | 18 | 14 | DNS | DNS | 20 | DNS | DNS | | | | | | 0 |
| 22 | Boris Derichebourg | | | | | | | | | | | 14 | | | | | | 0 |
| 23 | Steven Arnold | | | | | | | | | 15 | | | | | | | | 0 |
| 24 | Akbar Ebrahim | | | | | | | | 18 | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| | Naoki Kurose | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Ret | |
| Class B |||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Simon Wills | 19 | 17 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 21 | 11 | 16 | 16 | 17 | Ret | 13 | 11 | 201 |
| 2 | Shingo Tachi | 15 | 19 | 23 | 10 | 15 | 17 | 13 | 21 | 14 | Ret | DNS | 11 | 10 | 14 | Ret | 13 | 192 |
| 3 | Ben Collins | | | | | | | Ret | 10 | 17 | 10 | 15 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 10 | Ret | 147 |
| 4 | Martin O'Connell | 10 | 14 | 18 | | | | 12 | 8 | 12 | | | 17 | 19 | | | | 131 |
| 5 | Michael Bentwood | 20 | 22 | DNS | 11 | Ret | 16 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 12 | 18† | 14 | 15 | Ret | Ret | 14 | 119 |
| 6 | Tavo Hellmund | 18 | 20 | 24 | 12 | 19 | Ret | 17 | | | | | | | | | | 56 |
| 7 | Philip Hopkins | 22† | 23 | 22 | Ret | Ret | 12 | | Ret | 19 | | 20† | 19† | 20 | | | DSQ | 52 |
| 8 | Chris Clark | 12 | 15 | 15 | Ret | | | | | | | | | | | | | 45 |
| 9 | Masami Nakamura | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 17 | Ret | 16 | 20 |
| 10 | James Carney | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 16 | Ret | | 12 |
| Pos | Driver | SIL | SIL | THR | DON | BRH | BRH | OUL | DON | SIL | THR | SNE | PEM | PEM | ZAN | ZAN | SIL | Pts |