# 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 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

* Alan Jones moved from Glenn Seton Racing, forming Alan Jones Racing in partnership with Jim and Ross Stone
* Paul Romano joined Alan Jones Racing from Romano Racing
* Greg Crick replaced David Attard at Alcair Racing

### Arrivals / returnees

* Garry Rogers Motorsport joined the series with Steven Richards driving an ex Gibson Motorsport VR Commodore
* John Faulkner Racing joined the series with John Faulkner driving an ex Holden Racing Team VR Commodore
* John Sidney Racing joined the series with Max Dumsney driving an ex Glenn Seton Racing EF Falcon
* Longhurst Racing expanded to two cars with a customer EF Falcon for Steve Ellery
* Craig Lowndes replaced Tomas Mezera at the Holden Racing Team
* M3 Motorsport returned to the series for the first time since 1993 with John Cotter and Peter Doulman sharing the driving of an ex Perkins Engineering VP Commodore
* Perkins Engineering expanded to two cars with Russell Ingall joining the series

### Departures

* With Gibson Motorsport scaling back to one car, Jim Richards left the series
* 1995 Privateer's Champion David Attard did not defend his crown
The following teams and drivers competed in the 1996 Australian Touring Car Championship:
| Team | Vehicle | No | Drivers |
| Dick Johnson Racing | Ford EF Falcon | 1 | John Bowe |
| Dick Johnson Racing | Ford EF Falcon | 17 | Dick Johnson |
| Gibson Motorsport | Holden VR Commodore | 2 | Mark Skaife |
| Lansvale Racing Team | Holden VP Commodore | 3 | Trevor Ashby Steve Reed |
| Wayne Gardner Racing | Holden VR Commodore | 4 | Wayne Gardner |
| Wayne Gardner Racing | Holden VR Commodore | 7 | Neil Crompton |
| Holden Racing Team | Holden VR Commodore | 05 | Peter Brock |
| Holden Racing Team | Holden VR Commodore | 15 | Craig Lowndes |
| Perkins Engineering | Holden VR Commodore | 8 | Russell Ingall |
| Perkins Engineering | Holden VR Commodore | 11 | Larry Perkins |
| Larkham Motor Sport | Ford EF Falcon | 10 | Mark Larkham |
| Malcolm Stenniken | Holden VR Commodore | 14 | Malcolm Stenniken |
| Tim Slako | Holden VR Commodore | 24 | Tim Slako |
| Longhurst Racing | Ford EF Falcon | 25 | Tony Longhurst |
| Longhurst Racing | Ford EF Falcon | 52 | Steven Ellery |
| M3 Motorsport | Holden VP Commodore | 26 | John Cotter |
| M3 Motorsport | Holden VP Commodore | 29 | Peter Doulman |
| Terry Finnigan | Holden VP Commodore | 27 | Terry Finnigan |
| Playscape Racing | Ford EF Falcon | 28 | Kevin Waldock |
| Glenn Seton Racing | Ford EF Falcon | 30 | Glenn Seton |
| Phil Johnson | Holden VR Commodore | 31 | Grant Johnson |
| Garry Rogers Motorsport | Holden VR Commodore | 32 | Steven Richards |
| Pro-Duct Racing | Holden VR Commodore | 33 | Bob Pearson |
| Claude Gorgi | Ford EB Falcon | 34 | Claude Giorgi |
| Scotty Taylor Racing | Holden VP Commodore | 37 | Bill Attard Alan Taylor |
| James Rosenberg Racing | Holden VR Commodore | 38 | Mark Poole |
| Challenge Motorsport | Holden VR Commodore | 39 | Chris Smerdon |
| Garry Willmington Performance | Ford EB Falcon | 41 | Garry Willmington |
| Mal Rose Racing | Holden VR Commodore | 44 | Mal Rose |
| John Faulkner Racing | Holden VR Commodore | 46 | John Faulkner |
| Daily Planet Racing | Ford EB Falcon | 47 | John Trimbole David Attard |
| Alcair Racing | Holden VR Commodore | 49 | Greg Crick |
| Peter McLeod | Holden VR Commodore | 50 | Peter McLeod |
| David Parsons | Holden VR Commodore | 55 | David "Truckie" Parsons |
| Novocastrian Motorsport | Holden VP Commodore | 62 | Wayne Russell |
| Pace Racing | Holden VP Commodore | 74 | Kevin Heffernan |
| John Sidney Racing | Ford EF Falcon | 75 | Max Dumesny |
| Cadillac Productions | Holden VP Commodore | 79 | Mike Conway |
| Shaun Walker | Holden VR Commodore | 99 | Shaun Walker |
| Alan Jones Racing | Ford EF Falcon | 201 | Paul Romano |
| Alan Jones Racing | Ford EF Falcon | 301 | Alan Jones |

## Race calendar

The championship was contested over a ten-round series with three races per round.
| Rd. | Circuit | Location / state | Date | Winner | Car | Team |
| 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 Feb | Craig 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 Mar | Craig 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 May | Craig Lowndes | Holden VR Commodore | Holden Racing Team |
| 8 | Barbagallo Raceway | Perth, Western Australia | 24–26 May | Craig Lowndes | Holden VR Commodore | Holden Racing Team |
| 9 | Mallala Motor Sport Park | Mallala, South Australia | 31 May - 2 Jun | Craig 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.

## Results

| Pos | Driver | Car | Penalty | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Rd 6 | Rd 7 | Rd 8 | Rd 9 | Rd 10 | Pts |
| 1 | Craig Lowndes | Holden VR Commodore | 0 | 56 | 46 | 13 | 60 | 20 | 26 | 60 | 60 | 50 | 32 | 423 |
| 2 | John Bowe | Ford EF Falcon | 0 | 32 | 40 | 60 | 36 | 14 | 42 | 34 | 24 | 32 | 30 | 344 |
| 3 | Glenn Seton | Ford EF Falcon | 0 | 28 | 44 | 20 | 32 | 37 | 30 | 27 | 42 | 4 | 44 | 308 |
| 4 | Peter Brock | Holden VR Commodore | 0 | 10 | 26 | 34 | 48 | 12 | 10 | 32 | 30 | 22 | 60 | 286 |
| 5 | Larry Perkins | Holden VR Commodore | 0 | 7 | 12 | 32 | 16 | 40 | 30 | 14 | 5 | 22 | 14 | 192 |
| 6 | Russell Ingall | Holden VR Commodore | 0 | 20 | 26 | 8 | 8 | 22 | 52 | 14 | 8 | 18 | 7 | 183 |
| 7 | Wayne Gardner | Holden VR Commodore | 0 | 36 | 14 | 14 | 2 | 18 | 20 | 4 | 22 | 28 | 24 | 182 |
| 8 | Alan Jones | Ford EF Falcon | 0 | 14 | 1 | 10 | 14 | 25 | 0 | 36 | 28 | 32 | 20 | 180 |
| 9 | Mark Skaife | Holden VR Commodore | 0 | 8 | 40 | 16 | 16 | Ret | 16 | 10 | 26 | 15 | 30 | 177 |
| 10 | Dick Johnson | Ford EF Falcon | 0 | 22 | 10 | 40 | 7 | 28 | 13 | 28 | Ret | 18 | 7 | 173 |
| 11 | Tony Longhurst | Ford EF Falcon | 0 | 12 | Ret | 10 | 11 | 12 | 26 | 8 | 20 | Ret | 1 | 100 |
| 12 | Steven Richards | Holden VR Commodore | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 8 | 9 | 5 | 24 | 8 | 84 |
| 13 | Neil Crompton | Holden VR Commodore | 0 | 22 | 6 | 21 | 24 | | | | | | Ret | 73 |
| 14 | Paul Romano | Ford EF Falcon | 0 | 10 | 1 | Ret | Ret | 13 | 2 | 3 | 2 | Ret | Ret | 31 |
| 15 | Steve Ellery | Ford EF Falcon | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 28 |
| 16 | Max Dumesny | Ford EF Falcon | 0 | | | | | 8 | Ret | | | 5 | DNS | 13 |
| 17 | John Faulkner | Holden VR Commodore | 0 | | | | | 2 | 3 | Ret | | | Ret | 5 |
| 18 | Greg Crick | Holden VR Commodore | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | Ret | 0 | Ret | 0 | Ret | Ret | 3 |
| 19 | Kevin Waldock | Ford EF Falcon | 0 | | | | | | | | Ret | 2 | | 2 |
| 20 | Terry Finnigan | Holden VP Commodore | 0 | 1 | | 0 | | | | | | | 0 | 1 |
| 20 | Mark Poole | Holden VP Commodore | 0 | | 0 | | | | 0 | | | 1 | | 1 |
| Pos | Driver | Car | Penalty | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Rd 6 | Rd 7 | Rd 8 | Rd 9 | Rd 10 | 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) |