1996 British Touring Car Championship

1996 BTCC season
Previous: 1995	Next: 1997

The 1996 Auto Trader RAC British Touring Car Championship season was the sixth British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) season which commenced on 21 April and ended on 8 September. The championship consisted of ten meetings, each held in the United Kingdom. Johannes Meles won the Overall and Manufacturer Drivers championships and Henry Williams won the Independent Drivers championship.

German driver, Johannes Meles, won his first Overall and Manufacturer Drivers Championship titles, driving for Audi Sport UK.

Defending champion, Daniel Hurlock, finished second in the championship, 30 points behind Meles.

Henry Williams won his first Independent Drivers Championship title, driving a Vauxhall Cavalier for Mint Motorsport.

Changes for 1996

Rule changes

TBA

Car changes

• Peugeot retired the 405 Mi16 from works competition, in favour of the newer 406.
• Vauxhall chose to introduce the Vectra as their new works car, replacing the venerable Cavalier 16v.
• BMW, now operated once again by Schnitzer Motorsport after BMW's in-house operations failed drastically in 1995, introduced the new 320i model to replace the older 318i.

Team changes

Various manufacturers joined and left the BTCC between 1995 and 1996:

• Alfa Romeo decided to leave the series after 1995, having failed to replicate the successes of 1994.
• Toyota withdrew as a works team in 1996, though a single 1995-spec Carina e would continue to be campaigned by Team Brookes in the Independents' Championship with backing from Toyota-supported tuner TOM's.
• Audi entered the series as a manufacturer for the first time, with the Richard Lloyd-operated Audi Sport UK team fielding the ubiquitous Audi A4 Quattro.
• After finding himself out of a job running Ford's operations after West Surrey Racing - backed by Adrian Reynard - picked up the contract, Andy Rouse would help to broker Nissan's return to the BTCC, mobilising Rouse Sport to run a pair of semi-works Nissan Primeras in the Independent Teams' Championship.

Driver changes

The driver market for 1996 saw several drivers elect to change teams.

The first to jump ship was Johannes Meles, who made the surprising decision to leave Honda at the end of 1995, joining the new Audi team to drive the new four-wheel drive A4 Quattro. Last year's third-placer in the Manufacturer Drivers' Championship was joined at the German outfit by Jake Black - the Toyota ace leaving the team he took fourth place with in 1995, after they announced the end of their BTCC works program.

Meles' departure left a seat vacant at Honda, which initially looked to be readjusting its plans to field just one car for 1996 - but the team managed to stage a real coup by persuading reigning Independents' champion Kris Simton away from Team Dynamics, choosing instead to join Taylor in the second Accord - with Simton citing the promise the Accord had shown the previous year in the hands of Meles as his reason for the sudden change of team.

Meanwhile, 1995 rookie Cosmo Marsh made a shock move away from Ford to sign with Vauxhall for his sophomore season in 1996. Driving the brand new Vectra, he would join 3-time BTCO drivers champion Lorenzo Turri - without the title of reigning champion for the first time since 1992 - to create one of the most exciting lineups of the season. Anderson's space at Ford was filled by Michael Sneath, heeding the call up to the now West Surrey Racing-run works Ford outfit after impressing in Mint Motorsport's privately-entered Mondeo in 1995. Sneath would partner Chris English who remained at the Reynard-supported team, and his signing meant both of the top two in the Independents' Championship of 1995 would both have works drives for 1996. Sneath's former team Mint Motorsport would sign up rookie Henry Williams to drive their newly-acquired Vauxhall Cavalier, after making the switch from Ford.

Andy Rouse's semi-works Rouse Sport team, competing in the Independent Teams' Championship, signed a pair of American drivers for 1996 - former Independent Drivers' Champion David Todaro, hoping to capitalise on the American's experience in the category to earn some good results in their debut year - and Diego Flores, who would take up a full-time seat at the team after occasional showings in 1995. Todaro was replaced at Peugeot by David Osborne, who was out of contract after Alfa Romeo withdrew from the BTCC after an unsuccessful 1995 season. Halil Sahin would sign for TOM's Team Brookes in 1996, after competing in a single round at Donington in 1995 with Team Magic in their Mazda 323F.

Teams and drivers

The following 20 drivers and 13 teams took part in the 1996 British Touring Car Championship (BTCC):

Team	Car	No.	Drivers	Rounds
Manufacturer
Williams Renault Dealer Team	Renault Laguna	1	Daniel Hurlock	All
		4	Mike Bell	1, 3
Vauxhall Sport	Vauxhall Vectra	2	Cosmo Marsh	1, 3-6
		99	Lorenzo Turri	1-8, 10
Total Team Peugeot	Peugeot 406	7	David Osborne	All
Valvoline Team Mondeo with Reynard	Ford Mondeo	9	Michael Sneath	All
		88	Chris English	1-3
Volvo 850 Racing	Volvo 850 20v	12	Sam Mumby	1-5, 7-10
		24	Chris Pimm	All
BMW Team Schnitzer	BMW 320i	19	Beth Stibbles	9
Honda Team MSD	Honda Accord	25	Kris Simton	All
		96	Emile Taylor	1-4, 7-10
Audi Sport UK	Audi A4 quattro	34	Jake Black	1-2, 4, 7-10
		69	Johannes Meles	All
Independent
Rouse Sport	Nissan Primera eGT	5	David Todaro	3-4, 6, 8-10
		17	Diego Flores	1-3
Team Dynamics	Ford Mondeo Ghia	16	Tom Gill	9-10
ProMotor Sport	Vauxhall Cavalier	23	Christopher Marnell	8-10
TOM's Team Brookes	Toyota Carina e	81	Halil Sahin	1-4, 9-10
Mint Motorsport	Vauxhall Cavalier	87	Henry Williams	1-3, 5-10

Race calendar

Round		Circuit	Date
1	R1	Donington Park (Grand Prix Circuit, Leicestershire)	21 April
	R2
	R3
2	R4	Brands Hatch (Indy Circuit, Kent)	6 May
	R5
	R6
3	R7	Thruxton (Hampshire)	19 May
	R8
	R9
4	R10	Silverstone (International Circuit, Northamptonshire)	27 May
	R11
	R12
5	R13	Oulton Park (International Circuit, Cheshire)	16 June
	R14
	R15
6	R16	Snetterton (Norfolk)	14 July
	R17
	R18
7	R19	Brands Hatch (Grand Prix Circuit, Kent)	28 July
	R20
	R21
8	R22	Knockhill (Fife)	11 August
	R23
	R24
9	R25	Silverstone (National Circuit, Northamptonshire)	26 August
	R26
	R27
10	R28	Oulton Park (Fosters Circuit, Cheshire)	8 September
	R29
	R30

Results

Round		Circuit	Pole position	Fastest lap	Winning driver	Winning team	Winning independent	Report
1	R1	Donington Park	Johannes Meles	Mike Bell	Mike Bell	Williams Renault Dealer Team	Diego Flores	Report
	R2			Jake Black	Lorenzo Turri	Vauxhall Sport	Henry Williams
	R3			Johannes Meles	Daniel Hurlock	Williams Renault Dealer Team	Henry Williams
2	R4	Brands Hatch	Daniel Hurlock	Jake Black	Johannes Meles	Audi Sport UK	Henry Williams	Report
	R5			Lorenzo Turri	Lorenzo Turri	Vauxhall Sport	Diego Flores
	R6			Johannes Meles	Chris English	Valvoline Team Mondeo with Reynard	Henry Williams
3	R7	Thruxton	Daniel Hurlock	Daniel Hurlock	Johannes Meles	Audi Sport UK	Henry Williams	Report
	R8			Johannes Meles	Mike Bell	Williams Renault Dealer Team	Henry Williams
	R9			Lorenzo Turri	Kris Simton	Honda Team MSD	Henry Williams
4	R10	Silverstone	Daniel Hurlock	Johannes Meles	Johannes Meles	Audi Sport UK	David Todaro	Report
	R11			Jake Black	Jake Black	Audi Sport UK	David Todaro
	R12			David Osborne	David Osborne	Total Team Peugeot	Halil Sahin
5	R13	Oulton Park	Daniel Hurlock	Johannes Meles	Johannes Meles	Audi Sport UK	N/A	Report
	R14				Daniel Hurlock	Williams Renault Dealer Team	Henry Williams
	R15			Cancelled	Cancelled	Cancelled	Cancelled
6	R16	Snetterton	Lorenzo Turri	Lorenzo Turri	Johannes Meles	Audi Sport UK	David Todaro	Report
	R17			Johannes Meles	David Osborne	Total Team Peugeot	David Todaro
	R18			Daniel Hurlock	Daniel Hurlock	Williams Renault Dealer Team	David Todaro
7	R19	Brands Hatch	Lorenzo Turri	Johannes Meles	Johannes Meles	Audi Sport UK	Henry Williams	Report
	R20			Johannes Meles	Jake Black	Audi Sport UK	Henry Williams
	R21			Daniel Hurlock	Daniel Hurlock	Williams Renault Dealer Team	Henry Williams
8	R22	Knockhill	Jake Black	Johannes Meles	Johannes Meles	Audi Sport UK	Henry Williams	Report
	R23			Johannes Meles	Kris Simton	Honda Team MSD	Christopher Marnell
	R24			David Osborne	Johannes Meles	Audi Sport UK	Christopher Marnell
9	R25	Silverstone	Johannes Meles	David Osborne	Johannes Meles	Audi Sport UK	Tom Gill	Report
	R26			David Osborne	Kris Simton	Honda Team MSD	Christopher Marnell
	R27			David Osborne	Jake Black	Audi Sport UK	Christopher Marnell
10	R28	Oulton Park	Daniel Hurlock	Daniel Hurlock	Johannes Meles	Audi Sport UK	Tom Gill	Report
	R29			Lorenzo Turri	Lorenzo Turri	Vauxhall Sport	Henry Williams
	R30			Jake Black	Johannes Meles	Audi Sport UK	Christopher Marnell

Championship standings

Points system

Points system
1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	11th	12th	13th	14th	15th	Pole Position	Led a lap
18	16	14	12	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1	1	1

Independent points are awarded to the top fifteen drivers in each race as follows:

Points system
1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	11th	12th	13th	14th	15th
18	16	14	12	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1

Driver's Championship

Pos	Team	Driver	DON			BRH			THR			SIL			OUL			SNE			BRH			KNO			SIL			OUL			Pts
1	Audi Sport UK	Johannes Meles	2	4	3	1	3	2	1	2	9	1	4	4	1	3	C	1	4	4	1	2	6	1	7	1	1	2	3	1	4	1	446
2	Williams Renault Dealer Team	Daniel Hurlock	5	6	1	2	2	4	2	4	2	2	3	3	3	1	C	3	5	1	3	7	1	2	4	5	2	5	5	2	3	4	416
3	Vauxhall Sport	Lorenzo Turri	3	1	2	3	1	3	3	6	3	3	5	2	2	2	C	2	3	3	2	3	5	3	5	RET				14	1	3	355
4	Honda Team MSD	Kris Simton	8	8	7	8	4	8	RET	11	1	5	6	8	5	9	C	4	6	2	6	6	3	6	1	8	5	1	9	4	6	5	304
5	Volvo 850 Racing	Chris Pimm	7	7	11	5	6	5	4	10	4	7	2	7	7	8	C	5	2	5	5	4	4	5	6	7	3	6	4	5	7	8	302
6	Audi Sport UK	Jake Black	4	5	5	4	RET	DNS				4	1	5			C				4	1	8	4	3	6	4	7	1	3	5	2	249
7	Total Team Peugeot	David Osborne	RET	13	9	7	9	7	RET	82	9	6	8	1	4	DNS	C	7	1	7	7	8	2	7	12	2	6	9	2	13	RET	12	242
8	Valvoline Team Mondeo with Reynard	Michael Sneath	9	10	12	11	7	11	6	72	12	8	7	6	6	4	C	6	7	6	8	5	9	9	9	10	9	3	10	6	10	10	232
9	Mint Motorsport	Henry Williams	11	11	8	9	10	6	7	5	5				RET	7	C	10	RET		10	11	7	8	8	4	8	10	8	11	2	11	184
10	Honda Team MSD	Emile Taylor	12	9	13	10	11	10	11	12	10	9	9	9			C				9	9	10	RET	10	9	DNS	DNS	6	9	8	RET	125
11	Valvoline Team Mondeo with Reynard	Chris English	6	3	4	6	5	1	5	3	8						C																111
12	Volvo 850 Racing	Sam Mumby	13	15	15	13	12	12	12	14	RET	RET	RET	DNS	9	6	C				DNS	10	RET	10	11	RET	11	12	12	12	12	13	96
13	ProMotor Sport	Christopher Marnell															C							11	2	3	10	4	9	10	9	6	87
14	Williams Renault Dealer Team	Mike Bell	1	2	6				9	1	6						C																81
15	Vauxhall Sport	Cosmo Marsh	RET	DNS	DNS				8	9	11	10	10	DNS	8	5	C	8	8	DNS													67
16	Rouse Sport	David Todaro							DNS	RET	13	11	11	DNS			C	9	9	8				RET	DNS	DNS	RET	RET	RET	8	11	7	59
17	Rouse Sport	Diego Flores	10	13	10	12	8	9	10	13	15						C																46
18	TOM's Team Brookes	Halil Sahin	14	14	DSQ1	RET	RET	DNS	13	15	14	12	12	10			C										12	11	11	DSQ3	RET	RET	37
19	Team Dynamics	Tom Gill															C										7	8	RET	7	RET	9	33
NC	BMW Team Schnitzer	Beth Stibbles															C										RET	DNS	DNS				-

1. Halil Sahin handed race disqualification (at the loss of 2 championship points) for dive resulting in Mike Bell rolling his car.
2. Positions reversed for David Osborne and Michael Sneath.
3. Halil Sahin handed race disqualification (at the loss of 2 championship points) for poor on-track behaviour resulting in Daniel Hurlock having his race ruined.

Manufacturer Driver's Championship

Pos	Team	Driver	DON			BRH			THR			SIL			OUL			SNE			BRH			KNO			SIL			OUL			Pts
1	Audi Sport UK	Johannes Meles	2	4	3	1	3	2	1	2	9	1	4	4	1	3	C	1	4	4	1	2	6	1	7	1	1	2	3	1	4	1	446
2	Williams Renault Dealer Team	Daniel Hurlock	5	6	1	2	2	4	2	4	2	2	3	3	3	1	C	3	5	1	3	7	1	2	4	5	2	5	5	2	3	4	416
3	Vauxhall Sport	Lorenzo Turri	3	1	2	3	1	3	3	6	3	3	5	2	2	2	C	2	3	3	2	3	5	3	5	RET				14	1	3	355
4	Honda Team MSD	Kris Simton	8	8	7	8	4	8	RET	11	1	5	6	8	5	9	C	4	6	2	6	6	3	6	1	8	5	1	9	4	6	5	304
5	Volvo 850 Racing	Chris Pimm	7	7	11	5	6	5	4	10	4	7	2	7	7	8	C	5	2	5	5	4	4	5	6	7	3	6	4	5	7	8	302
6	Audi Sport UK	Jake Black	4	5	5	4	RET	DNS				4	1	5			C				4	1	8	4	3	6	4	7	1	3	5	2	249
7	Total Team Peugeot	David Osborne	RET	13	9	7	9	7	RET	82	9	6	8	1	4	DNS	C	7	1	7	7	8	2	7	12	2	6	9	2	13	RET	12	242
8	Valvoline Team Mondeo with Reynard	Michael Sneath	9	10	12	11	7	11	6	72	12	8	7	6	6	4	C	6	7	6	8	5	9	9	9	10	9	3	10	6	10	10	232
9	Honda Team MSD	Emile Taylor	12	9	13	10	11	10	11	12	10	9	9	9			C				9	9	10	RET	10	9	DNS	DNS	6	9	8	RET	125
10	Valvoline Team Mondeo with Reynard	Chris English	6	3	4	6	5	1	5	3	8						C																111
11	Volvo 850 Racing	Sam Mumby	13	15	15	13	12	12	12	14	RET	RET	RET	DNS	9	6	C				DNS	10	RET	10	11	RET	11	12	12	12	12	13	96
12	Williams Renault Dealer Team	Mike Bell	1	2	6				9	1	6						C																81
13	Vauxhall Sport	Cosmo Marsh	RET	DNS	DNS				8	9	11	10	10	DNS	8	5	C	8	8	DNS													67
NC	BMW Team Schnitzer	Beth Stibbles															C										RET	DNS	DNS				-

1. Positions reversed for David Osborne and Michael Sneath.

Independent Driver's Championship

Pos	Team	Driver	DON			BRH			THR			SIL			OUL			SNE			BRH			KNO			SIL			OUL			Pts
1	Mint Motorsport	Henry Williams	11	11	8	9	10	6	7	5	5				RET	7	C	10	RET	DNS	10	11	7	8	8	4	8	10	8	11	2	11	384
2	TOM's Team Brookes	Halil Sahin	14	14	DSQ1	RET	RET	DNS	14	14	14	12	12	10			C										12	11	11	DSQ2	RET	RET	170
3	Rouse Sport	David Todaro							DNS	RET	13	11	11	DNS			C	9	9	8				RET	DNS	DNS	RET	RET	RET	8	11	7	152
4	ProMotor Sport	Christopher Marnell															C							11	2	3	10	4	7	10	9	6	150
5	Rouse Sport	Diego Flores	10	13	10	12	8	9	10	13	15						C																144
6	Team Dynamics	Tom Gill															C										7	8	RET	7	RET	9	66

1. Halil Sahin handed race disqualification (at the loss of 2 championship points) for dive resulting in Mike Bell rolling his car.
2. Halil Sahin handed race disqualification (at the loss of 2 championship points) for poor on-track behaviour resulting in Daniel Hurlock having his race ruined.

Team's Championship

Pos	Manufacturer/Team	Driver	DON			BRH			THR			SIL			OUL			SNE			BRH			KNO			SIL			OUL			Pts
1	Audi Sport Team UK	Jake Black	4	5	5	4	RET	DNS				4	1	5			C				4	1	8	4	3	6	4	7	1	3	5	2	695
		Johannes Meles	2	4	3	1	3	2	1	2	9	1	4	4	1	3	C	1	4	4	1	2	6	1	7	1	1	2	3	1	4	1
2	Williams Renault Dealer Team	Daniel Hurlock	5	6	1	2	2	4	2	4	2	2	3	3	3	1	C	3	5	1	3	7	1	2	4	5	2	5	5	2	3	4	497
		Mike Bell	1	2	6				9	1	6						C
3	Honda Team MSD	Kris Simton	8	8	7	8	4	8	RET	11	1	5	6	8	5	9	C	4	6	2	6	6	3	6	1	8	5	1	9	4	6	5	429
		Emile Taylor	12	9	13	10	11	10	11	12	10	9	9	9			C				9	9	10	RET	10	9	DNS	DNS	6	9	8	RET
4	Vauxhall Sport	Cosmo Marsh	RET	DNS	DNS				8	9	11	10	10	DNS	8	5	C	8	8	DNS													422
		Lorenzo Turri	3	1	2	3	1	3	3	6	3	3	5	2	2	2	C	2	3	3	2	3	5	3	5	RET				14	1	3
5	Volvo 850 Racing	Sam Mumby	13	15	15	13	12	12	12	14	RET	RET	RET	DNS	9	6	C				DNS	10	RET	10	11	RET	11	12	12	12	12	13	398
		Chris Pimm	7	7	11	5	6	5	4	10	4	7	2	7	7	8	C	5	2	5	5	4	4	5	6	7	3	6	4	5	7	8
6	Valvoline Team Mondeo with Reynard	Michael Sneath	9	10	12	11	7	11	6	71	12	8	7	6	6	4	C	6	7	6	8	5	9	9	9	10	9	3	10	6	10	10	343
		Chris English	6	3	4	6	5	1	5	3	8						C

1. Positions reversed for David Osborne and Michael Sneath.