1996 Australian Drivers' Championship


The 1996 Australian Drivers' Championship was a motor racing competition open to drivers of 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 seconds at the start of the season but faded, dropping to fifth in the championship behind Adam Kaplan.

Teams and drivers

The following drivers competed in the 1996 Australian Drivers' Championship.
DriverNoCarEntrant
Paul Stokell1Reynard 91D HoldenBirrana Racing
Allan Galloway2Reynard 91D HoldenAllan Galloway
Geoff Fickling3Reynard 90D HoldenGraham Watson
Steven Johnson3Reynard 90D HoldenGraham Watson
Graham Watson3Reynard 90D HoldenGraham Watson
Bryan Hartley4Dome F102 HoldenBryan Hartley
Stan Keen5Shrike NB89H HoldenStan Keen
Graham Sims6Reynard 90D HoldenGraham Sims
Adam Kaplan7Reynard 91D HoldenAdam Kaplan
Dean Irwin8Ralt RT21 HoldenDean Irwin
Jason Bright9Reynard 91D HoldenBirrana Racing
Darren Edwards10Reynard 90D HoldenClem Smith
James Taylor11Reynard 91D HoldenKen Smith
Ken Smith11Reynard 92D HoldenKen Smith
Chas Talbot14March 87B HoldenChas Talbot
Roger Seward16Ralt RT23 HoldenRoger Seward
Arthur Abrahams19Reynard 92D HoldenArthur Abrahams
Stephen Cramp21Ralt RT23 HoldenStephen Cramp
Bob Minogue29Reynard 92D HoldenRA Minogue
Mark Webber30Reynard 91D HoldenGraham Watson
Owen Osborne34SPA 002 HoldenOwen Osborne
Sam Astuti47Reynard 92D HoldenSH Racing
Kevin Weeks70Reynard 91D HoldenKevin Weeks
Maurice O'Reilly71Reynard 91D HoldenKevin Weeks
Chris Hocking74Reynard 91D HoldenGL Knight & Assoc
Brian Sampson78Cheetah Mk. 9 HoldenBrian Sampson
Chas Jacobsen87Reynard 92D HoldenChas Jacobsen
Darren Pate99Reynard 90D HoldenAuz 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.CircuitLocation / StateDateWinner
R1/1Albert Park Street CircuitMelbourne, Victoria8 MarchPaul Stokell
R1/2Albert Park Street CircuitMelbourne, Victoria9 MarchMark Webber
R2/1Phillip Island Grand Prix CircuitPhillip Island, Victoria14 AprilPaul Stokell
R2/2Phillip Island Grand Prix CircuitPhillip Island, Victoria14 AprilPaul Stokell
R3/1Calder Park RacewayMelbourne, Victoria28 AprilJason Bright
R3/2Calder Park RacewayMelbourne, Victoria28 AprilJason Bright
R4/1Mallala Motor Sport ParkMallala, South Australia2 JunePaul Stokell
R4/2Mallala Motor Sport ParkMallala, South Australia2 JuneJason 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.

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