1996 Australian Touring Car Championship

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 Cup winner David Attard did not defend his crown

The following teams and drivers competed in the 1996 Australian Touring Car Championship:

Race calendar

The championship was contested over a ten-round series with three races per round.

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

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Auto Action Privateers Cup

References

References

1. Specific Conditions, 1996 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, page 7-10
2. Specifications, 1996 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, page 7-72
3. Records, Titles & Awards, 2002 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, page 14-7
4. Official Programme, Round 9, Shell Australian Touring Car Championship, Mallala, 2 June 1996
5. Tracking the Shell Series, Official Programme, Round 9, Shell Australian Touring Car Championship, Mallala, 2 June 1996, pages 91-96
6. Pointing the Way, Official Programme, Round 9, Shell Australian Touring Car Championship, Mallala, 2 June 1996, page 88
7. 1996 Championship Results, Motor Racing Australia No 25, January / February 1997, page 84