1996 British Touring Car Championship

The 1996 Auto Trader RAC British Touring Car Championship season marked the arrival of Audi to the sport with their four wheel drive A4s. The title was won by Frank Biela, with Swiss driver Alain Menu again finishing in second place and Swede Rickard Rydell in third.

Season review

After seeing the success that rivals BMW and Alfa Romeo has achieved in the series, and wanting to expand their successful touring car programme, Audi entered a works team for the season, headed up by Joest Racing's Frank Biela. Biela had won multiple touring car championships and the 1995 Touring Car World Cup for the Four Rings. The Audi A4 proved the class of the field from the get go, helped considerably by its four wheel drive system. This led to an argument between the manufacturers throughout the season, and a weight penalty was added to the Audis. It did not help much; Biela dominated the season and won the title before the last round of the year.

Renault were seen as the team to beat before the start of the year, with Alain Menu title favourite. The Laguna however was totally outclassed by the Audi A4 and Menu would finish a distant runner up to Biela. Will Hoy endured a tough season and joined Ford for the following year.

Volvo developed the 850 further, allowing Rickard Rydell to challenge for wins throughout the year, but as was the case with Renault, Volvo were left in Audi's wake and Rydell was pipped to the runner-up spot by Menu in the final round of the season. His new team-mate Kelvin Burt snatched a single victory, but also suffered a huge accident at Oulton Park.

Vauxhall retained their title winning driver line up of John Cleland and James Thompson driving the new Vectra. The new car had a difficult development and was not as mechanically suited to racing as the Cavalier was. Thompson took the team's only win of the season, while Cleland would only finish 8th in the driver's championship.

Ford switched from Andy Rouse to West Surrey Racing to run the Mondeo in cooperation with race car engineering specialist Reynard. There was a great deal of expectation that at last the Mondeo would come good, but alas the season was not a success. No wins or podiums were scored, and the cars were unreliable. Paul Radisich suffered 13 retirements in 24 races while his new team-mate Steve Robertson scored just one point all season.

Honda continued their promise of 1995, with David Leslie scoring three wins during the season, including the British Grand Prix support race.

After a disappointing 1995, BMW factory outfit Team Schnitzer returned to the series with 1993 champion Joachim Winkelhock and multiple touring car title winner Roberto Ravaglia leading the team, with Peter Kox running in a third car in selected races. Winkelhock took several wins during the year and was Biela's most consistent rival, while Ravaglia became involved in some contentious moments with Radisich and Menu throughout the season.

Peugeot replaced the 405 with the 406, but Tim Harvey and Patrick Watts struggled to make it work.

Toyota downsized to a single car after several seasons of increasing uncompetitiveness. Lee Brookes ran effectively a privateer team with limited manufacturer support, but managed to win the Independents Championship with the venerable Carina.

Having been dropped by Ford, Andy Rouse ran a semi-works Nissan team, running Primeras for Gary Ayles and Owen McAuley, but results were limited.

Team Dynamics attempted an ambitious project of developing their own Ford Mondeo for Matt Neal and Robb Gravett, but the project proved expensive and neither driver could challenge for the Independent crown.

Entry List

BTCC

Team	Car	No.	Drivers	Rounds
Manufacturers
Vauxhall Sport	Vauxhall Vectra	1	John Cleland	All
		7	James Thompson	All
Williams Renault Dealer Racing	Renault Laguna	2	Alain Menu	All
		4	Will Hoy	All
Volvo 850 Racing	Volvo 850 20v	3	Rickard Rydell	All
		8	Kelvin Burt	1–5, 7–13
Total Team Peugeot	Peugeot 406	5	Tim Harvey	All
		10	Patrick Watts	All
Valvoline Team Mondeo with Reynard	Ford Mondeo	6	Paul Radisich	All
		16	Steve Robertson	All
Honda Team MSD	Honda Accord	11	David Leslie	All
		12	James Kaye	All
BMW Team Schnitzer	BMW 320i	20	Peter Kox	11–13
		21	Roberto Ravaglia	All
		22	Joachim Winkelhock	All
Audi Sport UK	Audi A4 quattro	44	John Bintcliffe	All
		45	Frank Biela	All
Semi-Works
Rouse Sport	Nissan Primera eGT	14	Gary Ayles	1–9, 11–13
		15	Owen McAuley	1–8
			Jamie Spence	13
Independents
TOM's Team Brookes	Toyota Carina E	17	Lee Brookes	All
ProMotor Sport	Vauxhall Cavalier	18	Ian Heward	2, 10–12
Mint Motorsport	Vauxhall Cavalier	23	Richard Kaye	All
Team Dynamics	Ford Mondeo Si	27	Robb Gravett	1–5, 8–9
		77	Matt Neal	2–4, 6, 8–13

• Rouse Sport were neither a works nor an independent entry.

RAC Tourist Trophy

Team Car No. Drivers Manufacturers Williams Renault Dealer Racing Renault Laguna 2 Alain Menu 9 Will Hoy BMW Team Schnitzer BMW 320i 5 Joachim Winkelhock Audi Sport UK Audi A4 quattro 7 John Bintcliffe Vauxhall Sport Vauxhall Vectra 8 John Cleland 28 Jan Brunstedt Volvo 850 Racing Volvo 850 20v 11 Kelvin Burt Honda Team Linder Honda Accord 14 Marco Werner 24 James Kaye Valvoline Team Mondeo Ford Mondeo 15 Warren Hughes Total Team Peugeot Peugeot 406 16 Tim Harvey Independents Yap Motorsport Honda Accord 12 Eugene O'Brien ProMotor Sport Vauxhall Cavalier 18 Ian Heward Mint Motorsport Vauxhall Cavalier 23 Hamish Irvine Race calendar and results All races were held in the United Kingdom. Round Circuit Date Pole Position Fastest Lap Winning Driver Winning Team Winning Independent 1 R1 Donington Park (GP), Leicestershire 8 April Rickard Rydell Frank Biela Frank Biela Audi Sport UK Robb Gravett R2 Frank Biela Frank Biela Frank Biela Audi Sport UK Richard Kaye 2 R3 Brands Hatch (Indy), Kent 21 April Alain Menu Alain Menu Rickard Rydell Frank Biela Audi Sport UK Richard Kaye R4 Joachim Winkelhock Joachim Winkelhock Joachim Winkelhock BMW Team Schnitzer Richard Kaye 3 R5 Thruxton Circuit, Hampshire 6 May Frank Biela Frank Biela Frank Biela Audi Sport UK Lee Brookes R6 Joachim Winkelhock Joachim Winkelhock Joachim Winkelhock BMW Team Schnitzer Lee Brookes 4 R7 Silverstone Circuit (International), Northamptonshire 19 May Roberto Ravaglia Kelvin Burt Kelvin Burt Volvo 850 Racing Richard Kaye R8 Frank Biela Joachim Winkelhock Frank Biela Audi Sport UK Richard Kaye 5 R9 Oulton Park (International), Cheshire 27 May Frank Biela Joachim Winkelhock Joachim Winkelhock BMW Team Schnitzer Richard Kaye R10 Frank Biela Rickard Rydell Rickard Rydell Volvo 850 Racing Lee Brookes 6 R11 Snetterton Circuit, Norfolk 16 June Joachim Winkelhock Joachim Winkelhock James Thompson Vauxhall Sport Richard Kaye R12 Joachim Winkelhock Rickard Rydell Joachim Winkelhock BMW Team Schnitzer Richard Kaye 7 R13 Brands Hatch (GP), Kent 30 June Alain Menu Alain Menu Alain Menu Williams Renault Dealer Racing Lee Brookes R14 Alain Menu Alain Menu Alain Menu Williams Renault Dealer Racing Richard Kaye 8 R15 Silverstone Circuit (GP), Northamptonshire 14 July David Leslie Frank Biela Roberto Ravaglia BMW Team Schnitzer Richard Kaye R16 David Leslie Rickard Rydell David Leslie Honda Team MSD Richard Kaye 9 R17 Knockhill Racing Circuit, Fife 28 July Rickard Rydell Frank Biela Frank Biela Audi Sport UK Richard Kaye R18 Rickard Rydell John Bintcliffe Rickard Rydell Volvo 850 Racing Matt Neal 10 R19 Oulton Park (Fosters), Cheshire 11 August David Leslie Frank Biela Alain Menu Williams Renault Dealer Racing Richard Kaye R20 Frank Biela Frank Biela Frank Biela Audi Sport UK Richard Kaye 11 R21 Thruxton Circuit, Hampshire 26 August Alain Menu David Leslie David Leslie Honda Team MSD Lee Brookes R22 Joachim Winkelhock Peter Kox Rickard Rydell Volvo 850 Racing Richard Kaye 12 R23 Donington Park (GP), Leicestershire 8 September Rickard Rydell Rickard Rydell Rickard Rydell Volvo 850 Racing Richard Kaye R24 Rickard Rydell Joachim Winkelhock David Leslie Honda Team MSD Lee Brookes 13 R25 Brands Hatch (Indy), Kent 22 September Joachim Winkelhock Peter Kox Alain Menu Williams Renault Dealer Racing Matt Neal R26 Joachim Winkelhock Peter Kox Frank Biela Audi Sport UK Matt Neal Championships Drivers Championship Note: bold signifies pole position (1 point awarded all races), italics signifies fastest lap. Points system  1st   2nd   3rd   4th   5th   6th   7th   8th   9th   10th  Pole Position 15 12 10 8 6 5 4 3 2 1 1 Pos Driver DON BHI THR SIL OUL SNE BHGP SIL KNO OUL THR DON BHI Pts 1 Frank Biela 1 1 1 4 1 3 11 1 2 2 2 DSQ 2 8 3 2 1 2 2 1 2 3 4 3 4 1 289 2 Alain Menu 3 Ret 2 2 Ret DNS 5 4 5 4 Ret 3 1 1 6 5 9 Ret 1 3 Ret 4 3 2 1 4 197 3 Rickard Rydell Ret 3 4 3 3 8 4 5 4 1 Ret 5 3 12 2 4 4 1 5 Ret 3 1 1 Ret 5 Ret 194 4 David Leslie Ret Ret 10 Ret 8 5 3 9 8 7 9 Ret 5 7 4 1 6 7 3 2 1 8 2 1 3 5 159 5 Joachim Winkelhock 8 13 3 1 12 1 Ret Ret 1 Ret 5 1 6 2 5 Ret 5 5 6 4 Ret 6 7 6 DNS 3 158 6 Roberto Ravaglia 7 7 6 6 6 2 2 2 7 5 Ret Ret 9 Ret 1 3 3 3 9 5 4 5 Ret 5 NC 2 157 7 John Bintcliffe 6 4 16 5 2 7 7 3 3 3 6 6 11 13 11 10 2 4 Ret 9 6 11 8 13 9 10 113 8 John Cleland 5 6 7 Ret 4 4 10 Ret Ret 9 3 2 10 4 10 Ret Ret 6 7 7 5 7 6 8 6 Ret 102 9 Will Hoy 2 2 17 DSQ 5 15 8 Ret Ret 6 7 9 4 3 9 6 10 11 4 Ret Ret 19 5 4 8 Ret 95 10 James Thompson 10 Ret Ret 7 7 6 6 6 17 Ret 1 4 7 5 8 7 Ret Ret Ret 6 Ret 2 Ret 9 DNS DNS 83 11 Kelvin Burt 4 5 Ret Ret DSQ 13 1 Ret 6 DNS 8 6 7 8 Ret 10 8 8 Ret 17 9 12 7 7 66 12 James Kaye 9 10 9 11 Ret 9 9 8 13 Ret Ret 7 Ret 14 Ret 11 8 8 10 10 8 9 Ret 10 DNS 8 33 13 Paul Radisich Ret 8 5 8 Ret Ret Ret 7 Ret Ret Ret 8 Ret 11 Ret 9 7 9 Ret 11 Ret Ret 17 11 Ret Ret 27 14 Peter Kox 7 10 12 7 2 6 26 15 Tim Harvey 11 9 Ret 9 Ret Ret 13 Ret Ret 8 4 Ret Ret 9 Ret 13 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 12 10 14 13 9 20 16 Patrick Watts Ret Ret 8 10 Ret 10 12 Ret 11 11 Ret 12 Ret 15 Ret Ret Ret DNS Ret DNS Ret Ret Ret Ret 10 11 6 17 Richard Kaye 15 14 14 14 DNS NC 14 10 9 Ret 8 11 DSQ 16 12 14 11 15 11 13 DNS 15 13 16 DNS DNS 6 18 Owen McAuley 14 12 13 DNS 9 11 16 Ret 15 10 11 Ret 14 Ret Ret Ret 3 19 Lee Brookes 13 15 15 Ret 10 12 18 11 14 14 12 13 13 18 14 16 13 14 12 15 9 16 15 15 14 14 3 20 Steve Robertson Ret DNS 12 12 Ret Ret Ret 13 10 13 13 10 12 17 Ret 12 12 12 Ret 12 Ret 14 16 17 DNS DNS 2 21 Gary Ayles Ret 11 11 13 DNS DNS 15 12 12 12 10 14 Ret 10 13 15 Ret DNS 11 13 11 Ret DNS 12 2 22 Matt Neal Ret 16 11 Ret 17 Ret Ret DNS Ret 17 14 13 13 14 10 18 14 Ret 12 13 1 23 Jamie Spence 11 Ret 0 24 Robb Gravett 12 Ret Ret 15 13 14 19 Ret 16 15 Ret 18 15 16 0 25 Ian Heward DNS DNS DNS DNS 12 Ret 18 18 0 Pos Driver DON BHI THR SIL OUL SNE BHGP SIL KNO OUL THR DON BHI Pts Privateers Championship Pos Driver DON BHI THR SIL OUL SNE BHGP SIL KNO OUL THR DON BHI Pts 1 Lee Brookes 13 15 15 Ret 10 12 18 11 14 14 12 13 13 18 14 16 13 14 12 15 9 16 15 15 14 14 312 2 Richard Kaye 15 14 14 14 DNS NC 14 10 9 Ret 8 11 DSQ 16 12 14 11 15 11 13 DNS 15 13 16 DNS DNS 272 3 Matt Neal Ret 16 11 Ret 17 Ret Ret DNS Ret 17 14 13 13 14 10 18 14 Ret 12 13 155 4 Robb Gravett 12 Ret Ret 15 13 14 19 Ret 16 15 Ret 18 15 16 103 5 Ian Heward DNS DNS DNS DNS 12 Ret 18 18 28 Pos Driver DON BHI THR SIL OUL SNE BHGP SIL KNO OUL THR DON BHI Pts

Colour Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Retired (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Withdrew (WD) Race cancelled (C) Blank Did not participate (DNP) Excluded (EX)

Manufacturers Championship

Teams Championship

External links

• BTCC Pages
• Touring-Cars.net