1996 International Touring Car Championship

Motorsports championship season Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft International Touring Car Championship 1996 2000 2000 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Support series:German Formula Three The 1996 International Touring Car Championship was the thirteenth season of premier German touring car championship and also only first and final season under the moniker of International Touring Car Championship. It was for FIA Class 1 Touring Cars and it was contested by Mercedes-Benz, Alfa Romeo and Opel. It was formed of the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft series that ran both a short German & International-based series in 1995. These were fused together to form the International Touring Car Championship (abbreviated to ITC). The eventual champion was Manuel Reuter driving an Opel Calibra, and Opel won the manufacturer's championship. Season summary thumb|200px|Alfa Romeo 155 V6 TI of Nicola Larini The Class 1 rules made sure that all cars had a pure-bred 2,5 L V6 racing engine, lots of electronics, and few things in common with the road cars, except Mercedes sticking to the standard RWD layout while the other two implemented AWD drivetrains. All three manufacturers were relatively equally-matched and competitive all season, with Opel's other winning drivers besides Reuter being the experienced Hans-Joachim Stuck, who took a double victory in Helsinki, and 1994 champion Klaus Ludwig who repeated the feat at Norisring. Alfa Romeo came second to Opel in the standings, with former Benetton Formula One driver Alessandro Nannini taking a convincing seven victories, including four-in-a-row midseason, to place third in the championship. Team-mate and compatriot Nicola Larini could manage just two wins late in a season blighted with retirements, meaning the Ferrari test driver would not be a feature in the title battle. Mercedes-Benz may have finished third and last in the constructors standings, but were every bit as competitive as their two rivals. Reigning DTM & ITC champion Bernd Schneider racked up four wins, including a double at Diepholz, en route to second in the championship, though 1995's DTM runner-up Jörg van Ommen scored a solitary win in a lacklustre campaign. Their junior team-mates – future Stewart driver Jan Magnussen and IndyCar Series star to-be Dario Franchitti – also scored a win apiece in the first and last rounds of the series respectively. This meant the Scot placed a creditable fourth in the standings, whilst the Dane's mid-season defection to CART along with a number of retirements served to prevent him from challenging for the title. Others who impressed but failed to win a race included sometime Benetton and Sauber driver JJ Lehto for Opel, young Italian Giancarlo Fisichella, who combined an assured sophomore tin-top season for Alfa Romeo with a part-season for the Minardi F1 team, and former Porsche Supercup champion Uwe Alzen who completed the championship top ten by finishing in eighth for Opel. Looking further down the field, ex-Tyrrell and Jordan F1 driver Stefano Modena endured an average season with Alfa Romeo, whilst fellow Alfa Romeo driver and former BTCC champion Gabriele Tarquini suffered from appalling luck which severely hampered his title tilt despite taking a convincing victory at Silverstone. Christian Danner also disappointed for Alfa Romeo, whilst the respective team-mates of Reuter and Schneider – Le Mans winner Yannick Dalmas and former DTM champion Kurt Thiim – curiously also had torrid seasons. The latter was replaced at the end of the season, along with future F1 driver Alexander Wurz and Jason Watt, as all three manufacturers elected to enter a local driver each during the last two events at Interlagos and Suzuka. Among these, German F3 regular Max Wilson was the most impressive, the Brazilian finishing second on home turf at Interlagos. In the end, it was consistency that gifted Reuter the title – he scored points during the first fifteen races of the season, and only failed to do so six times all season. In comparison, Schneider failed to score nine times and Nannini twelve, despite both taking more wins with four and seven respectively as opposed to Reuter's three. Despite boasting a tremendously strong driver line-up, consisting largely of former F1 drivers, ostensibly robust manufacturer support, and focus on well-balanced Class 1 rules with fast touring cars powered by high revving engines, the series suffered from poor media exposure and television coverage. In Germany, the success of Michael Schumacher had drawn attention and money towards Formula 1, which along with lacklustre spectator attendance figures meant there was comparatively little money coming into the series in comparison to the huge cost of running a 'Class 1' touring car. The series had moved away from popular German race tracks, like the Nürburgring Nordschleife, to venues abroad. This was exacerbated by two long intercontinental journeys to Interlagos and Suzuka, circuits located in countries where some of the competing road car models weren't actually sold. This meant that Alfa Romeo and Opel announced in September they would pull out at the end of the series, despite having hitherto committed themselves to compete until the end of 1997, and driven up costs with the use of 4x4. With Mercedes-Benz the only manufacturer remaining committed for 1997, the series was cancelled. AMG-Mercedes quickly shifted to the new FIA GT series and developed the Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR in only 128 days, winning the series in 1997 and 1998 and effectively killing it with dominance. It wouldn't be until 2000 that a high powered touring car championship was resurrected, albeit as the new DTM which was based firmly in Germany, using V8 powered race cars under bodyshells that looked like roadgoing 2-door coupes. Teams and drivers ManufacturerCarTeamNo. Car numberDriversRoundsMercedes-BenzMercedes-Benz C-ClassDEU D2 Mercedes-AMG1DEU Bernd SchneiderAll2GBR Dario FranchittiAllDEU Warsteiner Mercedes-AMG3DNK Jan Magnussen1–6, 9–13COL Juan Pablo Montoya7BRA Ricardo Zonta84DEU Alexander Grau1–6DEU Bernd Mayländer7–13DEU UPS Mercedes-AMG11DEU Jörg van OmmenAll12DNK Kurt Thiim1–11BRA Christian Fittipaldi12JPN Aguri Suzuki13DEU Persson Motorsport21DEU Ellen Lohr1–8DEU Alexander Grau9–1322DEU Bernd Mayländer1–6DEU Alexander Grau7–8DEU Ellen Lohr9–1337THA Ratanakul Prutirat6Alfa RomeoAlfa Romeo 155 V6 TI ITA Martini Alfa Corse5ITA Nicola LariniAll6ITA Alessandro NanniniAllITA JAS Motorsport Alfa Romeo9ITA Stefano ModenaAll18ITA Gabriele TarquiniAllITA Jägermeister JAS Motorsport Alfa Romeo10DEU Michael BartelsAllITA Bosch JAS Motorsport Alfa Romeo19DNK Jason Watt1–11BRA Max Wilson12JPN Naoki Hattori13ITA Giudici Motorsport13ITA Gianni Giudici1–5ITA TV Spielfilm Alfa Corse14ITA Giancarlo FisichellaAll15DEU Christian DannerAllOpelOpel Calibra V6 4×4 deDEU Joest Racing Opel7DEU Manuel ReuterAll8GBR Oliver Gavin1–10, 12–13JPN Masanori Sekiya1123DEU Volker Strycek824FRA Yannick DalmasAll25AUT Alexander Wurz1–11BRA Tony Kanaan12JPN Masanori Sekiya13DEU Zakspeed Team Opel16DEU Uwe AlzenAll17DEU Klaus Ludwig1–9, 11–13DEU Volker Strycek10DEU Team Rosberg Opel43FIN JJ LehtoAll44DEU Hans-Joachim StuckAllITA Giudici Motorsport13ITA Gianni Giudici6–8, 10–11 Schedule and results Round Country Circuit Date Pole position Fastest lap Winning driver Winning team Report 1 R1 DEU Germany Hockenheimring (Short Circuit) 14 April ITA Nicola Larini ITA Alessandro Nannini DEU Manuel Reuter Joest Racing Opel Report R2 DNK Jan Magnussen DNK Jan Magnussen Warsteiner Mercedes-AMG 2 R1 DEU Germany Nürburgring 12 May DEU Jörg van Ommen GBR Dario Franchitti DEU Jörg van Ommen UPS Mercedes-AMG Report R2 DEU Jörg van Ommen DEU Manuel Reuter Joest Racing Opel 3 R1 PRT Portugal Autódromo do Estoril 26 May ITA Alessandro Nannini ITA Alessandro Nannini ITA Alessandro Nannini Martini Alfa Corse Report R2 ITA Alessandro Nannini ITA Alessandro Nannini Martini Alfa Corse 4 R1 FIN Finland Helsinki Thunder 9 June DEU Hans-Joachim Stuck GBR Dario Franchitti DEU Hans-Joachim Stuck Team Rosberg Opel Report R2 DEU Hans-Joachim Stuck DEU Hans-Joachim Stuck Team Rosberg Opel 5 R1 DEU Germany Norisring 23 June DEU Uwe Alzen DEU Uwe Alzen DEU Klaus Ludwig Zakspeed Opel Report R2 DEU Uwe Alzen DEU Klaus Ludwig Zakspeed Opel 6 R1 DEU Germany Diepholz Airfield Circuit 7 July DEU Bernd Schneider DEU Bernd Schneider DEU Bernd Schneider D2 Mercedes-AMG Report R2 AUT Alexander Wurz DEU Bernd Schneider D2 Mercedes-AMG 7 R1 GBR Great Britain Silverstone Circuit 18 August DEU Klaus Ludwig ITA Alessandro Nannini DEU Klaus Ludwig Zakspeed Opel Report R2 ITA Gabriele Tarquini ITA Gabriele Tarquini JAS Motorsport Alfa Romeo 8 R1 DEU Germany Nürburgring 1 September ITA Alessandro Nannini ITA Alessandro Nannini ITA Alessandro Nannini Martini Alfa Corse Report R2 ITA Alessandro Nannini ITA Alessandro Nannini Martini Alfa Corse 9 R1 FRA France Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours 15 September ITA Nicola Larini ITA Giancarlo Fisichella ITA Alessandro Nannini Martini Alfa Corse Report R2 ITA Giancarlo Fisichella ITA Alessandro Nannini Martini Alfa Corse 10 R1 ITA Italy Mugello Circuit 29 September ITA Nicola Larini ITA Nicola Larini ITA Nicola Larini Martini Alfa Corse Report R2 DEU Bernd Schneider DEU Bernd Schneider D2 Mercedes-AMG 11 R1 DEU Germany Hockenheimring (GP Circuit) 13 October DEU Klaus Ludwig DEU Uwe Alzen DEU Klaus Ludwig Zakspeed Opel Report R2 DEU Manuel Reuter DEU Manuel Reuter Joest Racing Opel 12 R1 BRA Brazil Autódromo José Carlos Pace 27 October DEU Christian Danner ITA Alessandro Nannini ITA Alessandro Nannini Martini Alfa Corse Report R2 ITA Giancarlo Fisichella ITA Nicola Larini Martini Alfa Corse 13 R1 JPN Japan Suzuka Circuit 10 NovemberThe race in Japan was originally scheduled to be held at TI Circuit Aida on 4 August, but was moved to Suzuka and postponed to 10 November due to poor ticket sales.Sugaya Mitsuru ITC Japanese Round (TI Circuit Aida) canceled https://m-sugaya.jp/eng/jracing/itc0707.htm Japanese Racing News 12 October 2026 7 July 1996Sugaya Mitsuru Suzuka to host ITC Final Round https://m-sugaya.jp/eng/jracing/itc0628.htm Japanese Racing News 12 October 2026 28 June 1996 DEU Christian Danner DEU Christian Danner GBR Dario Franchitti D2 Mercedes-AMG Report R2 DEU Bernd Schneider DEU Bernd Schneider D2 Mercedes-AMG Drivers Championship standings Pos Driver HOC1DEU NÜR1DEU ESTPRT HELFIN NORDEU DIEDEU SILGBR NÜR2DEU MAGFRA MUGITA HOC2DEU INTBRA SUZJPN Pts 1 DEU Manuel Reuter 1 3 3 1 4 3 2 2 6 5 10 6 6 6 4 16 Ret DNS 18 7 2 1 4 4 13 14 218 2 DEU Bernd Schneider 4 2 4 6 11 12 16 Ret 9 6 1 1 16 5 2 2 Ret 8 2 1 14† Ret 5 14 3 1 205 3 ITA Alessandro Nannini 10 13EXEX 1 1 14 4 Ret Ret 6 Ret 17 11 1 1 1 1 11 Ret 6 Ret 1 5 10 5 180 4 GBR Dario Franchitti 3 4 2 8 9 10 17† DNS 5 Ret 2 2 21† 14 3 3 6 4 4 2 Ret 7 13 10 1 Ret 171 5 FIN JJ Lehto 15 Ret 5 2 16 Ret 5 3 4 3 7 Ret 5 2 7 5 5 3 9 15† 5 8 6 9 Ret 8 148 6 ITA Giancarlo Fisichella 7 10EXEX 2 5 12 5 11 Ret 3 Ret Ret 9 5 4 3 2 3 13 12 5 12 16 4 2 139 7 DEU Klaus Ludwig Ret DNS Ret Ret 3 11 3 Ret 1 1 Ret Ret 1 Ret Ret 11 9 5 1 2 Ret Ret Ret 10 130 8 DEU Uwe Alzen 8 6 18 4 5 2 13 Ret 2 2 11 10 13 Ret 12 6 4 13 7 3 3 Ret Ret DNS 9 12 119 9 DEU Hans-Joachim Stuck 5 7 6 14† Ret 7 1 1 7 4 5 4 12 15 22† 12 7 Ret 5 16† 17† 9 7 Ret 18 18† 112 10 DNK Jan Magnussen 2 1 7 3 Ret Ret Ret DNS 17† DNS 16 Ret Ret Ret Ret 5 Ret 4 14 3 7 3 97 11 ITA Nicola Larini 11 12 Ret 7 Ret Ret Ret 6 Ret Ret Ret DNS 3 Ret 6 15 2 Ret 1 Ret Ret Ret Ret 1 6 6 95 12 ITA Stefano Modena Ret DNS 17 Ret DNS 9 7 Ret 3 13 4 3 4 Ret 13 10 13 7 Ret 14 Ret 10 2 8 5 4 92 13 DEU Jörg van Ommen Ret 9 1 13† 7 4 9 Ret 8 7 13 5 18 Ret 9 8 8 9 NC 8 8 3 15 6 14 13 87 14 ITA Gabriele Tarquini Ret DNS 10 5 Ret 14 Ret DNS Ret DNS 20 DNS 2 1 Ret 17 15† Ret 13 6 4 Ret Ret DNS DNS Ret 60 15 DEU Christian Danner 13 Ret 9 10 12 13 8 Ret Ret DNS 15 Ret 10 13 18 20 Ret DNS 12 Ret 7 6 3 Ret 2 7 48 16 AUT Alexander Wurz Ret Ret 12 DSQ 10 8 Ret 9 12 8 9 8 7 4 Ret DNS 10 6 6 9 Ret DNS 43 17 FRA Yannick Dalmas Ret 11 Ret DNS 8 Ret 6 Ret Ret DNS 12 7 9 7 8 7 Ret DNS 10 10 18† Ret 8 11 12 9 33 18 DNK Kurt Thiim 12 8 8 12† DNS DNS 18† Ret Ret Ret 14 11 Ret 10 10 Ret 11 10 8 4 10 Ret 23 19 BRA Max Wilson 9 2 17 20 DNK Jason Watt Ret Ret 13 9 15 DNS DNS DNS 15† DNS 22 12 8 3 14 Ret Ret 12 14 Ret Ret Ret 17 21 DEU Michael Bartels 14 14 11 Ret 18 Ret 4 Ret Ret DNS 8 Ret DSQ 8 15 14 Ret DNS 20 DNS 13 Ret Ret 17 15 17† 16 22 DEU Alexander Grau 6 5 Ret DNS 13 DNS Ret 10 13 10 18 Ret 15 Ret 17 18 14 11 15 11 Ret 12 17 12 17 15 16 23 GBR Oliver Gavin RetDNS 14 Ret 6 6 10† Ret 10 12 17 9 11 Ret 16 Ret 12 15 17 Ret 11 15 16 11 16 24 DEU Bernd Mayländer Ret Ret 16 Ret 14 Ret 11 7 16† 11 19 14 14 Ret 11 9 RetDNS Ret Ret 9 Ret 16 7 8 Ret 15 25 DEU Ellen Lohr 9 Ret 15 11 Ret Ret 15 8 14 9 21 13 20 12 20 21 Ret 14 16 12 11 11 18† 13 21 Ret 7 26 BRA Christian Fittipaldi 10 Ret 1 27 JPN Aguri Suzuki 11DNS 0 28 JPN Masanori Sekiya 15 13 20DNS 0 29 BRA Ricardo Zonta Ret 13 0 30 ITA Gianni Giudici Ret 15 Ret DNS 17 15 19 NC Ret 14 Ret Ret 19 Ret 21 22 Ret Ret 16 Ret 0 31 JPN Naoki Hattori 19 16 0 32 DEU Volker Strycek 19 19 19 Ret 0 COL Juan Pablo Montoya Ret Ret 0 BRA Tony Kanaan Ret Ret 0 THA Ratanakul PrutiratThe DTM/ITC had a 105%-limit to qualify for a race. Prutirat was the only driver ever to be caught by this. DNQ DNQ 0 Pos Driver HOC1DEU NÜRDEU ESTPRT HELFIN NORDEU DIEDEU SILGBR NÜRDEU MAGFRA MUGITA HOC2DEU INTBRA SUZJPN PtsBold – Pole Italics – Fastest Lap † Drivers did not finish the race, but were classified as they completed over 90% of the race distance. Note: bold signifies pole position, italics signifies fastest lap. Grid order for race 2 was decided by the finishing order in race 1. Notes Points System: 20–15–12–10–8–6–4–3–2–1 for the Top 10 drivers in each race. No extra points awarded. Manufacturers Championship Standings Final placings in the 1996 FIA Touring Car International Championship for Manufacturers were:1996 FIA Touring Car International Championship for Manufacturers results Retrieved from web.archive.org on 24 December Pos Manufacturer HOC1DEU HOC2DEU NÜR1DEU NÜR2DEU EST1PRT EST2PRT HEL1FIN HEL2FIN NOR1DEU NOR2DEU DIE1DEU DIE2DEU SIL1GBR SIL2GBR NUR1DEU NUR2DEU MAG1FRA MAG2FRA MUG1ITA MUG2ITA HOC1DEU HOC2DEU INT1BRA INT2BRA SUZ1JPN SUZ2JPN Pts 1 Opel 1 3 3 1 3 2 1 1 1 1 5 4 1 2 4 5 4 3 5 3 1 1 4 4 9 8 349 2 Alfa Romeo 7 10 9 5 1 1 4 4 3 13 3 3 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 6 4 5 1 1 2 2 340 3 Mercedes-Benz 2 1 1 3 7 4 9 7 5 6 1 1 14 5 2 2 6 4 2 1 8 3 5 3 1 1 305 Pos Manufacturer HOC1DEU HOC2DEU NÜR1DEU NÜR2DEU EST1PRT EST2PRT HEL1FIN HEL2FIN NOR1DEU NOR2DEU DIE1DEU DIE2DEU SIL1GBR SIL2GBR NUR1DEU NUR2DEU MAG1FRA MAG2FRA MUG1ITA MUG2ITA HOC1DEU HOC2DEU INT1BRA INT2BRA SUZ1JPN SUZ2JPN Pts Notes References Bibliography Voigt Thomas 1996 Tourenwagen Story '96: Die Rennen, die Fahrer, die Technik German Sportverlag Berlin Berlin 978-3-328-00706-7 External links 1996 International Touring Car Championship standings from motorsport.com Category:Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters seasons Int Category:1996 International Touring Car Championship season