1996 Australian GT Production Car Championship

The 1996 Australian GT Production Car Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing title[1] for drivers of Group 3E Series Production Cars.[2] Organised and promoted by Procar Australia, it was the inaugural Australian GT Production Car Championship.

The championship was won by Cameron McConville driving a Porsche 911 RSCS.

## Calendar

[edit]

The championship was contested over an eight-round series with two races per round.

Round  | Circuit  | State  | Date

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1  | Amaroo Park | New South Wales | 18 May
2  | Lakeside | Queensland | 23 June
3  | Amaroo Park | New South Wales | 14 July
4  | Mallala | South Australia | 11 August
5  | Winton | Victoria | 25 August
6  | Phillip Island | Victoria | 22 September
7  | Lakeside | Queensland | 27 October
8  | Oran Park | New South Wales | 8 November

## Points system

[edit]

Outright championship points were awarded on a 15–12–10–8–6–5–4–3–2–1 basis to the top ten finishers in each race with a bonus point awarded to the driver setting pole position for each round. Class points were awarded on the same basis to the top ten class finishers in each race but with no bonus point for pole position.

## Championship standings

[edit]

Position[3] | Driver  | No  | Car  | Entrant  | Ama  | Lak  | Ama  | Mal  | Win  | Phi  | Lak  | Ora  | Total

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1  | Cameron McConville | 22  | Porsche 911 RSCS | Warwick Fabrics (Aust) P/L  | 23  | 18  | 20  | 28  | 18  | 27  | 31  | 31  | 196
2  | Jim Richards | 1  | Porsche 911 RSCS | Jim Richards  | 27  | 30  | 28  | 20  | 31  | 10  | 20  | 22  | 188
3  | Peter Fitzgerald  | 3  | Porsche 911 RSCS | Falken Tyres  | 20  | 20  | 27  | 27  | 25  | 25  | 20  | 18  | 182
4  | Jim Zerefos  | 5  | Lotus Esprit | Monarch Motor Imports  | 11  | 12  | 14  | 16  | 10  | 12  | 6  | 14  | 95
5  | John Bowe | 10  | Ferrari F355 Challenge | Positive Hype Pty Ltd  | 14  | 24  | 9  | –  | –  | –  | 13  | 19  | 79
6  | Chris Kousparis  | 6  | Mazda 626 | Nepean EFI  | 6  | 6  | 10  | 4  | 4  | 11  | 7  | 5  | 53
7  | Darren Palmer  | 15  | Subaru Impreza WRX | Ross Palmer Motorsport P/L  | –  | –  | 6  | 12  | 11  | –  | 13  | 10  | 52
8  | Murray Carter | 18  | Mazda 626 | Murray Carter  | 6  | 8  | 8  | 6  | 2  | 14  | –  | 5  | 49
9  | John Bourke  | 20  | Subaru Impreza WRX | John Bourke  | 9  | 10  | –  | –  | 14  | –  | –  | –  | 33
10  | Beric Lynton  | 23  | BMW 323i | Bruce Lynton BMW  | –  | 2  | 5  | 2  | 3  | 10  | –  | 5  | 27
11  | Peter Boylan  | 7  | Subaru Impreza WRX | Peter M Boylan  | –  | –  | –  | 8  | 8  | –  | 4  | 5  | 25
12  | Russell Paterson  | 37  | Porsche 968 CS | Russell Paterson  | –  | –  | 5  | 10  | 2  | –  | 3  | –  | 20
13  | Andrej Pavicevic | 11  | Suzuki Swift GTi | Andrej Pavicevic  | 3  | 3  | 1  | –  | 4  | 1  | 7  | –  | 19
14  | Terry Bosnjak  | 41  | Porsche 911 RSCS |  | 14  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | 14
15  | Chris Sexton  | 99  | Ford EF Falcon XR6 | Prodrive Racing  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | 9  | 3  | –  | 12
16  | John Cowley  | 2  | Ford EF Falcon XR6 | John Cowley  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | 7  | 2  | –  | 9
Denis Cribbin  | 33  | Holden VP Commodore SS | Denis Cribbin  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | 5  | 4  | –  | 9
18  | Tim Shaw  | 36  | Nissan Pulsar SSS | Tim Shaw  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | 3  | –  | –  | 3
19  | Paul Flottmann  | 44  | Nissan Pulsar SSS | Paul Flottmann  | –  | 1  | 1  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | 2
Ryan McLeod  | 43  | Suzuki Swift GTi | Ryan McLeod  | –  | –  | –  | –  | 1  | –  | 1  | –  | 2
21  | Ken Talbert  | 34  | Mazda 626 | Ken Talbert  | 1  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | 1
Nick Bacon  | 12  | Suzuki Swift GTi | Prodrive Racing  | –  | –  | –  | –  | 1  | –  | –  | –  | 1

### Class placings

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Position  | Driver  | No  | Car  | Entrant  | Total

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Class A : Super Cars
1  | Cameron McConville | 22  | Porsche 911 RSCS | Warwick Fabrics (Aust) P/L  | 193
2  | Jim Richards | 1  | Porsche 911 RSCS | Jim Richards  | 186
3  | Peter Fitzgerald  | 3  | Porsche 911 RSCS | Falken Tyres  | 179
4  | Jim Zerefos  | 5  | Lotus Esprit | Monarch Motor Imports  | 105
5  | John Bowe | 10  | Ferrari F355 Challenge | Positive Hype Pty Ltd  | 82
6  | Russell Paterson  | 37  | Porsche 968 CS | Russell Paterson  | 34
7  | Terry Bosnjak  |  | Porsche 911 RSCS |  | 12
Class B : High Performance Cars, 4WD and turbo
1  | John Bourke  | 20  | Subaru Impreza WRX | John Bourke  | 130
2  | Darren Palmer  | 15  | Subaru Impreza WRX | Ross Palmer Motorsport P/L  | 129
3  | Peter Boylan  | 7  | Subaru Impreza WRX | Peter M Boylan  | 101
Class C : Production Cars Over 2500cc
1  | Chris Sexton  | 99  | Ford EF Falcon XR6 | Prodrive Racing  | 192
2  | John Cowley  | 2  | Ford EF Falcon XR6 | John Cowley  | 156
3  | Denis Cribbin  | 33  | Holden VP Commodore SS | Denis Cribbin  | 154
4  | Ian McAlister  | 66  | Ford EB Falcon SS |  | 126
Class D : Production Cars 1851 – 2500cc
1  | Chris Kousparis  | 6  | Mazda 626 | Nepean EFI  | 212
2  | Murray Carter | 18  | Mazda 626 | Murray Carter  | 184
3  | Beric Lynton  | 23  | BMW 323i | Bruce Lynton BMW  | 120
4  | Paul Flottmann  | 44  | Nissan Pulsar SSS | Paul Flottmann  | 48
5  | Ken Talbert  | 34  | Mazda 626 | Ken Talbert  | 34
6  | Tim Shaw  | 36  | Nissan Pulsar SSS | Tim Shaw  | 29
7  | Jenni Thompson  |  |  |  | 24
8  | Alan Letcher  |  | Honda Civic VTi-R |  | 12
Class E : Production Cars 0–1850cc
1  | Andrej Pavicevic | 11  | Suzuki Swift GTi | Andrej Pavicevic  | 225
2  | Nick Bacon  | 12  | Suzuki Swift GTi | Prodrive Racing  | 154
3  | Ryan McLeod  | 43  | Suzuki Swift GTi | Ryan McLeod  | 132
4  | Damien White  | 13  | Suzuki Swift GTi | Skilled Engineering  | 88
5  | Carlos Rolfo  | 9  | Ford Laser TX3 | CR Motorsport  | 69
6  | Kevin Ledger  |  | Ford Laser TX3 |  | 22
7  | Darren Palmer  |  | Suzuki Swift GTi | Ross Palmer Motorsport P/L  | 18

## References

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1. ^ Australian Titles Retrieved from www.camsmanual.com.au on 20 January 2009
2. ^ The Series, www.gtprod.com.au, as archived at web.archive.org
3. ^ Procar Series Points Tables Retrieved from web.archive.org on 20 January 2009

## Further reading

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* CAMS Report, issue No 115, Autumn 1996, page 1
* Motor Racing Australia, January / February 1997, page 87
* Official Program, Mallala, 11 August 1996
* Procar results sheets for the 1996 Australian GT Production Car Championship
* Australian Auto Action, 17–23 May 1996
* Australian Auto Action, 21–27 June 1996
* Australian Auto Action, 18–24 July 1996, page 43
* Australian Auto Action, 15–21 August 1996, page 43
* Australian Auto Action, 23–29 August 1996,
* Australian Auto Action, 23–29 September 1996
* Australian Auto Action, 31 October – 6 November 1996, pages 42–43
* Australian Auto Action, 5–11 November 1996

## External links

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* Images from the 1996 Australian GT Production Car Championship, www.gtprod.com.au, as archived at web.archive.org