What: 1996 South African Super Touring Championship
Series: AA Fleetcare Super Touring
Model Families: A4, 80
Model / Generation Code(s): type 8D, R7, type 8C
Chassis / Matrix: B5, B4
Racecar Generation: R7
Class: Super Touring
Rounds: 10 meetings / 20 races
Season: 1996
Circuits: Kyalami, Aldo Scribante, Goldfields, Killarney, East London
Countries: South Africa
Driver Champion: Terry Moss
Champion’s Team: Audi Sport / Rothmans Audi
Winning Car: A4 quattro Super Touring #8
Winning Chassis: ST11
OVERVIEW
Terry Moss won the 1996 South African Super Touring Championship, leading an Audi one-two ahead of teammate Chris Aberdein. Moss finished with 93 points, three ahead of Aberdein, while BMW’s Shaun van der Linde placed third with 74.
The AA Fleetcare-sponsored championship comprised ten meetings and 20 races, beginning at Kyalami on March 9 and concluding at Killarney on September 7. Audi’s presence included two factory-backed A4 quattros and Hennie Groenewald’s privately entered Audi 80 quattro.
THE ROTHMANS AUDI TEAM
Moss drove the number 8 A4, identified by the Super Touring Register as ST11. Aberdein raced number 9, chassis ST07, previously campaigned by Hans-Joachim Stuck in the 1995 German STW series.
The Rothmans Audi program was managed by André van der Watt. Period coverage of its preparations for the Killarney finale describes testing focused on suspension setup, tire compounds and managing the cars’ weight disadvantage. Moss arrived at the final meeting leading Aberdein by nine points.
A TITLE DECIDED BETWEEN TEAMMATES
Moss recorded five victories, including both races at the May Kyalami meeting. Aberdein won seven, with doubles at the May and September Killarney meetings.
Aberdein’s two finale victories narrowed the championship gap, but Moss finished second in both races and retained the title by three points. Between them, the Audi drivers won 12 of the season’s 20 races.
AUDI 80 QUATTRO: GROENEWALD’S PRIVATEER ENTRY
Hennie Groenewald represented Audi’s preceding Super Touring generation, driving the number 12 Audi 80 quattro for Scanmo Mozambique. The register identifies his car as RT12, a 1994-built chassis previously raced by Frank Biela in Germany.
Groenewald finished tenth in the championship with 15 points. His strongest documented race result was second in the opening East London meeting’s second race, placing the older Audi 80 on the podium alongside the newer factory A4 program.
AUDI TEAMS & DRIVERS
| Team / Entrant | Car | No. | Driver | Entry | Chassis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audi Sport / Rothmans Audi | A4 quattro | 8 | 🇿🇦 Terry Moss | Factory-backed | ST11 |
| Audi Sport / Rothmans Audi | A4 quattro | 9 | 🇿🇦 Chris Aberdein | Factory-backed | ST07 |
| Scanmo Mozambique | 80 quattro | 12 | 🇿🇦 Hennie Groenewald | Privateer | RT12 |
RACE CALENDAR & AUDI RESULTS
Each result pair lists Race 1 followed by Race 2. Classifications follow the Super Touring Register.
| Date | Event | Circuit | Moss #8 | Aberdein #9 | Groenewald #12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 9, 1996 | 1 | Kyalami | 1st / 2nd | DNF / 1st | 9th / 9th |
| March 30, 1996 | 2 | Aldo Scribante / Port Elizabeth | 1st / 2nd | 2nd / 1st | 11th / 5th |
| April 20, 1996 | 3 | Goldfields | 7th / DNF | 3rd / DNF | 10th / 4th |
| May 4, 1996 | 4 | Kyalami | 1st / 1st | 3rd / 2nd | 11th / 8th |
| May 25, 1996 | 5 | Killarney | DNF / 2nd | 1st / 1st | 5th / DNS |
| June 15, 1996 | 6 | East London | 1st / 14th | 3rd / 5th | 7th / 2nd |
| June 29, 1996 | 7 | Kyalami | 5th / 4th | 7th / 9th | DNS / 10th |
| July 13, 1996 | 8 | Killarney | 2nd / 11th | 8th / 1st | 9th / 5th |
| August 3, 1996 | 9 | Kyalami | 6th / 2nd | 7th / 6th | 11th / 8th |
| September 7, 1996 | 10 | Killarney | 2nd / 2nd | 1st / 1st | DNS / DNS |
DRIVER STANDINGS (TOP 10)
| Pos. | Driver | Marque | Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Terry Moss | Audi | 93 |
| 2 | Chris Aberdein | Audi | 90 |
| 3 | Shaun van der Linde | BMW | 74 |
| 4 | Grant McCleery | Opel | 55 |
| 5 | Mike Briggs | Opel | 49 |
| 6 | Julian Bailey | Toyota | 39 |
| 7 | Deon Joubert | BMW | 33 |
| 8 | Craig Baird | BMW | 27 |
| 9 | Duncan Vos | Nissan | 19 |
| 10 | Hennie Groenewald | Audi | 15 |
PART OF AUDI’S INTERNATIONAL SWEEP
South Africa was one of seven countries in which the A4 quattro won a national touring car championship in 1996. Its importer-supported program complemented Audi’s campaigns in Britain, Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium and Australia.
The later Rainbow Cup International Super Touring Series brought additional international competition to South Africa. Those November and December races were separate from the national championship and are excluded from the calendar and victory totals above.
PHOTO GALLERY
SOURCES AND NOTES
- Season entries and calendar: 1996 South African Super Touring Championship — Super Touring Register.
- Annual results index: 1996 race results — Super Touring Register.
- Champion’s chassis: Audi A4 ST11 — Super Touring Register.
- Aberdein’s chassis: Audi A4 ST07 — Super Touring Register.
- Privateer chassis: Audi 80 RT12 — Super Touring Register.
- Final standings: South African Touring Car Championships — Motorsport Top 20, a retrospective statistical compilation.
- Period team coverage: Killarney Audi preview — Motorsport.com, discussing the Rothmans Audi team’s preparations for the September 7 finale.
- Manufacturer confirmation: Audi Sport in South Africa with two “fast zebras” — Audi MediaCenter, November 19, 2019, explicitly recalling Audi’s 1996 A4 quattro title.
- International context: Audi Anniversary Dates 2021 — Audi Tradition.
- Additional entry-list reference: 1996 South African Touring Car Championship — EverybodyWiki.
- Regulatory background: FIA Supertourisme — French Wikipedia.
- Naming: The register labels Aldo Scribante by its location, Port Elizabeth, and misspells Killarney as “Kilarney.” Circuit names are standardized here.
- Classification scope: No manufacturers’ or teams’ points table is supplied by the cited season records. Those classifications are not reconstructed from the drivers’ results.
- Source dates: Motorsport.com displays a later archival edit date; the preview’s text explicitly identifies the 1996 season.