What: 1996 Australian Super Touring Championship
Series: Australian Super Touring Championship
Model Family: A4
Model / Generation Code(s): type 8D, R7
Chassis / Matrix: B5
Racecar Generation: R7
Class: FIA Class 2 / Super Touring
Rounds: 8 meetings / 16 races
Season: 1996
Circuits: Amaroo Park, Lakeside, Mallala, Winton, Phillip Island, Oran Park
Countries: Australia
Team Champion: Brad Jones Racing
Manufacturer Champion: Audi
Driver Champion: Brad Jones
Winning Car: A4 quattro Super Touring #3
Winning Chassis: ST04; ST19 at the Oran Park finale
OVERVIEW
The 1996 Australian Super Touring Championship comprised eight meetings and 16 races, beginning at Amaroo Park in May and concluding at Oran Park in November. Organized by TOCA Australia and sanctioned by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport, the BOC Gases-sponsored series visited six circuits.
Brad Jones won the drivers’ championship with 181 points, ahead of BMW’s Paul Morris on 170. Audi teammate Greg Murphy finished third with 141 points. Brad Jones Racing also won the teams’ championship, while Audi secured the manufacturers’ title.
AUDI’S TWO-CAR EFFORT
Brad Jones Racing operated the Orix Audi Sport Australia entries, pairing Jones in number 3 with New Zealander Greg Murphy in number 4. Their initial cars were 1995-built A4 quattro chassis ST03 and ST04, acquired after competing in Audi’s European program.
Jones drove ST03 in the preseason events, while Murphy used ST04. Following Jones’s crash at the Gold Coast meeting, they exchanged chassis for the championship: Jones raced ST04 and Murphy used the repaired ST03. Jones switched to the newer ST19 for the final meeting at Oran Park.
ELEVEN AUDI VICTORIES
Jones won nine of the championship’s 16 races, including doubles at both Amaroo Park meetings and the Oran Park finale. Murphy added victories at Mallala and Phillip Island, bringing Audi’s total to eleven.
The championship remained close enough for Jones’s two Oran Park victories to be decisive. Morris finished second and fourth at the finale, leaving Jones eleven points clear in the final drivers’ standings.
AUDI TEAMS & DRIVERS
| Team / Entrant | Car | No. | Driver | Championship Chassis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brad Jones Racing / Orix Audi Sport Australia | A4 quattro | 3 | 🇦🇺 Brad Jones | ST04; ST19 at Oran Park |
| Brad Jones Racing / Orix Audi Sport Australia | A4 quattro | 4 | 🇳🇿 Greg Murphy | ST03 |
RACE CALENDAR & RESULTS
Dates identify the race days. Each meeting comprised two championship races.
| Date | Event | Circuit | Race 1 Winner | Race 2 Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 19, 1996 | 1 | Amaroo Park | Brad Jones — Audi | Brad Jones — Audi |
| June 23, 1996 | 2 | Lakeside | Paul Morris — BMW | Brad Jones — Audi |
| July 14, 1996 | 3 | Amaroo Park | Brad Jones — Audi | Brad Jones — Audi |
| August 11, 1996 | 4 | Mallala | Greg Murphy — Audi | Brad Jones — Audi |
| August 25, 1996 | 5 | Winton | Geoff Brabham — BMW | Steven Richards — Honda |
| September 22, 1996 | 6 | Phillip Island | Brad Jones — Audi | Greg Murphy — Audi |
| October 27, 1996 | 7 | Lakeside | Paul Morris — BMW | Paul Morris — BMW |
| November 9, 1996 | 8 | Oran Park | Brad Jones — Audi | Brad Jones — Audi |
AUDI RACE RESULTS
Each result pair lists Race 1 followed by Race 2.
| Circuit / Meeting | Brad Jones #3 | Greg Murphy #4 |
|---|---|---|
| Amaroo Park — May | 1st / 1st | 2nd / 2nd |
| Lakeside — June | Ret / 1st | 2nd / 2nd |
| Amaroo Park — July | 1st / 1st | 5th / 2nd |
| Mallala | 3rd / 1st | 1st / 2nd |
| Winton | 4th / 3rd | Ret / DSQ |
| Phillip Island | 1st / Ret | 2nd / 1st |
| Lakeside — October | 3rd / 9th | 7th / 7th |
| Oran Park | 1st / 1st | 12th / 3rd |
DRIVER STANDINGS (TOP 10)
| Pos. | Driver | Marque | Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brad Jones | Audi | 181 |
| 2 | Paul Morris | BMW | 170 |
| 3 | Greg Murphy | Audi | 141 |
| 4 | Geoff Brabham | BMW | 114 |
| 5 | Steven Richards | Honda / Alfa Romeo | 79 |
| 6 | Peter Brock | Volvo | 71 |
| 7 | Charlie O’Brien | BMW | 68 |
| 8 | Jim Richards | Vauxhall / Holden | 60 |
| 9 | Cameron McLean | BMW | 39 |
| 10 | Mark Adderton | Peugeot | 29 |
TEAM STANDINGS
| Pos. | Team | Pts. |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brad Jones Racing | 339 |
| 2 | Paul Morris Motorsport | 323 |
| 3 | Phoenix Motorsport | 113 |
| 4 | Bob Holden Motors | 108 |
MANUFACTURER STANDINGS
| Pos. | Manufacturer | Pts. |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Audi | 223 |
| 2 | BMW | 207 |
| 3 | Volvo | 112 |
NON-CHAMPIONSHIP APPEARANCES
Super Touring cars also appeared at the Australian Grand Prix, Gold Coast Indy and Bathurst 1000 support meetings. These events were separate from the eight-round championship and awarded no championship points.
Audi won both Gold Coast support races, with Jones winning the first and Murphy the second. At the Bathurst support meeting, Tamara Vidali drove Murphy’s ST03 while Murphy fulfilled his Bathurst 1000 commitments.
PHOTO GALLERY
SOURCES AND NOTES
- Season information: 1996 Australian Super Touring Championship — Wikipedia, including the calendar, results and championship standings.
- Audi entries: 1996 Australian Super Touring Championship — Super Touring Register.
- Jones’s primary chassis: Audi A4 ST04 — Super Touring Register.
- Murphy’s championship chassis: Audi A4 ST03 — Super Touring Register.
- Finale chassis: Audi A4 ST19 — Super Touring Register, documenting Jones’s two Oran Park victories.
- Model identification: Wikipedia inconsistently labels the Audi entries as both “Audi 80 quattro” and “Audi A4 quattro.” The chassis records identify the Australian cars as A4s; this entry follows those records.
- Dates: Wikipedia lists meeting date ranges. The calendar above uses the championship race dates recorded by the Super Touring Register.
- Scoring: Drivers received points on a 15–12–10–8–6–5–4–3–2–1 scale, plus a point for each race’s fastest qualifier. Teams and manufacturers used separate scoring rules.
- Scope: The Australian Grand Prix, Gold Coast and Bathurst support races are excluded from championship win totals. The Bathurst appearances were support races, not entries in the 1996 Bathurst 1000 itself.