1996 British Formula Two Championship
# 1996 British Formula Two Championship

The 1996 British Formula Two Championship was the seventh season of the British Formula 3000 Championship. The championship was dominated by the Super Nova car of Gareth Rees, the former Marlboro Masters F3 winner who competed in International Formula 3000 the previous year. He won six races and clinched the title with two rounds to go.

Rees started the season in style, winning the first 5 races, but stumbled at Donington when Sascha Maassen took his only victory of the year. Werner Lupberger won the following round as Rees retired, but Gareth won the Silverstone round to tie up the championship. Luiz Garcia Jr. won the remaining two rounds after battling with Lupberger and Gonzalo Rodriguez, securing second in the standings. Lupberger ended up third, one place ahead of Rodriguez. British Formula Renault champion David Cook raced twice in Rees' absence, while future International F3000 star Jason Watt made his F3000 debut for Fred Goddard Racing in the final round. Ex-Andrea Moda F1 non-qualifier Perry McCarthy made a single seater return with DKS Racing. The future boss of International F3000 team Arden, Christian Horner, finished fifth overall after half a season with veteran team Madgwick International. Sarah Kavanagh, future Formula Nippon and BOSS Formula 1 driver, raced on a couple of occasions in a Sainsbury's and Parmalat backed Fred Goddard Racing entry.

Several talented drivers entered British F2 in 1996, but at times grids had declined to just five cars, the smallest in the series' history, and teams withdrew their support. British F2 was finally dead.

## Drivers and teams

The following drivers and teams contested the 1996 British Formula Two Championship. All teams ran a Reynard chassis with Cosworth engine.

| Team | No. | Driver | Rounds |
| - | - | - | - |
| Fred Goddard Racing | 1 | Werner Lupberger | All |
| Fred Goddard Racing | 6 | Steve Arnold | 1 |
| Fred Goddard Racing | 6 | Sascha Maassen | 4, 6, 8-9 |
| Fred Goddard Racing | 6 | Jason Watt | 10 |
| Fred Goddard Racing | 16 | Sarah Kavanagh | 4, 6 |
| Fred Goddard Racing | 16 | Francis Phillips | 8 |
| Fred Goddard Racing | 16 | Paul Smith | 10 |
| Fred Goddard Racing | 22 | Alan Berkov | 1, 4 |
| Fred Goddard Racing | 24 | William Hewland | 4 |
| Super Nova Racing | 2 | Gareth Rees | 1-8 |
| Super Nova Racing | 2 | David Cook | 9-10 |
| Super Nova Racing | 3 | Luiz Garcia Jr. | All |
| Durango Equipe | 4 | Luca Riccitelli | 1-4 |
| Durango Equipe | 4 | Denny Zardo | 5 |
| Durango Equipe | 5 | Fabrizio Gollin | 1 |
| Durango Equipe | 5 | Vito Popolizio | 2-3 |
| Durango Equipe | 5 | Pietro Ferrero | 4 |
| Jupiter Racing | 7 | Nigel Smith | 4 |
| Madgwick International | 8 | Christian Horner | 5-10 |
| Edenbridge Racing | 9 | Gonzalo Rodriguez | 4–6, 8-10 |
| DKS Prosperity Management | 10 | Perry McCarthy | 8-10 |
| Worswick Engineering | 17 | Tony Worswick | 5 |
| Rex Hart Racing | 20 | David Mercer | 1, 4–5, 7-10 |
| Rex Hart Racing | 20 | Lars Johansson | 6 |

## Results

### British Formula Two Championship

| Round | Date | Circuit | Pole Position | Fastest Lap | Winning Driver | Winning Team |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | April 5 | Oulton Park (Fosters) | Gareth Rees | Luca Riccitelli | Gareth Rees | Super Nova Racing |
| 2 | May 6 | Snetterton | Luiz Garcia Jr. | Luiz Garcia Jr. | Gareth Rees | Super Nova Racing |
| 3 | May 6 | Snetterton | Gareth Rees | Luiz Garcia Jr. | Gareth Rees | Super Nova Racing |
| 4 | June 22 | Silverstone (GP) | Sascha Maassen | Gareth Rees | Gareth Rees | Super Nova Racing |
| 5 | July 6 | Oulton Park | Luiz Garcia Jr. | Gareth Rees | Gareth Rees | Super Nova Racing |
| 6 | August 4 | Donington Park | Gareth Rees | Gareth Rees | Sascha Maassen | Fred Goddard Racing |
| 7 | August 27 | Brands Hatch (Indy) | Werner Lupberger | Luiz Garcia Jr. | Werner Lupberger | Fred Goddard Racing |
| 8 | September 28 | Silverstone (GP) | Gareth Rees | Gonzalo Rodriguez | Gareth Rees | Super Nova Racing |
| 9 | October 13 | Brands Hatch (Indy) | Luiz Garcia Jr. | Gonzalo Rodriguez | Luiz Garcia Jr. | Super Nova Racing |
| 10 | October 27 | Donington Park | Luiz Garcia Jr. | Luiz Garcia Jr. | Luiz Garcia Jr. | Super Nova Racing |

## Championship Standings

| Pos. | Driver | OUL | SNE | SNE | SIL | OUL | DON | BHI | SIL | BHI | DON | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Gareth Rees | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | Ret | 1 | | | 56 |
| 2 | Luiz Garcia Jr. | Ret | 2 | 2 | 2 | Ret | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 52 |
| 3 | Werner Lupberger | 4 | 3 | 3 | Ret | 3 | Ret | 1 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 35 |
| 4 | Gonzalo Rodriguez | | | | Ret | 2 | 2 | | Ret | 2 | 3 | 22 |
| 5 | Christian Horner | | | | | Ret | 4 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 14 |
| 6 | Sascha Maassen | | | | Ret | | 1 | | Ret | 4 | | 12 |
| 7 | Luca Riccitelli | 2 | 4 | Ret | Ret | | | | | | | 9 |
| 8 | David Mercer | 6 | | | 4 | Ret | | 4 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| 9 | Perry McCarthy | | | | | | | | 3 | Ret | Ret | 4 |
| 10 | Fabrizio Gollin | 3 | | | | | | | | | | 4 |
| 11 | Pietro Ferrero | | | | 3 | | | | | | | 4 |
| 12 | David Cook | | | | | | | | | 6 | 4 | 4 |
| 13 | Denny Zardo | | | | | 4 | | | | | | 3 |
| 14 | Tony Worswick | | | | | 5 | | | | | | 2 |
| 15 | Alan Berkov | 5 | | | DNS | | | | | | | 2 |
| 16 | Vito Popolizio | | 5 | Ret | | | | | | | | 2 |
| 17 | Jason Watt | | | | | | | | | | 5 | 2 |
| 18 | Sarah Kavanagh | | | | Ret | | 6 | | | | | 1 |
| 19 | Lars Johansson | | | | | | 7 | | | | | 0 |
| 20 | Francis Phillips | | | | | | | | 7 | | | 0 |
| 21 | Paul Smith | | | | | | | | | | 7 | 0 |
| | William Hewland | | | | Ret | | | | | | | |
