1996 World Rally Championship
# 1996 World Rally Championship

The 1996 World Rally Championship was the 24th season of the FIA World Rally Championship. The season consisted of 9 rallies. As a result of their 1995 disqualification, Toyota Team Europe were not allowed to compete in this year's championship, so only three works teams contested the championship. The drivers' world championship was won by Tommi Mäkinen in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 3, ahead of Colin McRae and Carlos Sainz. The manufacturers' title was won by Subaru.

## Calendar

| Round | Dates | Race |
| - | - | - |
| 1 | 9–11 February | Swedish Rally |
| 2 | 5–7 April | Safari Rally |
| 3 | 10–12 May | Rally Indonesia |
| 4 | 2–4 June | Acropolis Rally |
| 5 | 4–6 July | Rally Argentina |
| 6 | 23–26 August | 1000 Lakes Rally |
| 7 | 13–16 September | Rally Australia |
| 8 | 13–16 October | Rallye Sanremo |
| 9 | 4–6 November | Rally Catalunya |

## Teams and drivers

### Major Entries

Registered works teams :

| Team | Manufacturer | Car | Tyre | No | Drivers | Rounds |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 555 Subaru World Rally Team | Subaru | Impreza 555 | P | 1 | Colin McRae | All |
| 555 Subaru World Rally Team | Subaru | Impreza 555 | P | 2 | Kenneth Eriksson | All |
| 555 Subaru World Rally Team | Subaru | Impreza 555 | P | 3 | Didier Auriol | 1 |
| 555 Subaru World Rally Team | Subaru | Impreza 555 | P | 3 | Piero Liatti | 2–9 |
| 555 Subaru World Rally Team | Subaru | Impreza 555 | P | 10 | Piero Liatti | 1 |
| Ford Motor Co Ltd | Ford | Escort RS Cosworth | M | 4 | Carlos Sainz | All |
| Ford Motor Co Ltd | Ford | Escort RS Cosworth | M | 5 | François Delecour | 1 |
| Ford Motor Co Ltd | Ford | Escort RS Cosworth | M | 5 | Stig Blomqvist | 2 |
| Ford Motor Co Ltd | Ford | Escort RS Cosworth | M | 5 | Gwyndaf Evans | 3 |
| Ford Motor Co Ltd | Ford | Escort RS Cosworth | M | 5 | Bruno Thiry | 4–9 |
| Ford Motor Co Ltd | Ford | Escort RS Cosworth | M | 6 | Stig Blomqvist | 1 |
| Ford Motor Co Ltd | Ford | Escort RS Cosworth | M | 6 | Dandy Rukmana | 3 |
| Ford Motor Co Ltd | Ford | Escort RS Cosworth | M | 14 | Ari Vatanen | 1 |
| Ford Motor Co Ltd | Ford | Escort RS Cosworth | M | 16 | Ari Mökkonen | 4 |
| Ford Motor Co Ltd | Ford | Escort RS Cosworth | M | 28 | Per Svan | 1 |
| Mitsubishi Ralliart Petronas/Winfield Mitsubishi Ralliart | Mitsubishi | Lancer Evo III | M | 7 | Tommi Mäkinen | All |
| Mitsubishi Ralliart Petronas/Winfield Mitsubishi Ralliart | Mitsubishi | Lancer Evo III | M | 8 | Kenneth Bäcklund | 1 |
| Mitsubishi Ralliart Petronas/Winfield Mitsubishi Ralliart | Mitsubishi | Lancer Evo III | M | 8 | Kenjiro Shinozuka | 2 |
| Mitsubishi Ralliart Petronas/Winfield Mitsubishi Ralliart | Mitsubishi | Lancer Evo III | M | 8 | Richard Burns | 3, 5, 7, 9 |
| Mitsubishi Ralliart Petronas/Winfield Mitsubishi Ralliart | Mitsubishi | Lancer Evo III | M | 8 | Uwe Nittel | 4 |
| Mitsubishi Ralliart Petronas/Winfield Mitsubishi Ralliart | Mitsubishi | Lancer Evo III | M | 8 | Lasse Lampi | 6 |
| Mitsubishi Ralliart Petronas/Winfield Mitsubishi Ralliart | Mitsubishi | Lancer Evo III | M | 8 | Didier Auriol | 8 |
| Mitsubishi Ralliart Petronas/Winfield Mitsubishi Ralliart | Mitsubishi | Lancer Evo III | M | 9 | Uwe Nittel | 1, 5, 8 |
| Mitsubishi Ralliart Petronas/Winfield Mitsubishi Ralliart | Mitsubishi | Lancer Evo III | M | 9 | Yoshihiro Kataoka | 3 |
| Mitsubishi Ralliart Petronas/Winfield Mitsubishi Ralliart | Mitsubishi | Lancer Evo III | M | 9 | Pascal Smets | 4 |
| Mitsubishi Ralliart Petronas/Winfield Mitsubishi Ralliart | Mitsubishi | Lancer Evo III | M | 9 | Jouko Puhakka | 6 |
| Mitsubishi Ralliart Petronas/Winfield Mitsubishi Ralliart | Mitsubishi | Lancer Evo III | M | 9 | Ed Ordynski | 7 |
| Mitsubishi Ralliart Petronas/Winfield Mitsubishi Ralliart | Mitsubishi | Lancer Evo III | M | 18 | Uwe Nittel | 6–7, 9 |
| Mitsubishi Ralliart Petronas/Winfield Mitsubishi Ralliart | Mitsubishi | Lancer Evo III | M | 29 | Yoshihiro Kataoka | 7 |
| Mitsubishi Ralliart Petronas/Winfield Mitsubishi Ralliart | Mitsubishi | Lancer Evo III | M | 41 | Pascal Smets | 8 |

### Privater Entries

Major privateer entries :

| Manufacturer | Car | Team | Drivers | Tyre | Rounds |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Toyota | Celica GT-Four ST205 Celica Turbo 4WD ST185 | Toyota Castrol Team | Thomas Rådström | M | 1, 6, 9 |
| Toyota | Celica GT-Four ST205 Celica Turbo 4WD ST185 | Toyota Castrol Team | Juha Kankkunen | M | 1, 3, 6 |
| Toyota | Celica GT-Four ST205 Celica Turbo 4WD ST185 | Toyota Castrol Team | Tomas Jansson | M | 1 |
| Toyota | Celica GT-Four ST205 Celica Turbo 4WD ST185 | Toyota Castrol Team | Marcus Grönholm | | 1, 6 |
| Toyota | Celica GT-Four ST205 Celica Turbo 4WD ST185 | Toyota Castrol Team | Ian Duncan | M | 2 |
| Toyota | Celica GT-Four ST205 Celica Turbo 4WD ST185 | Toyota Castrol Team | Reza Pribadli | | 3 |
| Toyota | Celica GT-Four ST205 Celica Turbo 4WD ST185 | Toyota Castrol Team | Freddy Loix | | 4, 8–9 |
| Toyota | Celica GT-Four ST205 Celica Turbo 4WD ST185 | Toyota Castrol Team | Teppo Leino | | 6 |
| Toyota | Celica GT-Four ST205 Celica Turbo 4WD ST185 | Toyota Castrol Team | Neal Bates | | 7 |
| Toyota | Celica Turbo 4WD ST185 | Toyotoshi | Marco Galanti | | 1–2, 4 |
| Toyota | Celica Turbo 4WD ST185 | Tein Sport | Yoshio Fujimoto | | 3, 7 |
| Toyota | Celica GT-Four ST205 | H.F. Grifone | Thomas Rådström | | 4 |
| Toyota | Celica GT-Four ST205 | H.F. Grifone | Rui Madeira | | 4–6, 8–9 |
| Toyota | Celica GT-Four ST205 | H.F. Grifone | Gilberto Pianezzola | | 4–5, 8 |
| Toyota | Celica GT-Four ST205 | H.F. Grifone | Andrea Dallavilla | | 6, 8 |
| Toyota | Celica GT-Four ST205 | H.F. Grifone | Jánoth Tóth | | 8 |
| Toyota | Celica GT-Four ST205 | H.F. Grifone | Matteo Luise | | 8 |
| Ford | Escort RS Cosworth | Ford Team Finland | Sebastian Lindholm | M | 1, 6 |
| Ford | Escort RS Cosworth | Ford Motorsport Indonesia | Dolly Indra Nasution | | 3 |
| Ford | Escort RS Cosworth | Yacco RAS Ford | Patrick Bernardini | | 4–5, 8–9 |
| Ford | Escort RS Cosworth | Blue Rose Team | Jarmo Kytölehto | | 6, 8–9 |
| Ford | Escort RS Cosworth | Promoracing Finland | Harri Rovanperä | | 6 |
| Ford | Escort RS Cosworth | Jolly Club | Gianfranco Cunico | | 8 |
| Mitsubishi | Lancer Evo III | Mitsubishi Ralliart Germany | Richie Holfeld | | 1 |
| Mitsubishi | Lancer Evo III | Mitsubishi Ralliart Sweden | Stig-Olov Walfridsson | | 1 |
| Mitsubishi | Lancer Evo III | Mitsubishi Ralliart Finland | Mika Korhonen | | 1, 6 |
| Mitsubishi | Lancer Evo III | Mitsubishi Ralliart Finland | Minna Sillankorva | | 6 |
| Mitsubishi | Lancer Evo III | Race-Rent Motorsport | Gustavo Trelles | | 3–9 |
| Mitsubishi | Lancer Evo III | Mitsubishi Ralliart Indonesia | Bambang Hartono | | 3 |
| Mitsubishi | Lancer Evo III | Mitsubishi Ralliart Indonesia | Oky Harwanto | | 3 |
| Mitsubishi | Lancer Evo III | Mitsubishi Ralliart Indonesia | Arief Indiarto | | 3 |
| Mitsubishi | Lancer Evo III | Top Run SRL | Jorge Recalde | | 4–9 |
| Mitsubishi | Lancer Evo III | Jolly Club | Piergiorgio Bedini | | 6, 8 |
| Audi | Coupe S2 | Stohl Racing | Rudi Stohl | | 2, 4 |
| Audi | Coupe S2 | Stohl Racing | Manfred Stohl | | 2, 9 |
| Subaru | Impreza Wagon | Subaru Rally Team Japan | Patrick Njiru | | 2 |
| Subaru | Impreza Wagon | Subaru Rally Team Japan | Hideaki Miyoshi | | 2 |
| Subaru | Impreza 555 | Subaru Rally Team Japan | Tanveer Alam | | 2 |
| Subaru | Impreza 555 | A.R.T. Engineering | Angelo Medeghini | | 4–6, 8–9 |
| Subaru | Impreza 555 | A.R.T. Engineering | Andrea Navarra | | 6, 8 |
| Subaru | Impreza 555 | F.Dor Rally Team | Frédéic Dor | | 4, 6, 8 |
| Renault | Mégane Maxi | Renault Team Sweden | Jonas Kruse | | 6 |
| Renault | Mégane Maxi | Husky Team | Diego Oldrati | | 8 |
| Renault | Mégane Maxi | Husky Team | Piero Longhi | | 8 |
| Renault | Mégane Maxi | Italian Promotor Sport | Paolo Andreucci | | 8 |
| Renault | Mégane Maxi | Renault Sport España | Oriol Gómez | | 9 |

## Results and standings

### Drivers' championship

| Pos | Driver | SWE | KEN | INA | GRE | ARG | FIN | AUS | ITA | ESP | Pts |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Tommi Mäkinen | 1 | 1 | Ret | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Ret | 5 | 123 |
| 2 | Colin McRae | 3 | 4 | Ret | 1 | Ret | Ret | 4 | 1 | 1 | 92 |
| 3 | Carlos Sainz | 2 | Ret | 1 | 3 | 2 | Ret | 3 | 2 | Ret | 89 |
| 4 | Kenneth Eriksson | 5 | 2 | Ret | 5 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 78 |
| 5 | Piero Liatti | 12 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 7 | DNS | 7 | Ret | 2 | 56 |
| 6 | Bruno Thiry | | | | 6 | 5 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 44 |
| 7 | Juha Kankkunen | 4 | | 3 | | | 2 | | | | 37 |
| 8 | Freddy Loix | | | | 7 | | | | 4 | 4 | 24 |
| 9 | Richard Burns | | | Ret | | 4 | | 5 | | Ret | 18 |
| 10 | Marcus Grönholm | 7 | | | | | 4 | | | | 14 |
| 11 | Gilberto Pianezzola | | | | 8 | 6 | | | 7 | | 13 |
| 12= | Ian Duncan | | 3 | | | | | | | | 12 |
| 12= | Jarmo Kytölehto | | | | | | 3 | | Ret | Ret | 12 |
| 14 | Yoshio Fujimoto | | | 4 | | | | 9 | | | 12 |
| 15 | Thomas Rådström | 6 | | | Ret | | 6 | | | Ret | 12 |
| 16 | Patrick Bernardini | | | | 9 | 9 | | | 10 | 6 | 11 |
| 17 | Reza Pribadi | | | 5 | | | | | | | 8 |
| 18 | Stig Blomqvist | 8 | 7 | | | | | Ret | | | 7 |
| 19 | Rui Madeira | | | | Ret | 8 | 9 | | Ret | 9 | 7 |
| 20= | Kenjiro Shinozuka | | 6 | | | | | | | | 6 |
| 20= | Michael Lieu | | | 6 | | | | Ret | | | 6 |
| 20= | Franco Cunico | | | | | | | | 6 | | 6 |
| 23= | Shigeyuki Konishi | | | 7 | | | | 25 | | | 4 |
| 23= | Sebastian Lindholm | Ret | | | | | 7 | | | | 4 |
| 25 | Didier Auriol | 10 | | | | | | | 8 | | 4 |
| 26 | Angelo Medeghini | | | | Ret | 12 | 10 | | 9 | 10 | 4 |
| 27= | Hideaki Miyoshi | | 8 | | | | | 29 | | | 3 |
| 27= | Irvan Gading | | | 8 | | | | | | | 3 |
| 27= | Lasse Lampi | | | | | | 8 | | | | 3 |
| 27= | Peter 'Possum' Bourne | | | | | | | 8 | | | 3 |
| 27= | Oriol Gómez | | | | | | | | | 8 | 3 |
| 32= | Tomas Jansson | 9 | | | | | | | | | 2 |
| 32= | Patrick Njiru | | 9 | | | | | | | | 2 |
| 32= | Chandra Alim | | | 9 | | | | | | | 2 |
| 35= | Jonathan Toroitich | | 10 | | | | | | | | 1 |
| 35= | Bambang Hartono | | | 10 | | | | | | | 1 |
| 35= | Jean-Pierre Richelmi | | | | 10 | | | | | | 1 |
| 35= | Uwe Nittel | 16 | | | 14 | 10 | 16 | DSQ | Ret | 16 | 1 |
| 35= | Ed Ordynski | | | | | | | 10 | | | 1 |
| Pos | Driver | SWE | KEN | INA | GRE | ARG | FIN | AUS | ITA | ESP | Pts |

Key :

| Colour | Result |
| - | - |
| Gold | Winner |
| Silver | 2nd place |
| Bronze | 3rd place |
| Green | Points finish |
| Blue | Non-points finish |
| Blue | Non-classified finish (NC) |
| Purple | Did not finish (Ret) |
| Black | Excluded (EX) |
| Black | Disqualified (DSQ) |
| White | Did not start (DNS) |
| White | Cancelled (C) |
| Blank | Withdrew entry from the event (WD) |

### Manufacturers' championship

Each works team had to nominate up to three drivers 30 days before each event; only two best placed nominated drivers were eligible to score points for the manufacturers' championship.

| Pos. | Manufacturer | No. | SWE | KEN | INA | GRE | ARG | FIN | AUS | ITA | ESP | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Subaru | 1 | 3 | 4 | Ret | 1 | Ret | Ret | 4 | 1 | 1 | 401 |
| 1 | Subaru | 2 | 5 | 2 | Ret | (5) | 3 | 5 | 2 | 5 | (7) | 401 |
| 1 | Subaru | 3 | (10) | (5) | 2 | 4 | 7 | | (7) | Ret | 2 | 401 |
| 2 | Mitsubishi | 7 | 1 | 1 | Ret | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Ret | 5 | 322 |
| 2 | Mitsubishi | 8 | 14 | 6 | Ret | 14 | 4 | 8 | 5 | 8 | Ret | 322 |
| 2 | Mitsubishi | 9 | | | Ret | | (10) | Ret | (10) | Ret | | 322 |
| 3 | Ford | 4 | 2 | Ret | 1 | 3 | 2 | Ret | 3 | 2 | Ret | 299 |
| 3 | Ford | 5 | (11) | 7 | Ret | 6 | 5 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 299 |
| 3 | Ford | 6 | 8 | | Ret | | | | | | | 299 |
| Pos. | Manufacturer | No. | SWE | KEN | INA | GRE | ARG | FIN | AUS | ITA | ESP | Points |

Key :

| Colour | Result |
| - | - |
| Gold | Winner |
| Silver | 2nd place |
| Bronze | 3rd place |
| Green | Points finish |
| Blue | Non-points finish |
| Blue | Non-classified finish (NC) |
| Purple | Did not finish (Ret) |
| Black | Excluded (EX) |
| Black | Disqualified (DSQ) |
| White | Did not start (DNS) |
| White | Cancelled (C) |
| Blank | Withdrew entry from the event (WD) |

## Events

| Rally Name | Start-End Date | Podium Drivers (Finishing Time) | Podium Cars |
| - | - | - | - |
| Swedish Rally | 9–11 February | Tommi Mäkinen (4h:37m:10s) Carlos Sainz (4h:37m:33s) Colin McRae (4h:38m:15s) | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution III Ford Escort RS Cosworth Subaru Impreza 555 |
| Safari Rally | 5–7 April | Tommi Mäkinen (12h:41m:24s) Kenneth Eriksson (12h:55m:40s) Ian Duncan (13h:23m:24s) | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution III Subaru Impreza 555 Toyota Celica GT-Four ST205 |
| Rally Indonesia | 10–12 May | Carlos Sainz (5h:30m:00s) Piero Liatti (5h:30m:23s) Juha Kankkunen (5h:31m:02s) | Ford Escort RS Cosworth Subaru Impreza 555 Toyota Celica GT-Four ST205 |
| Acropolis Rally | 2–4 June | Colin McRae (5h:33m:12s) Tommi Mäkinen (5h:34m:02s) Carlos Sainz (5h:36m:33s) | Subaru Impreza 555 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution III Ford Escort RS Cosworth |
| Rally Argentina | 4–6 July | Tommi Mäkinen (5h:48m:42s) Carlos Sainz (5h:50m:17s) Kenneth Eriksson (5h:53m:21s) | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution III Ford Escort RS Cosworth Subaru Impreza 555 |
| 1000 Lakes Rally | 23–26 August | Tommi Mäkinen (4h:04m:13s) Juha Kankkunen (4h:04m:59s) Jarmo Kytölehto (4h:06m:50s) | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution III Toyota Celica GT-Four ST205 Ford Escort RS Cosworth |
| Rally Australia | 13–16 September | Tommi Mäkinen (4h:08m:50s) Kenneth Eriksson (4h:10m:07s) Carlos Sainz (4h:10m:11s) | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution III Subaru Impreza 555 Ford Escort RS Cosworth |
| Rallye Sanremo | 13–16 October | Colin McRae (4h:26m:57s) Carlos Sainz (4h:27m:19s) Bruno Thiry (4h:29m:06s) | Subaru Impreza 555 Ford Escort RS Cosworth Ford Escort RS Cosworth |
| Rally Catalunya | 4–6 November | Colin McRae (4h:14m:20s) Piero Liatti (4h:14m:27s) Bruno Thiry (4h:15m:38s) | Subaru Impreza 555 Subaru Impreza 555 Ford Escort RS Cosworth |

## FIA 2 Litre World Cup For Manufacturers

| Pos | Manufacturer | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | R8 | Pts |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | SEAT | (25) | 60 | (13) | 36 | 46 | 47 | 46 | 39 | 274 |
| 2 | Renault | 36 | 39 | 53 | 64 | - | - | 48 | 25 | 265 |
| 3 | Skoda | 39 | 44 | - | 46 | 35 | 60 | (16) | 40 | 264 |
| 4 | Peugeot | 46 | 9 | 54 | - | 9 | - | 40 | 10 | 168 |
| 5 | General Motors Europe | 43 | 31 | 11 | - | - | - | 18 | - | 103 |
| 6 | Suzuki | - | - | - | 16 | 36 | - | - | - | 52 |
| = | Hyundai | - | - | - | - | 21 | 31 | - | - | 52 |
| 8 | Daihatsu | - | - | - | - | 15 | 35 | - | - | 50 |
| 9 | Honda | 9 | 6 | - | - | 8 | - | - | 20 | 43 |
| 10 | Nissan | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 42 | 42 |
| 11 | Kia | - | - | - | - | - | 32 | - | - | 32 |
| = | Toyota | - | 1 | - | - | 31 | - | - | - | 32 |
| 13 | Renault Argentina | - | - | - | 28 | - | - | - | - | 28 |
| 14 | Citroën | 20 | - | - | - | - | - | 7 | - | 27 |
| 15 | Daewoo | - | - | - | 26 | - | - | - | - | 26 |
| 16 | Toyota Australia | - | - | - | - | - | 21 | - | - | 21 |
| 17 | Volkswagen | - | - | 3 | - | - | - | - | 15 | 18 |
| 18 | Ford | - | - | - | - | - | - | 15 | - | 15 |
| 19 | Mitsubishi | - | - | - | - | 14 | - | - | - | 14 |
| 20 | Fiat | 10 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 10 |

 Denotes dropped score

