The 1996 BPR International Endurance GT Series was the third and final season of BPR Global GT Series. It is a series for Grand Touring style cars broken into two classes based on power and manufacturer involvement, called GT1 and GT2. It began on 3 March 1996 and ended 3 November 1996 after 11 races. After the end of the season, two promotional races were held in Brazil, in the circuits of Curitiba (8 December 1996) and Brasília (16 December 1996).
This was the final season of the BPR series before it came under the control of the FIA to become the FIA GT Championship in 1997. This was also the first year that the classes of competitors were trimmed to just GT1 and GT2.
Schedule
| 1996 BPR Kärcher Global Endurance GT Series Calendar [1] | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rnd | Race | Circuit | Date | |||||
| 1 |  4 Hours of Le Castellet |
Circuit Paul Ricard | 3 March | |||||
| 2 |  4 Hour GT of Monza |
Autodromo Nazionale Monza | 24 March | |||||
| 3 |  4 Hours of Jarama |
Circuito Permanente Del Jarama | 14 April | |||||
| 4 |  4 Hours of Silverstone (British Empire Trophy) |
Silverstone Circuit | 12 May | |||||
| 5 |  4 Hours of Nürburgring |
Nürburgring | 30 June | |||||
| 6 |  4 Hours of Anderstorp |
Scandinavian Raceway | 14 July | |||||
| 7 |  The Pokka International Suzuka 1000km |
Suzuka Circuit | 25 August | |||||
| 8 | Gulf Oil Global GT Endurance (4 Hours) |
Brands Hatch | 8 September | |||||
| 9 |  4 Hours of Spa |
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps | 22 September | |||||
| 10 | 4 Hours of Nogaro |
Circuit Paul Armagnac | 6 October | |||||
| 11 |  4 Hours of Zhuhai |
Zhuhai International Circuit | 3 November | |||||
Entries
GT1
- Gulf Racing/GTC Motorsport was rebranded as Marlboro McLaren Team GTC for the Zhuhai round only.
- The No. 22 Jaguar was entered under the name of Hugh Chamberlain for Round 4, then entered under the name of Geoff Lister for Round 8.
GT2
Season results
Non-Championship events
Following the conclusion of the season in November, two exhibition races were held in Brazil for BPR competitors.
| Date | Event | Circuit | GT1 Winning Team | GT2 Winning Team | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GT1 Winning Drivers | GT2 Winning Drivers | ||||
| 8 December | 2 Hours Curitiba | Curitiba | #01 BMW Motorsport |
#96 Larbre Compétition |
Results |
 Nelson Piquet Johnny Cecotto |
Patrice Goueslard Christophe Bouchut | ||||
| 16 December | 2 Hours of Brasília | Brasília | #01 BMW Motorsport |
#106 Roock Racing |
Results |
| Nelson Piquet Johnny Cecotto |
Michel Ligonnet Andy Pilgrim |
References
Bibliography
- Jean-Marc Teissèdre & Michael Cotton (1997). GT Endurance 1996. IHM Publishing. ISBN 978-2930120119.