High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The 1996 International Touring Car Championship season was the 2nd FIA season of its type. It was for FIA Class 1 Touring Cars and it was contested by Mercedes Benz, Alfa Romeo and Opel. It was born out of the old Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft series that ran both a short German International series in 1995. These were fused together in 1996 to form the International Touring Car Championship (abbreviated to ITC). The eventual champion was Manuel Reuter driving an Opel Calibra, and Opel won the manufacturer`s championship from rivals Mercedes Benz and Alfa Romeo, fielding a brace of C-Classes and 155s respectively.