The1996 Formula Nippon Championship was the twenty-fourth season of premier Japanese single-seater racing, the first season under the management of the newly created Japan Race Promotion (JRP), and the first under the name Formula Nippon, after changing its name from the All-Japan Formula 3000 Championship.
The season was contested over 10 rounds across five venues. Fifteen different teams, 28 different drivers, three different chassis and three different engines competed.Team LeMans driverRalf Schumacher became the first and only driver to win the Japanese Top Formula championship in his rookie season.[1]
This was the final season for six-time Top Formula ChampionKazuyoshi Hoshino, who announced his retirement from the series prior to the start of the 1997 season. This was also the last year of open tyre competition betweenBridgestone andYokohama Rubber, as Bridgestone would be the series' sole supplier beginning in 1997.