British Sprint Championship 1976
Dave Harris retained his championship in his McLaren M10B/M14D, but it was a close fought battle with David Render after Render turned up at the fourth round, at Curborough with a Formula 1 Lotus 76, loaned to him by his friend Colin Chapman. Render won four of his first six events in it, and when the cars assembled on the West-Super-Mare seafront, early-season leader Harris still needed to finish third to hold on to his title. He had to borrow Terry Smith's ex-Roy Lane McLaren M14D, and did exactly what he needed, having to ensure a nervous wait to make sure nobody beat his time.
Simon Riley had also moved to a F1 car, buying Tony Griffiths' well-known Brabham BT33, the winner of the previous two Weston Speed Trials, and Riley scored one win and five second places on his way to third place in the championship. Johnty Williamson was the only other regular front runner in his F5000 Surtees TS11 but Terry Smith also won one round in the McLaren M14D and hillclimber David Franklin won two in his March 742. The new 'King of Curborough" John Ravenscroft only appeared a few times, preferring to spend his weekends setting new course records on the Staffordshire track in his ex-F1 Token RJ02.
The races
21 Mar 1976 > Longridge
28 Mar 1976 > Yeovilton
03 Apr 1976 > Oulton Park
25 Apr 1976 > Curborough
20 Jun 1976 > Blackpool
01 Aug 1976 > Wroughton
08 Aug 1976 > Bassingbourne
15 Aug 1976 > Gaydon
29 Aug 1976 > Bassingbourne
12 Sep 1976 > Curborough
26 Sep 1976 > Wroughton
02 Oct 1976 > Weston-Super-Mare Speed Trials
1976 RAC British Sprint Championship table
| 1 | Dave Harris | McLaren M10B/M14D - Chevrolet V8 McLaren M14D - Chevrolet V8 | 72 pts | 3 wins |
| 2 | David Render | Lotus 76 - Cosworth DFV V8 | 71 pts | 4 wins |
| 3 | Simon Riley | Brabham BT33 - Cosworth DFV V8 | 69 pts | 1 win |
| 4 | Johnty Williamson | Surtees TS11 - Chevrolet V8 | 60 pts | |
| 5 | Terry Smith | McLaren M14D - Chevrolet V8 | 37 pts | 1 win |
| 6 | John Ravenscroft | Token RJ02 - Cosworth DFV V8 | 29 pts | |
| 7 | David Franklin | March 742 - BMW Euroracing | 29 pts | 2 wins |
| 8 | Rob Turnbull | Brabham BT35 - Ford BDA | 20 pts | |
| 9 | Peter Fisk | March 702 - Ford BDA | 18 pts | |
| 10= | John Taylor | Brabham BT16/21B - Ford Essex V6 | 15 pts | |
| 10= | Richard White | McLaren M10A/B - Chevrolet V8 | 15 pts | |
| 12 | Richard Lester | Lola T100 - Ford BDA | 9 pts | |
| 13= | Bob Rose | McLaren M14D - Chevrolet V8 | 8 pts | |
| 13= | John McCartney | BRM P153 - BRM P142 V12 | 8 pts | |
| 13= | Clive Bracey | Vebra Mk1 - Chevrolet turbo | 8 pts | |
| 13= | Chris Hill | Mallock U2 Mk 14 - Ford | 8 pts | |
| 13= | Ted Williams | Ensign LNF3/73 - Ford BDA Holbay | 8 pts | |
| 18= | Alan Richards | Surtees TS8 - Chevrolet V8 | 7 pts | |
| 18= | Martyn Griffiths | March 74B - Hart 422R | 7 pts | |
| 18= | Allan Staniforth | Terrapin Mk7B - BMC | 7 pts |
The points system for the championship remained the same as that used for the Hill Climb championship, awarding 10 points for the fastest time in the runoff, then 9 for second and on down to one point for tenth place (R.A.C Motor Sport Year Book 1976 p102). There was no longer an extra point awarded for beating the course's previous record time. With 12 rounds taking place, even if the Top 10 Runoff was abandoned at one of them, the best eight results would count (ibid. p102).