2003 V8 Supercar Championship Series

2003 V8 Supercar season
Previous:	2002	Next:	2004

Marcos Ambrose won his first V8 Supercar Championship with Stone Brothers Racing.

Greg Murphy finished second for the second consecutive season.

Mark Skaife finished third, ending a three season long winning streak.

The 2003 V8 Supercar Championship Series was a motor racing series for V8 Supercars. The series, which was the eighth V8 Supercar Championship Series, began on 22 March 2003 in Adelaide and ended on 30 November at Eastern Creek Raceway after 13 rounds. It ended with the awarding of the 44th Australian Touring Car Championship title by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport to Tasmanian driver Marcos Ambrose. It was the first time a Stone Brothers Racing driver had won the championship and marked the first title win by a Ford driver since Glenn Seton in 1997, ending a five-year run by Holden Racing Team drivers.

Teams and drivers

The following drivers and teams competed in the 2003 V8 Supercar Championship Series. The series consisted of eleven rounds of sprint racing and two rounds (the Sandown 500 and the Bathurst 1000) of endurance racing with each car piloted by two drivers.

Team	Vehicle	Car #	Drivers	Endurance Event Drivers
Holden Racing Team	Holden VY Commodore	1	Mark Skaife	Jim Richards Tony Longhurst
		2	Todd Kelly
Lansvale Racing Team	Holden VX Commodore	3	Cameron McConville	Tim Leahey
		24	David Krause
Stone Brothers Racing	Ford BA Falcon	4	Marcos Ambrose	Mark Noske Mark Winterbottom
		9	Russell Ingall
Ford Performance Racing	Ford BA Falcon Ford AU Falcon	5	Glenn Seton	Adam Macrow Darren Hossack
		6	Craig Lowndes
		7	David Besnard
		19		Owen Kelly
00 Motorsport	Ford AU Falcon Ford BA Falcon	7	Rodney Forbes
	BA Falcon	00	Greg Ritter Rodney Forbes
Castrol Perkins Racing	Holden VX Commodore	8	Paul Dumbrell	Tomas Mezera
	Holden VX Commodore Holden VY Commodore	11	Steven Richards	Larry Perkins
Larkham Motor Sport	Ford BA Falcon Ford AU Falcon	10	Mark Larkham	Kerry Wade Grant Johnson
		20	Jason Bargwanna
Robert Smith Racing	Holden VX Commodore	13		Phillip Scifleet Steve Owen
		72		Alan Gurr** Jonny Reid**
K-mart Racing Team	Holden VX Commodore	15	Rick Kelly	Cameron McLean Andy Priaulx
	Holden VX Commodore Holden VY Commodore	51	Greg Murphy
Team Brock	Holden VX Commodore	16	Paul Weel	Marcus Marshall Greg Ritter
		50	Jason Bright
Dick Johnson Racing	Ford BA Falcon	17	Steven Johnson	Warren Luff
		18	Max Wilson	David Brabham
Brad Jones Racing	Ford BA Falcon	21	Brad Jones	John Cleland Andrew Jones
		888	John Bowe
Team Kiwi Racing	Holden VX Commodore	021	Craig Baird	Mark Porter
ICS Team Ford	Ford AU Falcon	23	Mark Noske	Neal Bates Rick Bates
Romano Racing	Holden VX Commodore	24	Paul Romano
Paul Morris Motorsport	Holden VX Commodore	24	Wayne Wakefield	Andy McElrea Alan Gurr*
	Holden VY Commodore	29	Paul Morris	John Faulkner
Supercheap Auto Racing	Ford BA Falcon	31	Steven Ellery	Luke Youlden
Garry Rogers Motorsport	Holden VX Commodore Holden VY Commodore	33	Jamie Whincup	Nathan Pretty Allan Simonsen
	Holden VY Commodore	34	Garth Tander
Team Dynamik	Holden VY Commodore	44	Simon Wills	Nicolas Minassian Wayne Wakefield* Jan Magnussen**
		45	Jason Richards
John Faulkner Racing	Holden VX Commodore	46		Tony Ricciardello Dale Brede
Fernández Racing	Ford AU Falcon	55		José Fernández** David Russell**
Phoenix Motorsport	Holden VX Commodore	59		Jamie Miller Ron Searle
Briggs Motor Sport	Ford BA Falcon	65	Paul Radisich
		66	Dean Canto
Triple Eight Race Engineering	Ford BA Falcon	65	Paul Radisich	Rickard Rydell
		66	Dean Canto	Matthew White
Spies Hecker Racing	Holden VX Commodore	69		Robert Jones** Peter Doulman**
Paul Little Racing	Ford AU Falcon Ford BA Falcon	75	Anthony Tratt	Paul Stokell
Sydney Star Racing	Ford AU Falcon	89		Mal Rose** Grant Elliott**
Thexton Motor Racing	Ford AU Falcon	99	David Thexton	Brett Peters* Stephen Voight**

* = Drove in Sandown 500 only

** = Drove in Bathurst 1000 only

Results and Standings

Race Calendar

The 2003 V8 Supercar Championship Series consisted of 13 rounds which included eleven sprint rounds of one, two or three races and two longer distance endurance races requiring two drivers per car.

Rd.	Round Name, Circuit	City / State	Date	Format	Winner	Team	Report
1	Clipsal 500 Adelaide, Adelaide Street Circuit	Adelaide, South Australia	18 - 22 Mar	2 races	Mark Skaife	Holden Racing Team	Report
2	Phillip Island	Phillip Island, Victoria	11 - 13 Apr	1 race	Craig Lowndes	Ford Performance Racing
3	Eastern Creek Raceway	Eastern Creek, New South Wales	2–4 May	1 race	Marcos Ambrose	Stone Brothers Racing
4	Winton Motor Raceway	Benalla, Victoria	23–25 May	1 race	Marcos Ambrose	Stone Brothers Racing
5	VB 300, Barbagallo Raceway	Perth, Western Australia	6 - 8 Jun	3 races	Marcos Ambrose	Stone Brothers Racing
6	Hidden Valley Raceway	Darwin, Northern Territory	27 - 29 Jun	3 races	Marcos Ambrose	Stone Brothers Racing
7	BigPond 300, Queensland Raceway	Ipswich, Queensland	18 - 20 Jul	1 race	Russell Ingall	Stone Brothers Racing
8	Oran Park Raceway	Sydney, New South Wales	15 - 17 Aug	1 race	Marcos Ambrose	Stone Brothers Racing
9	Betta Electrical Sandown 500, Sandown International Raceway	Melbourne, Victoria	11 - 13 Sept	1 race	Mark Skaife Todd Kelly	Holden Racing Team	Report
10	Bob Jane T-Marts 1000, Mount Panorama Circuit	Bathurst, New South Wales	9 - 12 Oct	1 race	Greg Murphy Rick Kelly	K-mart Racing Team	Report
11	Gillette V8 Supercar Challenge, Surfers Paradise Street Circuit	Surfers Paradise, Queensland	23 - 26 Oct	2 races	Russell Ingall	Stone Brothers Racing
12	Placemakers V8 International, Pukekohe Park Raceway	Pukekohe, New Zealand	7 - 9 Nov	3 races	Greg Murphy	K-mart Racing Team	Report
13	VIP Petfoods Main Event, Eastern Creek Raceway	Eastern Creek, New South Wales	28 - 30 Nov	2 races	Marcos Ambrose	Stone Brothers Racing

Drivers championship

Drivers were required to drop the points earned at their worst round from their total, regardless of how many rounds were entered. Drivers who only entered one round lost all their points.

Pos. Driver Pen. ADE PHI EAS1 WIN BAR HID QLD ORA SAN BAT SUR PUK EAS2 Pts. 1 Marcos Ambrose 0 1 Ret 17 1 1 3 2 1 2 1 1 2 1 5 6 6 4 6 23 9 1 1 2085 (2181) 2 Greg Murphy 0 10 11 3 5 14 1 4 3 6 5 2 8 11 3 1 2 2 1 1 3 23 Ret 1983 (2013) 3 Mark Skaife 105 2 1 6 19 6 2 1 23 1 2 3 Ret 3 1 8 3 3 7 2 1 7 Ret 1817 (1853) 4 Jason Bright 0 3 6 2 4 2 12 10 10 3 4 4 5 19 31 Ret 4 Ret 21 3 2 2 2 1770 5 Craig Lowndes 0 Ret 7 1 2 10 6 Ret 17 28 27 15 6 2 16 2 15 9 16 12 18 6 4 1756 (1814) 6 Steven Richards 50 4 2 7 8 3 4 3 8 9 6 5 Ret 23 6 4 Ret 22 20 6 6 4 16 1709 7 Russell Ingall 90 7 12 10 3 4 5 27 14 Ret 17 8 1 8 5 6 1 1 19 26 10 DSQ DSQ 1701 8 Rick Kelly 25 9 24 11 9 11 10 9 4 14 7 18 9 24 3 1 5 7 8 13 5 25 10 1675 (1729) 9 Todd Kelly 0 5 5 5 Ret DSQ 7 7 2 7 24 Ret 3 6 1 8 10 Ret 2 4 4 3 Ret 1628 10 Paul Radisich 0 12 4 12 15 7 16 13 6 5 8 23 Ret Ret 7 7 11 6 5 7 8 12 7 1618 11 John Bowe 0 Ret 23 21 30 8 30 11 11 10 10 7 7 7 4 10 14 10 12 10 Ret 11 14 1478 (1496) 12 Garth Tander 0 13 15 4 6 Ret 9 5 5 4 3 24 25 4 18 19 16 Ret 3 Ret 21 22 5 1470 (1506) 13 Paul Weel 0 14 3 8 11 5 13 6 7 12 11 13 10 16 22 Ret 13 16 15 11 12 29 Ret 1450 14 Jason Bargwanna 0 15 19 26 14 13 Ret Ret DNS 17 13 20 17 15 9 Ret 17 13 4 5 13 9 6 1341 (1343) 15 Glenn Seton 0 18 10 9 26 12 14 15 18 Ret 16 17 Ret Ret 16 2 12 5 11 9 11 18 Ret 1266 16 Steven Johnson 0 6 Ret 18 17 19 29 18 12 13 29 12 12 Ret 15 13 8 8 10 Ret 16 20 Ret 1229 (1268) 17 Max Wilson 0 26 Ret 16 16 9 24 17 13 Ret 20 16 24 Ret 19 12 9 23 18 24 19 5 3 1214 (1244) 18 Cameron McConville 0 8 Ret Ret 12 17 21 8 9 23 14 14 15 9 Ret 20 19 15 Ret 18 20 10 8 1191 19 Steve Ellery 0 29 DSQ 20 22 25 11 16 Ret 8 15 9 14 21 2 3 Ret Ret 9 21 14 24 23 1164 (1176) 20 Brad Jones 0 24 18 15 Ret 26 15 14 15 15 21 10 Ret 12 4 10 Ret 18 22 22 15 16 18 1127 21 David Besnard 0 Ret Ret Ret 13 24 20 20 Ret 24 18 28 11 13 8 Ret 7 Ret 25 15 Ret 28 11 1059 22 Simon Wills 0 16 9 22 7 Ret 8 Ret 16 11 9 6 Ret Ret Ret 22 22 11 13 8 7 Ret 22 1059 23 Paul Morris 0 27 20 13 10 Ret 18 Ret 20 Ret 23 30 4 Ret 13 Ret 20 19 14 16 Ret 8 19 1047 24 Dean Canto 0 20 Ret 29 23 23 27 22 26 18 12 19 22 10 14 Ret Ret 24 17 14 25 15 9 1001 (1025) 25 Mark Larkham 0 23 16 23 18 22 26 23 27 26 30 21 Ret 18 9 Ret 18 17 27 20 23 19 Ret 949 (979) 26 Jason Richards 0 28 Ret 28 21 15 28 12 25 16 31 24 20 5 Ret 22 23 Ret DNS DNS DNS 14 21 909 27 Jamie Whincup 0 17 22 25 Ret Ret 22 Ret 21 20 Ret 11 16 20 29 19 25 12 28 17 Ret 13 15 906 28 Mark Noske 0 Ret 13 30 27 18 17 19 19 19 25 29 21 14 25 Ret Ret 25 Ret DNS DNS 17 13 905 29 Paul Dumbrell 0 11 8 31 20 Ret 19 26 Ret 27 22 Ret 13 17 Ret 14 26 21 24 28 17 21 12 887 30 Craig Baird 0 21 14 19 24 DSQ 25 24 22 22 19 27 18 22 Ret 17 21 14 23 19 22 26 20 856 31 Anthony Tratt 0 19 Ret 24 Ret 16 31 21 24 25 Ret DNS 19 Ret 30 Ret 24 20 Ret 25 24 27 17 678 32 Greg Ritter 0 22 13 14 28 20 29 26 20 22 Ret 537 (567) 33 David Thexton 0 DNQ DNQ DNQ 29 DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ 23 DNQ 26 16 26 27 26 DNQ DNQ 348 34 Rodney Forbes 0 25 21 27 25 DSQ 23 25 28 21 28 26 238 35 Luke Youlden 0 2 3 188 (372) 36 Larry Perkins 0 6 4 180 (352) 37 Tony Longhurst 0 10 5 176 (332) 37 Jim Richards 0 10 5 176 (332) 39 Rickard Rydell 0 7 7 168 (336) 40 Owen Kelly 0 8 Ret 164 (252) 41 John Cleland 0 20 9 160 (276) 41 Andrew Jones 0 20 9 160 (276) 43 Wayne Wakefield 0 DNQ 21 DNQ DNQ 28 DNQ 156 44 Nicolas Minassian 0 28 11 152 (236) 44 Mark Winterbottom 0 11 Ret 152 (228) 46 David Brabham 0 19 12 148 (268) 47 Cameron McLean 0 12 Ret 148 47 Andy Priaulx 0 12 Ret 148 49 Warren Luff 0 15 13 144 (280) 49 John Faulkner 0 13 Ret 144 51 Matthew White 0 14 Ret 140 (236) 51 Tomas Mezera 0 Ret 14 140 53 Darren Hossack 0 17 Ret 128 53 Adam Macrow 0 17 Ret 128 53 Mark Porter 0 Ret 17 128 56 Grant Johnson 0 23 18 124 (228) 56 Kerry Wade 0 23 18 124 (228) 56 Nathan Pretty 0 18 Ret 124 59 Tim Leahey 0 Ret 20 116 60 Steve Owen 0 21 21 112 (224) 60 Phillip Scifleet 0 21 21 112 (224) 62 Marcus Marshall 0 22 Ret 108 (208) 63 Dale Brede 0 24 Ret 100 63 Tony Ricciardello 0 24 Ret 100 65 Neal Bates 0 25 Ret 100 65 Rick Bates 0 25 Ret 100 67 Alan Gurr 0 27 Ret 88 67 Andy McElrea 0 27 DNQ 88 69 Paul Stokell 0 30 Ret 80 (156) 69 Allan Simonsen 0 29 Ret 80 Jan Magnussen 0 11 0 (152) Jamie Miller 0 15 0 (136) Ron Searle 0 15 0 (136) Steven Voight 0 16 0 (132) Grant Elliott 0 23 0 (104) Mal Rose 0 23 0 (104) Brett Peters 0 26 0 (92) Jose Fernandez 0 Ret 0 (84) David Russell 0 Ret 0 (84) Paul Romano 0 Ret Ret 0 Peter Doulman 0 Ret 0 Robert Jones 0 Ret 0 Jonny Reid 0 Ret 0 David Krause 0 Ret Ret 0 Pos. Driver Pen. ADE PHI EAS1 WIN BAR HID QLD ORA SAN BAT SUR PUK EAS2 Pts.

Colour Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Retired (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Withdrew (WD) Race cancelled (C) Blank Did not participate (DNP) Excluded (EX) Bold - Pole position Italics - Fastest lap

See also

2003 V8 Supercar season

External links

• Official V8 Supercar site
• 2003 Racing Results Archive
• Images from the 2003 V8 Supercar Championship Series Retrieved from www.motorsport.com on 27 September 2009