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2003 V8 Supercar season
44th year of touring car racing in Australia
44th year of touring car racing in Australia
The 2003 V8 Supercar season was the 44th year of touring car racing in Australia since the first runnings of the Australian Touring Car Championship and the fore-runner of the present day Bathurst 1000, the Armstrong 500.
There were 21 touring car race meetings held during 2003; a thirteen-round series for V8 Supercars, the 2003 V8 Supercar Championship Series (VCS), two of them endurance races; a six-round second tier V8 Supercar series 2003 Konica V8 Supercar Series (KVS) along with a non-point scoring race supporting the Bathurst 1000 and V8 Supercar support programme event at the 2003 Australian Grand Prix.
Season review
The 2003 season brought substantial change at the pointy end of the series, with the era of the Holden Racing Teams dominance of V8 Supercar ending and the era of Stone Brothers Racing beginning. Marcos Ambrose form throughout the series was irresistible. From the series third round at Eastern Creek Raceway to the eighth round at Oran Park Raceway SBR Falcons took all six wins, Ambrose five of them with a second place behind Ingall at Queensland Raceway the only aberration. Ingall would win again in the Gold Coast street race with Ambrose confirming his championship at the Eastern Creek championship finale. Holden did not give in willingly, Mark Skaife and Greg Murphy each winning two rounds, with Skaife and Todd Kelly taking the reborn Sandown 500 as one of them, while one of Murphy's wins was Bathurst with his co-driver Rick Kelly becoming the youngest Bathurst winner. The only other round winner was Craig Lowndes had his first win for new team Ford Performance Racing.
Apart from the enduros, Stone Brothers Racing swept all before them with Mark Winterbottom dominating the Konica V8 Supercar Series in SBR's older AU Falcon. Winterbottom won four of the six rounds, the others were won by Andrew Jones and eventual series runner up Matthew White.
Results and standings
Race calendar
The 2003 Australian touring car season consisted of 20 events.
| Date | Series | Circuit | City / state | Winner | Team | Car | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 Feb | KVS Round 1 | Wakefield Park | Goulburn, New South Wales | Mark Winterbottom | Stone Brothers Racing | Ford AU Falcon | |
| 7–8 Mar | Netspace V8Supercar Showdown | Albert Park street circuit | Melbourne, Victoria | Russell Ingall | Stone Brothers Racing | Ford BA Falcon | report |
| 18–22 Mar | KVS Round 2 | Adelaide Street Circuit | Adelaide, South Australia | Mark Winterbottom | Stone Brothers Racing | Ford AU Falcon | |
| Clipsal 500 VCS Round 1 | Mark Skaife | Holden Racing Team | Holden VY Commodore | ||||
| 13 Apr | VCS Round 2 | Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit | Phillip Island, Victoria | Craig Lowndes | Ford Performance Racing | Ford BA Falcon | |
| 3–4 May | KVS Round 3 | Eastern Creek Raceway | Sydney, New South Wales | Mark Winterbottom | Stone Brothers Racing | Ford AU Falcon | |
| VCS Round 3 | Marcos Ambrose | Stone Brothers Racing | Ford BA Falcon | ||||
| 25 May | VCS Round 4 | Winton Motor Raceway | Benalla, Victoria | Marcos Ambrose | Stone Brothers Racing | Ford BA Falcon | |
| 7–8 Jun | VB 400 VCS Round 5 | Barbagallo Raceway | Perth, Western Australia | Marcos Ambrose | Stone Brothers Racing | Ford BA Falcon | |
| 28 Jun | VCS Round 6 | Hidden Valley Raceway | Darwin, Northern Territory | Mark Skaife | Holden Racing Team | Holden VY Commodore | |
| 6 Jul | KVS Round 4 | Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit | Phillip Island, Victoria | Matthew White | Matthew White Racing | Holden VT Commodore | |
| 19–20 Jul | VCS Round 7 | Queensland Raceway | Ipswich, Queensland | Russell Ingall | Stone Brothers Racing | Ford BA Falcon | |
| 3 Aug | KVS Round 5 | Winton Motor Raceway | Benalla, Victoria | Andrew Jones | Brad Jones Racing | Ford AU Falcon | |
| 16–17 Aug | VCS Round 8 | Oran Park Raceway | Sydney, New South Wales | Marcos Ambrose | Stone Brothers Racing | Ford BA Falcon | |
| 31 Aug | KVS Round 6 | Mallala Motor Sport Park | Adelaide, South Australia | Mark Winterbottom | Stone Brothers Racing | Ford AU Falcon | |
| 12–13 Sep | Betta Electrical 500 VCS Round 9 | Sandown Raceway | Melbourne, Victoria | Mark Skaife | |||
| Todd Kelly | Holden Racing Team | Holden VY Commodore | report | ||||
| 11–12 Oct | Konica V8 Supercar Challenge | Mount Panorama Circuit | Bathurst, New South Wales | Mark Winterbottom | Stone Brothers Racing | Ford AU Falcon | report |
| Bob Jane T-Marts 1000 VCS Round 10 | Greg Murphy | ||||||
| Rick Kelly | K-Mart Racing Team | Holden VY Commodore | report | ||||
| 25–26 Oct | Gillette V8 Supercar Challenge VCS Round 11 | Surfers Paradise street circuit | Surfers Paradise, Queensland | Russell Ingall | Stone Brothers Racing | Ford BA Falcon | |
| 8–9 Nov | Placemakers V8 International VCS Round 12 | Pukekohe Park Raceway | Pukekohe, New Zealand | Greg Murphy | K-Mart Racing Team | Holden VY Commodore | |
| 29–30 Nov | VIP Pet Foods Main Event VCS Round 13 | Eastern Creek Raceway | Sydney, New South Wales | Marcos Ambrose | Stone Brothers Racing | Ford BA Falcon |
Netspace V8Supercar Showdown
This meeting was a support event of the 2003 Australian Grand Prix.
| Driver | No. | Team | Car | Race 1 | Race 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia Russell Ingall | 9 | Stone Brothers Racing | Ford AU Falcon | 2 | 1 |
| New Zealand Steven Richards | 11 | Castrol Perkins Racing | Holden VX Commodore | 3 | 2 |
| Australia Jason Bright | 50 | Paul Weel Racing | Holden VX Commodore | 1 | 3 |
| Australia Jason Bargwanna | 20 | Larkham Motor Sport | Ford AU Falcon | 5 | 4 |
| Australia John Bowe | 88 | Brad Jones Racing | Ford BA Falcon | 6 | 5 |
| Australia Steven Johnson | 17 | Dick Johnson Racing | Ford BA Falcon | 9 | 6 |
| Australia Craig Lowndes | 6 | Ford Performance Racing | Ford BA Falcon | 7 | 7 |
| New Zealand Greg Murphy | 51 | K-Mart Racing Team | Holden VX Commodore | 4 | 8 |
| Australia Dean Canto | 66 | Briggs Motor Sport | Ford BA Falcon | 11 | 9 |
| Australia David Besnard | 19 | Ford Performance Racing | Ford AU Falcon | 10 | 10 |
| Australia Paul Dumbrell | 8 | Castrol Perkins Racing | Holden VX Commodore | 14 | 11 |
| Australia Rodney Forbes | 7 | Gibson Motor Sport | Ford AU Falcon | 15 | 12 |
| Brazil Max Wilson | 18 | Dick Johnson Racing | Ford BA Falcon | 24 | 13 |
| Australia Rick Kelly | 15 | K-Mart Racing Team | Holden VX Commodore | 13 | 14 |
| Australia Paul Morris | 29 | Paul Morris Motorsport | Holden VY Commodore | 16 | 15 |
| New Zealand Paul Radisich | 65 | Briggs Motor Sport | Ford BA Falcon | DNF | 16 |
| Australia Glenn Seton | 5 | Ford Performance Racing | Ford AU Falcon | 17 | 17 |
| Australia Mark Skaife | 1 | Holden Racing Team | Holden VY Commodore | DNF | 18 |
| Australia Cameron McConville | 3 | Lansvale Racing Team | Holden VX Commodore | 20 | 19 |
| Australia Mark Larkham | 10 | Larkham Motor Sport | Ford AU Falcon | 22 | 20 |
| Australia Greg Ritter | 00 | Gibson Motor Sport | Ford BA Falcon | 21 | 21 |
| Australia Brad Jones | 21 | Brad Jones Racing | Ford BA Falcon | 12 | 22 |
| New Zealand Jason Richards | 45 | Team Dynamik | Holden VY Commodore | 23 | DNF |
| New Zealand Simon Wills | 44 | Team Dynamik | Holden VY Commodore | 25 | DNF |
| Australia Anthony Tratt | 75 | Paul Little Racing | Ford AU Falcon | 27 | DNF |
| Australia Jamie Whincup | 33 | Garry Rogers Motorsport | Holden VX Commodore | 19 | DNF |
| Australia Marcos Ambrose | 4 | Stone Brothers Racing | Ford AU Falcon | 18 | DNF |
| New Zealand Craig Baird | 69 | Team Kiwi Racing | Holden VX Commodore | 26 | DNF |
| Australia Steve Ellery | 31 | Supercheap Auto Racing | Ford BA Falcon | 8 | DNS |
| Australia Todd Kelly | 2 | Holden Racing Team | Holden VY Commodore | DNF | DNS |
| Australia Garth Tander | 34 | Garry Rogers Motorsport | Holden VY Commodore | DNF | DNS |
| Australia Paul Weel | 16 | Paul Weel Racing | Holden VX Commodore | DNF | DNS |
V8 Supercar Championship Series
Main article: 2003 V8 Supercar Championship Series
Konica V8 Supercar Series
Main article: 2003 Konica V8 Supercar Series
Konica V8 Supercar Challenge Race
This race was a support event of the 2003 Bob Jane T-Marts 1000.
| Driver | No. | Team | Car | Grid | Race |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia Mark Winterbottom | 41 | Stone Brothers Racing | Ford AU Falcon | Pole | 1 |
| Australia Warren Luff | 71 | Dick Johnson Racing | Ford AU Falcon | 2 | 2 |
| Australia Matthew White | 28 | Matthew White Racing | Ford AU Falcon | 4 | 3 |
| New Zealand Mark Porter | 64 | Independent Race Cars Australia | Holden VX Commodore | 6 | 4 |
| Australia Adam Wallis | 88 | Halliday Motor Sport | Ford AU Falcon | 7 | 5 |
| Australia Tony D'Alberto | 96 | Holden Young Lions | Holden VX Commodore | 8 | 6 |
| Australia Kevin Mundy | 56 | Kevin Mundy Racing | Ford AU Falcon | 5 | 7 |
| Australia Grant Elliott | 98 | Sydney Star Racing | Holden VS Commodore | 10 | 8 |
| Australia Mark Howard | 37 | Howard Racing | Ford AU Falcon | 9 | 9 |
| Australia Ben Eggleston | 38 | Eggleston Motorsport | Holden VX Commodore | 11 | 10 |
| Australia Derek van Zelm | 58 | Motorsport Engineering Services | Holden VT Commodore | 19 | 11 |
| Australia Steve Voight | 100 | Thexton Motor Racing | Ford EL Falcon | 13 | 12 |
| Australia Tim Gordon | 49 | Howard Racing | Ford AU Falcon | 16 | 13 |
| New Zealand David Thexton | 40 | Thexton Motor Racing | Ford AU Falcon | 17 | 14 |
| Australia Peter Best | 90 | Allied Chemical Cleaning | Holden VS Commodore | 21 | 15 |
| Australia Phill Foster | 42 | Beikoff Racing | Holden VS Commodore | 22 | 16 |
| Australia Ray Ayton | 87 | Unibrite Property Group | Ford EL Falcon | 24 | 17 |
| Australia Tim Rowse | 300 | ANT Racing | Holden VS Commodore | 15 | 18 |
| Australia Clyde Lawrence | 35 | Clyde Lawrence Racing | Holden VS Commodore | 20 | DNF |
| Australia John Henderson | 666 | NMS Racing | Ford EL Falcon | 14 | DNF |
| Australia Richard Mork | 77 | V8 Racing | Holden VS Commodore | 18 | DNF |
| Australia Owen Kelly | 22 | Paul Cruikshank Racing | Ford AU Falcon | 3 | DNF |
| Australia Shane Beikoff | 68 | Beikoff Racing | Ford EL Falcon | 12 | DNS |
| Australia Milton Seferis | 14 | Imrie Motor Sport | Holden VX Commodore | 23 | DNS |
| Australia Garry Willmington | 110 | Willmington Performance | Ford EL Falcon | 25 | DNS |
References
Additional references can be found in linked event/series reports.
References
- (11 October 2003). "Bob Jane T-Marts 1000 - Round 10 2003 V8 Supercar Series Mount Panorama - Bathurst Konica V8 Supercars - Race". National Software.
This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.
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