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 Australia Mark Skaife New Zealand Jim Richards
Australia Tony Longhurst
2 Australia Todd Kelly
Lansvale Racing Team Holden VX Commodore 3 Australia Cameron McConville Australia Tim Leahey
24 Australia David Krause
Stone Brothers Racing Ford BA Falcon 4 Australia Marcos Ambrose Australia Mark Noske
Australia Mark Winterbottom
9 Australia Russell Ingall
Ford Performance Racing Ford BA Falcon
Ford AU Falcon
5 Australia Glenn Seton Australia Adam Macrow
Australia Darren Hossack
6 Australia Craig Lowndes
7 Australia David Besnard
19 Australia Owen Kelly
00 Motorsport Ford AU Falcon
Ford BA Falcon
7 Australia Rodney Forbes
BA Falcon 00 Australia Greg Ritter
Australia Rodney Forbes
Castrol Perkins Racing Holden VX Commodore 8 Australia Paul Dumbrell Australia Tomas Mezera
Holden VX Commodore
Holden VY Commodore
11 New Zealand Steven Richards Australia Larry Perkins
Larkham Motor Sport Ford BA Falcon
Ford AU Falcon
10 Australia Mark Larkham Australia Kerry Wade
Australia Grant Johnson
20 Australia Jason Bargwanna
Robert Smith Racing Holden VX Commodore 13 Australia Phillip Scifleet
Australia Steve Owen
72 Australia Alan Gurr**
New Zealand Jonny Reid**
K-mart Racing Team Holden VX Commodore 15 Australia Rick Kelly Australia Cameron McLean
United Kingdom Andy Priaulx
Holden VX Commodore
Holden VY Commodore
51 New Zealand Greg Murphy
Team Brock Holden VX Commodore 16 Australia Paul Weel Australia Marcus Marshall
Australia Greg Ritter
50 Australia Jason Bright
Dick Johnson Racing Ford BA Falcon 17 Australia Steven Johnson Australia Warren Luff
18 Brazil Max Wilson Australia David Brabham
Brad Jones Racing Ford BA Falcon 21 Australia Brad Jones United Kingdom John Cleland
Australia Andrew Jones
888 Australia John Bowe
Team Kiwi Racing Holden VX Commodore 021 New Zealand Craig Baird New Zealand Mark Porter
ICS Team Ford Ford AU Falcon 23 Australia Mark Noske Australia Neal Bates
Australia Rick Bates
Romano Racing Holden VX Commodore 24 Australia Paul Romano
Paul Morris Motorsport Holden VX Commodore 24 Australia Wayne Wakefield Australia Andy McElrea
Australia Alan Gurr*
Holden VY Commodore 29 Australia Paul Morris New Zealand John Faulkner
Supercheap Auto Racing Ford BA Falcon 31 Australia Steven Ellery Australia Luke Youlden
Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden VX Commodore
Holden VY Commodore
33 Australia Jamie Whincup Australia Nathan Pretty
Denmark Allan Simonsen
Holden VY Commodore 34 Australia Garth Tander
Team Dynamik Holden VY Commodore 44 New Zealand Simon Wills France Nicolas Minassian
Australia Wayne Wakefield*
Denmark Jan Magnussen**
45 Australia Jason Richards
John Faulkner Racing Holden VX Commodore 46 Australia Tony Ricciardello
Australia Dale Brede
Fernández Racing Ford AU Falcon 55 Australia José Fernández**
Australia David Russell**
Phoenix Motorsport Holden VX Commodore 59 Australia Jamie Miller
Australia Ron Searle
Briggs Motor Sport Ford BA Falcon 65 New Zealand Paul Radisich
66 Australia Dean Canto
Triple Eight Race Engineering Ford BA Falcon 65 New Zealand Paul Radisich Sweden Rickard Rydell
66 Australia Dean Canto Australia Matthew White
Spiess Heckler Racing Holden VX Commodore 69 Australia Robert Jones**
Australia Peter Doulman**
Paul Little Racing Ford AU Falcon
Ford BA Falcon
75 Australia Anthony Tratt Australia Paul Stokell
Sydney Star Racing Ford AU Falcon 89 Australia Mal Rose**
Australia Grant Elliott**
Thexton Motor Racing Ford AU Falcon 99 New Zealand David Thexton Australia Brett Peters*
Australia 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
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
South Australia
PHI
Victoria (Australia)
EAS1
New South Wales
WIN
Victoria (Australia)
BAR
Western Australia
HID
Northern Territory
QLD
Queensland
ORA
New South Wales
SAN
Victoria (Australia)
BAT
New South Wales
SUR
Queensland
PUK
New Zealand
EAS2
New South Wales
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
South Australia
PHI
Victoria (Australia)
EAS1
New South Wales
WIN
Victoria (Australia)
BAR
Western Australia
HID
Northern Territory
QLD
Queensland
ORA
New South Wales
SAN
Victoria (Australia)
BAT
New South Wales
SUR
Queensland
PUK
New Zealand
EAS2
New South Wales
Pts.
Colour Result
Gold Winner
Silver 2nd place
Bronze 3rd place
Green Points finish
Blue Non-points finish
Non-classified finish (NC)
Purple Did not finish (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
Excluded (EX)

Bold - Pole position
Italics - Fastest lap

See also

2003 V8 Supercar season

External links