Grand Finale (V8 Supercars)

The Grand Finale was the name given to the final round of the V8 Supercar Championship Series from 2003 to 2008. In those years, it was held at Sydney Motorsport Park (then known as Eastern Creek Raceway), the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit and Oran Park Raceway. The Grand Finale was staged over a weekend in either November or December each year. Free practice took place on Friday; qualifying sessions and the first of three races took place on Saturday; and the final two races took place on Sunday. The driver accumulating the most points over the weekend's races was deemed the winner of the event.

The Grand Finale was introduced for the 2003 season and was called "The Main Event". It was held at Eastern Creek Raceway and was won by Marcos Ambrose, who secured his first championship win in the process.. The 2003 event is remembered for an incident between Russell Ingall and Mark Skaife, which has since been dubbed the "Race Rage" incident and the "Shriek at the Creek". Ingall and Skaife made contact exiting a corner which resulted in Skaife being spun into the wall. Having parked his damaged car on the other side of the track, Skaife remained next to his car, waiting for Ingall to return on the following lap. Skaife walked towards the edge of the circuit, shaking his fist at Ingall, and Ingall responded by swerving towards Skaife. Ingall was disqualified from the event and both drivers were fined. Ambrose won the event for the second time in 2004, again securing the championship on the same weekend.

The event moved to Phillip Island for 2005 and Ambrose again won the event, though Craig Lowndes won the first of the three races on this occasion. Ingall secured his first championship win at the event, having finished runner-up in the championship four times previously. In 2006, Rick Kelly led the championship by a small points margin over Lowndes. Following the first two races, in which Lowndes complained of being unfairly held up by Kelly's teammates, Kelly and Lowndes were tied on points. A controversial incident in the third race saw Kelly make contact with the back of Lowndes, sending Lowndes and Kelly's brother Todd into a spin. Lowndes was stranded in the middle of the track and was hit by Will Davison, sustaining steering damage which caused him to finish in thirty-first place. Despite receiving a drive-through penalty for his role in the incident and finishing eighteenth and a protest from Lowndes' team, Kelly was crowned champion.

The event decided the championship again in 2007, with Garth Tander and Jamie Whincup battling for the title. Tander won the event, winning two races, and secured the championship by two points over Whincup. Oran Park Raceway hosted the event in 2008, the circuit's final championship event after being on the calendar in every season since 1971. Tander again won the event but it was Whincup who won the championship. The event was Mark Skaife's last as a full-time driver after having raced in the championship since 1987.

2009 saw the Grand Finale replaced by the Sydney 500, held at the then-new Homebush Street Circuit around Sydney Olympic Park.

Winners

Year	Event Title	Circuit	Driver	Team	Car
2003	The Main Event presented by VIP Petfoods	Sydney Motorsport Park	Marcos Ambrose	Stone Brothers Racing	Ford BA Falcon
2004	BigPond Grand Finale	Sydney Motorsport Park	Marcos Ambrose	Stone Brothers Racing	Ford BA Falcon
2005	BigPond Grand Finale	Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit	Marcos Ambrose	Stone Brothers Racing	Ford BA Falcon
2006	Caterpillar Grand Finale	Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit	Todd Kelly	Holden Racing Team	Holden VZ Commodore
2007	Dunlop Grand Finale	Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit	Garth Tander	HSV Dealer Team	Holden VE Commodore
2008	NRMA Motoring and Services Grand Finale	Oran Park Raceway	Garth Tander	Holden Racing Team	Holden VE Commodore

External links

• Event details at V8supercar.com.au
• Oran Park Raceway official website