2003 V8 Supercar season
# 2003 V8 Supercar season

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 | |
| 18–22 Mar | Clipsal 500 VCS Round 1 | Adelaide Street Circuit | Adelaide, South Australia | 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 | |
| 3–4 May | VCS Round 3 | Eastern Creek Raceway | Sydney, New South Wales | 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 |
| 11–12 Oct | Bob Jane T-Marts 1000 VCS Round 10 | Mount Panorama Circuit | Bathurst, New South Wales | 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 |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Russell Ingall | 9 | Stone Brothers Racing | Ford AU Falcon | 2 | 1 |
| Steven Richards | 11 | Castrol Perkins Racing | Holden VX Commodore | 3 | 2 |
| Jason Bright | 50 | Paul Weel Racing | Holden VX Commodore | 1 | 3 |
| Jason Bargwanna | 20 | Larkham Motor Sport | Ford AU Falcon | 5 | 4 |
| John Bowe | 88 | Brad Jones Racing | Ford BA Falcon | 6 | 5 |
| Steven Johnson | 17 | Dick Johnson Racing | Ford BA Falcon | 9 | 6 |
| Craig Lowndes | 6 | Ford Performance Racing | Ford BA Falcon | 7 | 7 |
| Greg Murphy | 51 | K-Mart Racing Team | Holden VX Commodore | 4 | 8 |
| Dean Canto | 66 | Briggs Motor Sport | Ford BA Falcon | 11 | 9 |
| David Besnard | 19 | Ford Performance Racing | Ford AU Falcon | 10 | 10 |
| Paul Dumbrell | 8 | Castrol Perkins Racing | Holden VX Commodore | 14 | 11 |
| Rodney Forbes | 7 | Gibson Motor Sport | Ford AU Falcon | 15 | 12 |
| Max Wilson | 18 | Dick Johnson Racing | Ford BA Falcon | 24 | 13 |
| Rick Kelly | 15 | K-Mart Racing Team | Holden VX Commodore | 13 | 14 |
| Paul Morris | 29 | Paul Morris Motorsport | Holden VY Commodore | 16 | 15 |
| Paul Radisich | 65 | Briggs Motor Sport | Ford BA Falcon | DNF | 16 |
| Glenn Seton | 5 | Ford Performance Racing | Ford AU Falcon | 17 | 17 |
| Mark Skaife | 1 | Holden Racing Team | Holden VY Commodore | DNF | 18 |
| Cameron McConville | 3 | Lansvale Racing Team | Holden VX Commodore | 20 | 19 |
| Mark Larkham | 10 | Larkham Motor Sport | Ford AU Falcon | 22 | 20 |
| Greg Ritter | 00 | Gibson Motor Sport | Ford BA Falcon | 21 | 21 |
| Brad Jones | 21 | Brad Jones Racing | Ford BA Falcon | 12 | 22 |
| Jason Richards | 45 | Team Dynamik | Holden VY Commodore | 23 | DNF |
| Simon Wills | 44 | Team Dynamik | Holden VY Commodore | 25 | DNF |
| Anthony Tratt | 75 | Paul Little Racing | Ford AU Falcon | 27 | DNF |
| Jamie Whincup | 33 | Garry Rogers Motorsport | Holden VX Commodore | 19 | DNF |
| Marcos Ambrose | 4 | Stone Brothers Racing | Ford AU Falcon | 18 | DNF |
| Craig Baird | 69 | Team Kiwi Racing | Holden VX Commodore | 26 | DNF |
| Steve Ellery | 31 | Supercheap Auto Racing | Ford BA Falcon | 8 | DNS |
| Todd Kelly | 2 | Holden Racing Team | Holden VY Commodore | DNF | DNS |
| Garth Tander | 34 | Garry Rogers Motorsport | Holden VY Commodore | DNF | DNS |
| Paul Weel | 16 | Paul Weel Racing | Holden VX Commodore | DNF | DNS |

### 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 |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Mark Winterbottom | 41 | Stone Brothers Racing | Ford AU Falcon | Pole | 1 |
| Warren Luff | 71 | Dick Johnson Racing | Ford AU Falcon | 2 | 2 |
| Matthew White | 28 | Matthew White Racing | Ford AU Falcon | 4 | 3 |
| Mark Porter | 64 | Independent Race Cars Australia | Holden VX Commodore | 6 | 4 |
| Adam Wallis | 88 | Halliday Motor Sport | Ford AU Falcon | 7 | 5 |
| Tony D'Alberto | 96 | Holden Young Lions | Holden VX Commodore | 8 | 6 |
| Kevin Mundy | 89 | Kevin Mundy Racing | Ford AU Falcon | 5 | 7 |
| Grant Elliott | 98 | Sydney Star Racing | Holden VS Commodore | 10 | 8 |
| Mark Howard | 37 | Howard Racing | Ford AU Falcon | 9 | 9 |
| Ben Eggleston | 38 | Eggleston Motorsport | Holden VX Commodore | 11 | 10 |
| Derek van Zelm | 58 | Motorsport Engineering Services | Holden VT Commodore | 19 | 11 |
| Steve Voight | 100 | Thexton Motor Racing | Ford EL Falcon | 13 | 12 |
| Tim Gordon | 49 | Howard Racing | Ford AU Falcon | 16 | 13 |
| David Thexton | 40 | Thexton Motor Racing | Ford AU Falcon | 17 | 14 |
| Peter Best | 90 | Allied Chemical Cleaning | Holden VS Commodore | 21 | 15 |
| Phill Foster | 42 | Beikoff Racing | Holden VS Commodore | 22 | 16 |
| Ray Ayton | 87 | Unibrite Property Group | Ford EL Falcon | 24 | 17 |
| Tim Rowse | 300 | ANT Racing | Holden VS Commodore | 15 | 18 |
| Clyde Lawrence | 35 | Clyde Lawrence Racing | Holden VS Commodore | 20 | DNF |
| John Henderson | 666 | NMS Racing | Ford EL Falcon | 14 | DNF |
| Richard Mork | 77 | V8 Racing | Holden VS Commodore | 18 | DNF |
| Owen Kelly | 22 | Paul Cruikshank Racing | Ford AU Falcon | 3 | DNF |
| Shane Beikoff | 68 | Beikoff Racing | Ford EL Falcon | 12 | DNS |
| Milton Seferis | 14 | Imrie Motor Sport | Holden VX Commodore | 23 | DNS |
| Garry Willmington | 110 | Willmington Performance | Ford EL Falcon | 25 | DNS |
