2003 Konica V8 Supercar Series


The 2003 Konica V8 Supercar Series was an Australian motor racing competition held for V8 Supercars. It was the fourth V8 Supercar Development Series. The series began on 23 February 2003 at Wakefield Park and finished on 31 August at Mallala Motor Sport Park after sixteen races at six rounds held across three different states.
Series winner Mark Winterbottom won eight of the 16 races and four of the six rounds. The new points system placed an increased emphasis on finishing races and series runner up Matthew White scored just 58 points less than Winterbottom, despite taking only two race wins and six top three race finishes.

Teams and drivers

The following teams and drivers competed in the 2003 Konica V8 Supercar Series. This was the last season that the Holden VS Commodore and Ford EL Falcon was eligible.
TeamCarNo.DriverRounds
Brad Jones RacingFord AU Falcon12 Andrew Jones1-2, 4-6
Imrie Motor SportHolden VX Commodore14 Geoff Full1-2
Imrie Motor SportHolden VX Commodore14 Steve Owen4-6
Paul Cruickshank RacingFord AU Falcon22 Todd Wanless1-3, 5-6
Terry Wyhoon RacingFord AU Falcon25 Terry WyhoonAll
M3 MotorsportHolden VT Commodore
Holden VX Commodore		26 Bob McDonald1
M3 MotorsportHolden VT Commodore
Holden VX Commodore		26 Peter Doulman4-5
Howard RacingFord AU Falcon27 Marcus Marshall4-5
Howard RacingFord AU Falcon49 Tim GordonAll
Howard RacingFord AU Falcon94 Mark HowardAll
Matthew White RacingHolden VX Commodore
Ford AU Falcon		28 Matthew WhiteAll
Steven Ellery RacingFord AU Falcon30 Luke YouldenAll
Clyde Lawrence RacingHolden VS Commodore
Holden VX Commodore		35 Clyde Lawrence1-3, 5-6
South Pacific Motor SportHolden VS Commodore38 Mathew Hunt3
Peters MotorsportFord AU Falcon40 Brett PetersAll
Stone Brothers RacingFord AU Falcon41 Mark WinterbottomAll
Holden Young LionsHolden VX Commodore46 Dale BredeAll
Holden Young LionsHolden VX Commodore96 Tony D'Alberto3-6
Craig BastianFord AU Falcon47 Craig BastianAll
Fernández RacingFord AU Falcon55 José Fernández1-4, 6
Kevin Mundy RacingFord AU Falcon56 Kevin MundyAll
Motorsport Engineering ServicesHolden VT Commodore58 Derek van Zelm4-5
Phoenix MotorsportHolden VX Commodore59 Jamie MillerAll
Independent Race Cars AustraliaHolden VX Commodore64 Mark PorterAll
Shane Beikoff RacingHolden VS Commodore
Ford EL Falcon		68 Shane Beikoff1-3, 5
Spiess Heckler RacingHolden VX Commodore69 Robert Jones2-6
Dick Johnson RacingFord AU Falcon71 Tony Ricciardello1-5
Dick Johnson RacingFord AU Falcon71 Warren Luff6
Robert Smith RacingHolden VX Commodore72 Owen KellyAll
V8 RacingHolden VS Commodore77 Richard Mork1, 3
V8 RacingHolden VS Commodore77 Michael Simpson2
V8 RacingHolden VS Commodore77 Tim Rowse4-5
Graham CrawfordFord EL Falcon87 Graham Crawford1-2, 4
Halliday Motor SportFord AU Falcon88 Peter GazzardAll
Sydney Star RacingFord AU Falcon89 Adam Wallis4-6
Sydney Star RacingHolden VS Commodore98 Grant ElliottAll
Peter BestHolden VS Commodore90 Peter Best3-4
Thexton Motor RacingFord AU Falcon100 David Thexton4-6
Chance of a LifetimeFord AU Falcon110 David RussellAll
A.N.T. RacingHolden VS Commodore300 Tony Evangelou1-2, 4-5
Nichols MotorsportFord EL Falcon666 Phillip Nichols1, 3-4

Race calendar

RoundDateCircuitLocationWinning driver
122-23 February Wakefield ParkGoulburn, New South Wales Mark Winterbottom
220-21 March Adelaide Street CircuitAdelaide, South Australia Mark Winterbottom
33-4 May Eastern Creek RacewaySydney, New South Wales Mark Winterbottom
45-6 July Phillip Island Grand Prix CircuitPhillip Island, Victoria Matthew White
52-3 August Winton Motor RacewayBenalla, Victoria Andrew Jones
630-31 August Mallala Motor Sport ParkMallala, South Australia Mark Winterbottom

Points system

The series consisted of six rounds across three different states. Rounds 1 and 3–6 consisted of three races. The second race of each weekend saw the finishing order of race 1 reversed to form the grid, a 'reverse grid' race. Round 2 consisted of a single race. Points were awarded for all cars who finished each race in finishing order. Points may have been offered beyond the 29th position but at no point during the series did more than 29 cars finish a race. Round 2's single race carried three times the points of a single race elsewhere in the series.
The pointscore also saw the worst round result deducted, although the worst result had to be a round the competitor had entered.
Position1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th8th9th10th11th12th13th14th15th16th17th18th19th20th21st22nd23rd24th25th26th27th28th29th
Rounds 1 & 3–6
Points		646260585654525048464442403836343230282624222018161412108
Round 2
Points		19218618017416816215615014413813212612011410810296908478726660544842363024

Series standings

Points table referenced, in part, as follows: