2003 German 500

February 2025 Open-wheel race held in Klettwitz, Germany GER German 500 EuroSpeedway Lausitz tri-oval diagram.svg Layout of EuroSpeedway Lausitz May 11 2003 German 500 5 18 CART EuroSpeedway LausitzKlettwitz, Brandenburg, Germany Permanent racing circuit 2.023 3.256 154 311.542 501.378 Mostly cloudy Sébastien Bourdais Newman/Haas Racing 37.000 FRA Michel Jourdain Jr. Team Rahal 36.721 133 MEX Sébastien Bourdais Newman/Haas Racing FRA Mario Domínguez Herdez Competition MEX Michel Jourdain Jr. Team Rahal MEX 2003 London Champ Car Trophy 2003 Milwaukee Mile Centennial 250 The 2003 German 500 was a Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) open-wheel race that was held on May 11, 2003 at EuroSpeedway Lausitz in Klettwitz, Brandenburg, Germany. It was the fifth round of the 2003 Champ Car World Series and the second and final running of the event. The 154-lap race was won by Newman/Haas Racing driver Sébastien Bourdais. Mario Domínguez of Herdez Competition finished second and Team Rahal's Michel Jourdain Jr. came in third. Bourdais set the fastest time of qualifying and won the pole position. Prior to the race, Alex Zanardi drove 13 laps around the circuit in honor of the laps he never completed in the 2001 American Memorial due to his near-fatal crash. Bourdais and his teammate Bruno Junqueira traded the lead several times before Domínguez passed them both on lap 35. Domínguez's blocking tactics against Bourdais were deemed too aggressive by CART and he was issued a penalty, allowing Bourdais and Junqueira to continue their battle for the lead. After the final round of pit stops, Bourdais reclaimed the lead, but received immense pressure from Domínguez's multiple attempts to pass him. Bourdais ultimately fended off Domínguez and earned his second CART victory. With Paul Tracy struggling to materialize a fast pace due to an overabundance of downforce on his car, he was left tied with Junqueira for the lead in the Drivers' Championship. Bourdais' win boosted him from sixth to fourth place in the standings. Lola widened their lead over Reynard in the Constructors' Championship with 13 races left in the season. Background 2003 Champ Car World Series#Drivers and teamsleft|thumb|The EuroSpeedway Lausitz (pictured in 2012), where the race was held. The German 500 was the fifth of 18 scheduled open-wheel races for the 2003 Champ Car World Series, the second edition of the event, and the second and last race in Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART)'s European swing; the London Champ Car Trophy was held at Brands Hatch in England the week prior.Oreovicz John May 8, 2003 Looking back, and looking forward: Champ Cars arrive in Germany http://cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=5979 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20030609104447/http://cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=5979 June 9, 2003 November 21, 2025 Championship Auto Racing Teams It was held on May 11, 2003 at EuroSpeedway Lausitz, a three-turn 2.023 mi km on superspeedway, in Klettwitz, Brandenburg, Germany, and was contested over 154 laps and 311.542 mi km out.Lausitzring https://www.racingcircuits.info/europe/germany/lausitzring.html live https://web.archive.org/web/20250307185332/https://www.racingcircuits.info/europe/germany/lausitzring.html March 7, 2025 November 21, 2025 RacingCircuits.infoMay 8, 2003 Champ Car World Series rookie Sebastien Bourdais slows Tracy Express as everybody heads to high-speed war at Eurospeedway http://cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=5981 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20030609082823/http://cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=5981 June 9, 2003 November 21, 2025 Championship Auto Racing Teams The FIA Sportscars and German Formula Three Championship held support races that same weekend. Heading into the race, Paul Tracy held the lead in the Drivers' Championship with 65 points, eleven more than Bruno Junqueira in second. Michel Jourdain Jr. held third on 42 points, ahead of fourth-placed Adrián Fernández with 29 and fifth-placed Patrick Carpentier with 28. In the Constructors' Cup standings, Lola led with 88 points, while Reynard stood second on 34.Standings after London Champ Car Trophy http://www.cart.com:80/Standings.asp?EventID=449 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20030519173631/http://www.cart.com:80/Standings.asp?EventID=449 May 19, 2003 November 21, 2025 Championship Auto Racing Teams CART's last race at Lausitz, held four days after the September 11 attacks in 2001, was overshadowed by a severe crash which left Alex Zanardi losing both legs.January 9, 2003 CART to run at Brands Hatch https://www.espn.com/rpm/cart/2003/0109/1489857.html live https://web.archive.org/web/20251121154113/https://www.espn.com/rpm/cart/2003/0109/1489857.html November 21, 2025 November 21, 2025 ESPN One month after track promoters filed for insolvency, the event was dropped from the series' schedule in 2002, despite CART's expectations that the race would be held as scheduled.July 16, 2002 CART's German 500 canceled http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/motorsports/news/2002/07/16/cart_germany_ap/ dead https://web.archive.org/web/20040824223246/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/motorsports/news/2002/07/16/cart_germany_ap/ August 24, 2004 November 21, 2025 Sports IllustratedGerman CART race cancelled https://www.autosport.com/general/news/german-cart-race-cancelled-5040052/5040052/ live https://web.archive.org/web/20251121154346/https://www.autosport.com/general/news/german-cart-race-cancelled-5040052/5040052/ November 21, 2025 November 21, 2025 Autosport The race was again omitted from the schedule in 2003, although an event in Europe was tentatively listed.August 11, 2002 CART unveils 2003 calendar https://www.autosport.com/general/news/cart-unveils-2003-calendar-5038842/5038842/ live https://web.archive.org/web/20210730104952/https://www.autosport.com/general/news/cart-unveils-2003-calendar-5038842/5038842/ July 30, 2021 November 21, 2025 Autosport On January 10, 2003, CART president and chief executive officer (CEO) Chris Pook and track CEO Hans-Jörg Fischer announced the series' return to Lausitz; additionally, all tickets sold to the cancelled 2002 event would be honored for the 2003 event.January 10, 2003 Champ Cars Return to Eurospeedway Lausitz http://www.cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=5371 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20030208004915/http://www.cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=5371 February 8, 2003 November 21, 2025 Championship Auto Racing Teams CART required each team not to change their aerodynamic configuration from the previous round at Brands Hatch. The road course aero package was expected to decrease speeds below 200 mph km/h on and create close pack racing.May 4, 2003 Junqueira: Tracy will struggle in Germany https://www.autosport.com/general/news/junqueira-tracy-will-struggle-in-germany-5028598/5028598/ live https://web.archive.org/web/20210802055724/https://www.autosport.com/general/news/junqueira-tracy-will-struggle-in-germany-5028598/5028598/ August 2, 2021 November 21, 2025 Autosport Sébastien Bourdais, the winner of the preceding London Champ Car Trophy, expressed anticipation for the German 500 and admitted that he underestimated the skills necessary to compete on an oval track until he completed a preseason test at Phoenix International Raceway.CHAMPCAR/CART: Lausitz: Newman/Haas preview https://au.motorsport.com/indycar/news/champcar-cart-lausitz-newman-haas-preview/2004698/ live https://web.archive.org/web/20251121181700/https://au.motorsport.com/indycar/news/champcar-cart-lausitz-newman-haas-preview/2004698/ November 21, 2025 November 21, 2025 Motorsport.com Championship leader Tracy acknowledged the adversity of altering the racing setup from that of a road course like Brands Hatch to a superspeedway like Lausitz, but assured that he would finish well in the race.CHAMPCAR/CART: Lausitz: Team Player's preview https://au.motorsport.com/indycar/news/champcar-cart-lausitz-team-player-s-preview/2004726/ live https://web.archive.org/web/20251121185220/https://au.motorsport.com/indycar/news/champcar-cart-lausitz-team-player-s-preview/2004726/ November 21, 2025 November 21, 2025 Motorsport.com Junqueira conversely believed that Forsythe Racing's overuse of downforce may place Tracy and Carpentier at a disadvantage compared to other teams. Jourdain Jr. was confident that he could perform well at Lausitz due to Team Rahal's success on superspeedways over the past five years, including a win at the track with Kenny Bräck in 2001.May 8, 2003 Team Rahal looks to continue superspeedway success http://www.cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=5983 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20030627050906/http://www.cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=5983 June 27, 2003 November 21, 2025 Championship Auto Racing Teams Practice and qualifying One 160-minute practice session on Saturday morning preceded the race on Sunday. The first 25 minutes were exclusively reserved for the nine rookie drivers, while the last 135 minutes were open to all competitors. Bourdais set the quickest time of the session at 36.794 seconds, almost a tenth of a second quicker than Newman/Haas Racing teammate Junqueira in second. Mario Domínguez, Alex Tagliani, and Jourdain Jr. rounded out the top-five.2003 German 500 - Practice 1 Results http://www.cart.com/Results/SessionResults.asp?ID=909 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20030519172733/http://www.cart.com/Results/SessionResults.asp?ID=909 May 19, 2003 November 21, 2025 Championship Auto Racing TeamsMay 10, 2003 Bourdais Fastest in German 500 Practice http://cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=5995 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20030609082016/http://cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=5995 June 9, 2003 November 21, 2025 Championship Auto Racing Teams The session featured several stoppages for Darren Manning, Rodolfo Lavín, and Tagliani, all of whom slowed to a halt on the track. Debris from Tracy and Oriol Servià's cars also paused the session.May 10, 2003 German 500 AM Press Notes – Saturday, May 10, 2003 http://cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=5997 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20030609081910/http://cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=5997 June 9, 2003 November 21, 2025 Championship Auto Racing Teams It’s great to win the pole on my first trip to an oval. It was not really my job -- the engineers did a wonderful job to make the car where I could run flat out. I think we have had a strong car since the beginning of the season. We were quick at Brands Hatch so I didn’t think we prepared the cars enough for this event since we had to make a compromise and have one set-up that would work on the road course and the oval. It was fairly easy to stay flat all the way around. We definitely have a good chance to be on pace at all of the races. Sébastien Bourdais, following the qualifying session. left 30% During the qualifying session on Saturday afternoon, the slowest driver of the practice session went out on track first, while the quickest driver went last. Each driver was allowed to complete up to four warm-up laps before running two timed laps, with the fastest of the two determining their starting position.May 10, 2003 German 500 PM Press Notes – Saturday, May 10, 2003 http://cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=6005 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20030609142051/http://cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=6005 June 9, 2003 November 21, 2025 Championship Auto Racing Teams The session was held under cloudy and lukewarm conditions. Bourdais earned the third pole position of his career with a time of 37.000 seconds.May 10, 2003 Bourdais to Start on Pole in Oval Debut in Germany; Junqueira to Start 2nd http://cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=6006 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20030609152423/http://cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=6006 June 9, 2003 November 21, 2025 Championship Auto Racing Teams He was joined on the grid's front row by Junqueira, who clinched his best qualifying performance of the season thus far, but was displeased that his lap was two tenths of a second slower than Bourdais'.May 10, 2003 Qualifying: Bourdais secures pole https://www.autosport.com/general/news/qualifying-bourdais-secures-pole-5028314/5028314/ live https://web.archive.org/web/20210728021304/https://www.autosport.com/general/news/qualifying-bourdais-secures-pole-5028314/5028314/ July 28, 2021 November 21, 2025 Autosport With Bourdais starting first and Junqueira second, Newman/Haas Racing earned their first one-two qualifying effort since the 1995 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.May 10, 2003 Boy wonder Bourdais takes pole at EuroSpeedway http://cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=5998 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20030609140318/http://cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=5998 June 9, 2003 November 21, 2025 Championship Auto Racing Teams Jourdain Jr. qualified third; however, CART officials noted a modification to his car's air inlet in post-qualifying technical inspection. Because this was a violation of CART's rules, Jourdain Jr. was required to start at the back of the grid and Team Rahal was fined $10,000.May 10, 2003 Jourdain's Car Fails Post Qualifying Inspection in Germany, Team Rahal Fined http://cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=6011 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20030609083039/http://cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=6011 June 9, 2003 November 21, 2025 Championship Auto Racing Teams The team immediately filed a protest and the series judges ruled in favor of them, meaning that all penalties were revoked and Jourdain Jr. kept the third starting position.May 11, 2003 Jourdain and Rahal evade penalty https://www.autosport.com/general/news/jourdain-and-rahal-evade-penalty-5028306/5028306/ live https://web.archive.org/web/20210730151522/https://www.autosport.com/general/news/jourdain-and-rahal-evade-penalty-5028306/5028306/ July 30, 2021 November 21, 2025 Autosport Mário Haberfeld and Manning took the remaining positions in the top five, and Domínguez, Servià, Lavín, Tagliani, and Patrick Lemarié took positions sixth through tenth.2003 German 500 - Qualifying 1 Results http://www.cart.com/Results/SessionResults.asp?ID=910 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20030516121825/http://www.cart.com/Results/SessionResults.asp?ID=910 May 16, 2003 November 21, 2025 Championship Auto Racing Teams Many drivers who qualified outside the top ten complained of an excessive amount of drag which hampered their cars. Jimmy Vasser took 11th, ahead of Roberto Moreno in 12th, Alex Yoong in 13th, Tiago Monteiro in 14th, and Ryan Hunter-Reay in 15th. Forsythe Racing teammates Tracy and Carpentier expectedly struggled in qualifying and started 16th and 17th,Oreovicz John May 10, 2003 Oreo's Saturday Notebook: Junqueira second... but not happy http://www.cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=6017 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20030605150749/http://www.cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=6017 June 5, 2003 November 21, 2025 Championship Auto Racing Teams with Joël Camathias and Fernández taking the last two spots on the grid in 18th and 19th, respectively. Qualifying classification + Final qualifying results Pos Position No. Car Number Driver Team Time Time in seconds Speed Speed in MPH Grid Final starting grid position 1 2 FRA Sébastien Bourdais Newman/Haas Racing 37.000 196.832 1 2 1 BRA Bruno Junqueira Newman/Haas Racing 37.211 195.716 2 3 9 MEX Michel Jourdain Jr. Team Rahal 37.274 195.386 3 4 34 BRA Mario Haberfeld Conquest Racing 37.392 194.769 4 5 15 GBR Darren Manning Walker Racing 37.532 194.042 5 6 55 MEX Mario Domínguez Herdez Competition 37.690 193.229 6 7 20 ESP Oriol Servià Patrick Racing 37.702 193.167 7 8 5 MEX Rodolfo Lavín Walker Racing 37.717 193.091 8 9 33 CAN Alex Tagliani Rocketsports Racing 37.732 193.014 9 10 27 FRA Patrick Lemarié PK Racing 37.806 192.636 10 11 12 USA Jimmy Vasser American Spirit Team Johansson 37.911 192.103 11 12 4 BRA Roberto Moreno Herdez Competition 38.057 191.366 12 13 11 MYS Alex Yoong Dale Coyne Racing 38.152 190.889 13 14 7 POR Tiago Monteiro Fittipaldi-Dingman Racing 38.196 190.669 14 15 31 USA Ryan Hunter-Reay American Spirit Team Johansson 38.220 190.549 15 16 3 CAN Paul Tracy Forsythe Racing 38.244 190.430 16 17 32 CAN Patrick Carpentier Forsythe Racing 38.286 190.221 17 18 19 SWI Joël Camathias Dale Coyne Racing 38.558 188.879 18 19 51 MEX Adrian Fernández Fernández Racing 38.666 188.352 19 Source: Warm-up The drivers took to the track on Sunday at 10:00 a.m. local time (UTC+01:00) for a 30-minute warm-up session under cloudy conditions.May 11, 2003 German 500 AM Press Notes – Sunday, May 11, 2003 http://cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=6024 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20030610074644/http://cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=6024 June 10, 2003 November 22, 2025 Championship Auto Racing Teams Servià set the fastest time of the session at 37.344 seconds, quicker than his qualifying lap.May 11, 2003 Servia leads the way in raceday morning warm-up http://cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=6020 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20030609142409/http://cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=6020 June 9, 2003 November 22, 2025 Championship Auto Racing Teams Jourdain Jr. was eight hundredths of a second slower than Servià in second, with Bourdais, Junqueira, and Yoong occupying the next three positions.2003 German 500 - Warm-Up Results http://www.cart.com/Results/SessionResults.asp?ID=911 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20030519173407/http://www.cart.com/Results/SessionResults.asp?ID=911 May 19, 2003 November 22, 2025 Championship Auto Racing Teams Lavín and Junqueira both slowed on the circuit, bringing out two red flags in the session. Race thumb|250x250px|Alex Zanardi (pictured in 2011) completed 13 laps prior to the race to symbolize the laps he never finished in the 2001 American Memorial. Pre-race festivities began with an emotional tone as Alex Zanardi completed 13 ceremonial laps around Lausitz, symbolizing the number of laps he failed to complete in the 2001 American Memorial due to his near-fatal crash.Malsher-Lopez David December 21, 2020 Zanardi: The man whose name is a synonym for “hero” https://www.motorsport.com/indycar/news/alex-zanardi-synonym-for-hero/4930548/ live https://web.archive.org/web/20201221233239/https://www.motorsport.com/indycar/news/alex-zanardi-synonym-for-hero/4930548/ December 21, 2020 November 22, 2025 Motorsport.comMay 12, 2003 AUTO RACING; Zanardi Completes Emotional Comeback http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/12/sports/auto-racing-zanardi-completes-emotional-comeback.html live https://web.archive.org/web/20150527232708/http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/12/sports/auto-racing-zanardi-completes-emotional-comeback.html May 27, 2015 November 22, 2025 New York Times He had also ran 40 laps around the track on Friday evening to assess the car's speed. Zanardi drove a modified 2002 Reynard-built Ford-Cosworth car that was fitted with a hand-controlled accelerator and a boxed pedal assembly which allowed him to apply the brakes with his hip and thigh.May 11, 2003 Alex Zanardi Completes His Final 13 Laps At EuroSpeedway Lausitz http://cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=6041 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20030611061523/http://cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=6041 June 11, 2003 November 22, 2025 Championship Auto Racing Teams The car featured the same livery that Zanardi sported in the 2001 season prior to his accident.May 11, 2003 Bourdais wins German 500 but Zanardi steals show https://www.abc.net.au/news/2003-05-12/bourdais-wins-german-500-but-zanardi-steals-show/1852436 live https://web.archive.org/web/20161027033319/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2003-05-12/bourdais-wins-german-500-but-zanardi-steals-show/1852436 October 27, 2016 November 22, 2025 Australian Broadcasting Corporation Zanardi's 13th lap was his quickest, timing in at 37.487 seconds, which would have placed him fifth on the grid for the forthcoming race.May 11, 2003 Zanardi's Final 13 Laps http://cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=6042 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20030610075941/http://cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=6042 June 10, 2003 November 22, 2025 Championship Auto Racing Teams He later stated that he was appreciative of the fans and drivers' support and revealed the creation of his Michigan-based charity, the Alex Zanardi Foundation.May 11, 2003 CART Champ Car World Series Interview with Alex Zanardi http://www.cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=6040 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20030608050048/http://www.cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=6040 June 8, 2003 November 22, 2025 Championship Auto Racing Teams Weather conditions remained hazy around the beginning of the race,May 11, 2003 German 500 PM Press Notes – Sunday, May 11, 2003 http://www.cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=6025 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20030525045614/http://www.cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=6025 May 25, 2003 November 22, 2025 Championship Auto Racing Teams although air temperatures improved to between 70 and 74 F and track temperatures to between 85 and 103 F.May 11, 2003 Bridgestone Report: Bourdais Charges to 2nd Straight Win in Superspeedway Thriller http://cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=6035 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20030611031600/http://cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=6035 June 11, 2003 November 22, 2025 Championship Auto Racing Teams Approximately 68,000 people attended the race.May 11, 2003 Bourdais wins classic German 500 at EuroSpeedway Lausitz http://cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=6039 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20030610080207/http://cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=6039 June 10, 2003 November 22, 2025 Championship Auto Racing Teams Zanardi commanded the drivers to start their engines and series starter J. D. Wilbur waved the green flag at 2:15 p.m. to start the race. Junqueira pulled ahead of pole sitter Bourdais in the second turn to take the lead. By the third lap, Tracy utilized the outside line to improve his position from 16th to 9th. Bourdais used the draft from Junqueira's car on the back stretch and reclaimed the lead on the fourth lap. Jourdain Jr. slowly reached Junqueira and attempted to pass him on lap 12, but failed and was passed by Domínguez for third place. Junqueira reclaimed the first position from Bourdais seven laps later. The first caution flag of the race was issued on lap 23 when debris was spotted on the second turn.2003 German 500 https://www.racing-reference.info/race-results/2003_German_500/R live https://web.archive.org/web/20231130073326/https://www.racing-reference.info/race-results/2003_German_500/R/ November 30, 2023 November 22, 2025 Racing-Reference.info All the leaders elected to make pit stops. As Jourdain Jr. exited his pit stall, he knocked Lavín into Lemarié, who resultantly slammed the inside wall and sustained damage to the right side of his suspension. Junqueira led the field back up to speed at the restart on lap 28. Domínguez steered to Bourdais' left side and overtook him for second place. Behind the leaders, Tagliani became the race's second retiree that same lap due to a gearbox failure.May 11, 2003 Tagliani Teased By Mechanical Failure http://cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=6026 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20030610074835/http://cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=6026 June 10, 2003 November 22, 2025 Championship Auto Racing Teams Bourdais fell to fourth on the 33rd lap as he was passed by Servià in turn two, though Bourdais quickly reclaimed third. Two laps later, Domínguez charged past Junqueira to take the lead. Junqueira was passed by Bourdais and Servià on lap 38, dropping him to fourth place. Over the next 15 laps, Bourdais remained second, but engaged in an intense battle with Domínguez for the lead. On the 51st lap, Bourdais dove to the blend line in an attempt to overtake Domínguez, but quickly turned right and rejoined the track without losing a position. Domínguez led the field into pit road on lap 53 for the second round of pit stops as mandated by CART. He exited pit road first and retained the lead, but was warned by CART officials for blocking Bourdais. Jourdain Jr. was also assessed a 15-second penalty by CART for hitting Lavín and Lemarié on his previous stop.May 11, 2003 German 500: Bourdais wins thriller https://www.autosport.com/general/news/german-500-bourdais-wins-thriller-5028309/5028309/ live https://web.archive.org/web/20210727220105/https://www.autosport.com/general/news/german-500-bourdais-wins-thriller-5028309/5028309/ July 27, 2021 November 22, 2025 Autosport Domínguez's 0.8-second lead on lap 56 had been reduced to less than a tenth of a second as Bourdais continued their battle for the first position. On the 75th lap, Domínguez nearly forced Bourdais into the inside wall on the front stretch. During the third cycle of pit stops on lap 81, Domínguez was mandated by officials to stay in his pit stall an additional five seconds for aggressive blocking; he rejoined the race in fifth place as Bourdais took the lead. The second caution flag was issued on the 83rd lap for debris, while Yoong retired from the race with mechanical issues. Most of the 16 remaining drivers elected not to make pit stops, with the exceptions of Carpentier, Vasser, Monteiro, and Haberfeld. Green-flag racing resumed on lap 89, and Junqueira promptly overtook Servià for second place. Monteiro made contact with the outside wall on lap 93 and continued without further incident. Junqueira drove alongside Bourdais to take the lead on the 99th lap; the two drivers remained side-by-side with each other, with Bourdais leading on lap 102 and Junqueira on lap 103. The battle concluded a lap later as Junqueira backed off the throttle and fell to fourth place, while Bourdais took the lead once again.left|thumb|202x202px|Sébastien Bourdais (pictured in 2021) held off Mario Domínguez to earn his second win in CART.Bourdais led most of the field into pit road on lap 109, allowing Carpentier to assume the lead, and nearly spun into the grass after overapplying the brakes. Jourdain Jr. beat Bourdais out of pit road to take third place, but Bourdais reclaimed the position a lap later. He then took the lead as Vasser, who passed Carpentier on the 112th lap, made a pit stop with Carpentier and stalled. Eight laps later, Junqueira passed Servià on his inside for the fourth position. Domínguez got by Jourdain Jr. for second place on the 129th lap as they maneuvered around Tracy and Monteiro, both of whom had been lapped by this point. Bourdais conceded the lead to Carpentier on lap 138 to make his final pit stop of the race along with several of the leaders. Jourdain Jr. and Domínguez rejoined the track ahead of Bourdais, but by the 142nd lap, Bourdais passed them both to retake the lead as Carpentier made his final stop.May 12, 2003 Bourdais Wins In Germany http://www.cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=6045 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20030608051757/http://www.cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=6045 June 8, 2003 November 22, 2025 Championship Auto Racing Teams Domínguez overtook Jourdain Jr. for second place and followed closely behind Bourdais. For the final six laps, Domínguez made several attempts to pass Bourdais on the outside line, but Bourdais successfully defended his position and earned the second CART victory of his career and the season. Domínguez finished second, 0.084 seconds behind Bourdais, while Jourdain Jr. completed the podium. Junqueira finished fourth after passing Servià on lap 153, with Manning, Carpentier, Vasser, Lavín, and Moreno rounding out the top-ten.2003 German 500 - Race Results http://www.cart.com/Results/SessionResults.asp?ID=912 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20030611113701/http://www.cart.com/Results/SessionResults.asp?ID=912 June 11, 2003 November 22, 2025 Championship Auto Racing Teams The remaining classified finishers were Hunter-Reay, Tracy, Monteiro, Haberfeld, Fernández, and Camathias. Post-race Bourdais performed a burnout in front of the spectators before joining Domínguez and Jourdain Jr. in podium celebrations. In a post-race press conference, Bourdais regarded the racing as "fun" and stated: "When we arrived in traffic, the race started properly. I learned quite a lot racing with Mario. I wasn't quite fast enough to overtake when I was side-by-side. But in the last stint, I learned to get through traffic better and the inside line was better. It was a high-speed game but I think I did pretty well." Second-placed Domínguez thanked his team for providing quick pit stops, but opined that his penalty early in the race was unfair: "I'm just very disappointed with the people with CART and the officials because I got a penalty, and they say that I got a penalty for blocking. As far as I'm concerned, I didn't do anything wrong. Sébastien (Bourdais), when I was behind him, he was doing exactly the same thing I was doing, which is okay with me. But, you know, why should I get a penalty for something? I didn't do anything wrong."May 11, 2003 Top Three Finishers Press Conference Transcript http://www.cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=6031 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20030525045400/http://www.cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=6031 May 25, 2003 November 22, 2025 Championship Auto Racing Teams Jourdain Jr., who finished third, talked about his struggles throughout the race and acknowledged that "I just didn't have anything for (Bourdais and Domínguez), you know.”May 11, 2003 CART Champ Car Sunday Quoteboard http://www.cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=6030 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20030525050017/http://www.cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=6030 May 25, 2003 November 22, 2025 Championship Auto Racing Teams Fourth-place finisher Junqueira was disappointed and felt his car wasn't fast enough to challenge Bourdais or Domínguez for the win: "Although there is a spec engine in the series, the power varies. Sébastien and Mario (Domínguez) had the power but not as much experience and it made a difference. [...] Newman/Haas (Racing) is one of the best teams in racing so I am sure we can improve on this.” Despite Servià's fifth-place finish, he was still underwhelmed because he believed his team could win: "The Visteon/Patrick Racing team had two good performances in Europe. We scored a lot of points and moved up several places in the championship standings. However, we are still not happy with our results. The Visteon/Patrick Racing team is capable of winning races and contending for the championship. We just have to keep working hard and improving."May 11, 2003 Servia Places Fifth at German 500 http://www.cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=6043 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20030609202634/http://www.cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=6043 June 9, 2003 November 22, 2025 Championship Auto Racing Teams Tracy lamented his lackluster performance in the race, which, according to him, was caused by his aero package: "Team Player’s underestimated how the car was going to react on the German superspeedway. And I certainly didn’t expect the car would be this slow. We just weren’t competitive, and it’s hard to compete if your car isn’t on the same level as the others."May 11, 2003 Team Player's Drivers Carpentier and Tracy Make the Most of a Tough Situation by Picking up Points at German 500 http://www.cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=6033 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20030528112405/http://www.cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=6033 May 28, 2003 November 22, 2025 Championship Auto Racing Teams The final result left Tracy and Junqueira tied for the lead in the Drivers' Championship as both drivers earned 66 points. Third-placed Jourdain Jr. was ten points in arrears, while Fernández fell to seventh as Bourdais took fourth, Domínguez fifth, and Carpentier sixth. Lola continued to top the standings in the Constructors' Cup standings with 110 points, 68 more than Reynard, as 13 races remained in the season.CHAMPCAR/CART: Standings after Lausitz https://au.motorsport.com/indycar/news/champcar-cart-standings-after-lausitz/2005438/ live https://web.archive.org/web/20251123000606/https://au.motorsport.com/indycar/news/champcar-cart-standings-after-lausitz/2005438/ November 23, 2025 November 23, 2025 Motorsport.com This was the last CART race at EuroSpeedway Lausitz because the sanctioning body and its successor, Champ Car, could no longer afford to host races in Europe.November 14, 2003 Majority of 2004 schedule announced. https://www.crash.net/indycar/news/19386/1/majority-of-2004-schedule-announced live https://web.archive.org/web/20210119013146/https://www.crash.net/indycar/news/19386/1/majority-of-2004-schedule-announced January 19, 2021 November 23, 2025 Crash.net Race classification Drivers who scored championship points are denoted in bold. + Final race resultsPos PositionNo. Car NumberDriverTeamLaps Laps completedTime/RetiredGrid Final starting grid positionPoints 1 2 FRA Sébastien Bourdais Newman/Haas Racing 154 1:49:22.498 1 221 12 2 2 55 MEX Mario Domínguez Herdez Competition 154 +0.084 6 16 3 9 MEX Michel Jourdain Jr. Team Rahal 154 +0.245 3 14 4 1 BRA Bruno Junqueira Newman/Haas Racing 154 +12.042 2 12 5 20 Spain Oriol Servià Patrick Racing 154 +12.055 7 10 6 15 GBR Darren Manning Walker Racing 154 +24.602 5 8 7 32 CAN Patrick Carpentier Forsythe Racing 153 +1 lap 17 6 8 12 USA Jimmy Vasser American Spirit Team Johansson 153 +1 lap 11 5 9 5 MEX Rodolfo Lavín Walker Racing 153 +1 lap 8 4 10 4 Brazil Roberto Moreno Herdez Competition 153 +1 lap 12 3 11 31 USA Ryan Hunter-Reay American Spirit Team Johansson 152 +2 laps 15 2 12 3 CAN Paul Tracy Forsythe Racing 152 +2 laps 16 1 13 7 Portugal Tiago Monteiro Fittipaldi-Dingman Racing 152 +2 laps 14 14 34 BRA Mario Haberfeld Conquest Racing 152 +2 laps 4 15 51 MEX Adrian Fernández Fernández Racing 152 +2 laps 19 16 19 SWI Joël Camathias Dale Coyne Racing 152 +2 laps 18 17 11 Malaysia Alex Yoong Dale Coyne Racing 81 Mechanical 13 18 33 CAN Alex Tagliani Rocketsports Racing 28 Mechanical 9 19 27 FRA Patrick Lemarié PK Racing 25 Contact 10 Sources: Notes 1 1 — Includes one bonus point for being the fastest qualifier.Champ Car Rule Book 2003 http://www.cart.com:80/About/RuleBook2003.pdf dead https://web.archive.org/web/20030403040606/http://www.cart.com:80/About/RuleBook2003.pdf April 3, 2003 May 17, 2026 Championship Auto Racing TeamsChapter 7.1. 2 2 — Includes one bonus point for leading the most laps.Chapter 7.1. Standings after the race + Drivers' Championship standings Pos. Position Driver Points 10px1CAN Paul Tracy66 10px2BRA Bruno Junqueira66 (–0) 10px3MEX Michel Jourdain Jr.56 (–10) 10px 24FRA Sébastien Bourdais49 (–17) 10px 35MEX Mario Domínguez40 (–26)Sources: + Constructors' Cup standings Pos. Position Constructor Points 10px 1GBR Lola 110 10px 2GBR Reynard 42 (–68)Source: Note: Only the top five positions are included for the Drivers' Championship standings. References External links Official CART results German 500 2003 2003 London Champ Car Trophy 2003 Milwaukee Mile Centennial 250 2001 American Memorial — G German 500 German 500