2003 Adelaide 500

2003 Supercar Championship event April 2021 South Australia 2003 Clipsal 500 1 13 2003 V8SC Adelaide (short route).svg 21–23 March Adelaide, South Australia Adelaide Street Circuit Fine 78 250 Jason Bright Paul Weel Racing 1:23.3729 Marcos Ambrose Stone Brothers Racing 1:55:06.9486 78 250 Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team 2:09:50.4167 Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team 189 Steven Richards Perkins Engineering 180 Paul Weel Paul Weel Racing 147 The 2003 Adelaide 500 (known for naming rights reasons as the 2003 Clipsal 500 Adelaide) was the fifth running of the Adelaide 500 race. The event served as the opening round of the 2003 V8 Supercar Championship Series and was held from March 21 to 23, 2003. The weekend was won by Mark Skaife after claiming second in the first race of the event and winning the second race on Sunday. Marcos Ambrose won the first race and proved Skaife's strongest opponent of the weekend. However, suspension failure in the second race led him to retire and allowed Skaife to comfortably claim round honours.2003-03-23 Skaife takes out V8 opening round https://www.abc.net.au/news/2003-03-23/skaife-takes-out-v8-opening-round/1822654 2026-09-10 ABC News Australia en-AU2003-03-24 Heat on after Skaife's flyer https://www.smh.com.au/sport/motorsport/heat-on-after-skaifes-flyer-20030324-gdghdd.html 2026-09-10 The Sydney Morning Herald en-AU2003-03-23 Ambrose grabs Adelaide win https://www.theage.com.au/sport/motorsport/ambrose-grabs-adelaide-win-20030323-gdvf63.html 2026-09-10 The Age en-AU The weekend presented a new dawn by way of a set of regulation changes known as Project Blueprint, designed to standardise the Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon platforms and ensure strict competitive parity. Background The format, unique to V8 Supercars, and loosely similar to the Pukekohe 500 format, splits the 500 kilometre event into two separate 250 kilometre-races, each held on a different day. Points were assigned separately to the races, with Race 2 paying double points over Race 1 (180 points for a win in Race 1 and 360 points for a win in Race 2), and they combined to award a round result. The defending event winner from 2002 was Mark Skaife of the Holden Racing Team. Entry list 2003 V8 Supercar Championship Series#Teams and drivers There were 34 drivers entered into the event. It featured mixture of vehicle models - eight AU Ford Falcon's, eleven BA Falcon's, five VY Commodore's, and ten VX Commodore's. This event marked the last V8 Supercar entry for Paul Romano, who entered with his privateer outfit. This was also the debut V8 Supercar event for New Zealander David Thexton. Thexton would enter his privateer team having purchased the assets from the recently-defunct Paragon Motorsport. Mark Noske would make his solo V8 Supercar debut with his family team, Noske Motorsport. Official results Qualifying Jason Bright claimed provisional pole position by five hundredths of a second over nearest competitor, Mark Skaife. Pos No Driver Team Vehicle Time 1 50 AUS Jason Bright Paul Weel Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 1:22.2745 2 1 AUS Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VY) 1:22.3381 3 4 AUS Marcos Ambrose Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 1:22.3728 4 11 NZL Steven Richards Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 1:22.7533 5 17 AUS Steven Johnson Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 1:22.9382 6 888 AUS John Bowe Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 1:22.9479 7 51 NZL Greg Murphy Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia Holden Commodore (VX) 1:22.9517 8 2 AUS Todd Kelly Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VY) 1:23.0173 9 34 AUS Garth Tander Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VY) 1:23.0453 10 9 AUS Russell Ingall Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 1:23.2297 11 3 AUS Cameron McConville Lansvale Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 1:23.3161 12 15 AUS Rick Kelly Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia Holden Commodore (VX) 1:23.3274 13 5 AUS Glenn Seton Ford Performance Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 1:23.3811 14 66 AUS Dean Canto Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon (BA) 1:23.3938 15 8 AUS Paul Dumbrell Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 1:23.4476 16 44 NZL Simon Wills Team Dynamik Holden Commodore (VY) 1:23.4757 17 29 AUS Paul Morris Paul Morris Motorsport Holden Commodore (VY) 1:23.5521 18 6 AUS Craig Lowndes Ford Performance Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 1:23.7632 19 23 AUS Mark Noske Noske Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 1:23.7997 20 21 AUS Brad Jones Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 1:23.8477 21 33 AUS Jamie Whincup Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 1:23.8759 22 75 AUS Anthony Tratt Paul Little Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:23.8861 23 31 AUS Steven Ellery Steven Ellery Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 1:23.8920 24 16 AUS Paul Weel Paul Weel Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 1:23.9179 25 021 NZL Craig Baird Team Kiwi Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 1:23.9580 26 20 AUS Jason Bargwanna Larkham Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 1:23.9645 27 19 AUS David Besnard Ford Performance Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:24.0216 28 10 AUS Mark Larkham Larkham Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 1:24.1538 29 00 AUS Greg Ritter 00 Motorsport Ford Falcon (BA) 1:24.2541 30 7 AUS Rodney Forbes 00 Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 1:24.2793 31 65 NZL Paul Radisich Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon (BA) 1:24.8681 32 24 AUS Paul Romano Romano Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 1:25.7642 - 18 BRA Max Wilson Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (BA) no time DNQ 99 NZL David Thexton Thexton Motor Racing Ford Falcon (AU) did not qualify Top ten shootout Bright successfully converted his provisional pole position pace into the shootout, setting a time nearly one tenth of a second faster than Skaife. This marked the first V8 Supercar pole position for Paul Weel Racing.2003-03-22 Team Brock captures pole after Bright start https://www.theage.com.au/sport/motorsport/team-brock-captures-pole-after-bright-start-20030322-gdvezq.html 2026-09-10 The Age en-AU Pos No Driver Team Vehicle Time 1 50 AUS Jason Bright Paul Weel Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 1:23.3729 2 1 AUS Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VY) 1:23.4608 3 4 AUS Marcos Ambrose Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 1:23.7897 4 51 NZL Greg Murphy Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia Holden Commodore (VX) 1:24.0266 5 11 NZL Steven Richards Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 1:24.1633 6 17 AUS Steven Johnson Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 1:24.2497 7 888 AUS John Bowe Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 1:24.3838 8 2 AUS Todd Kelly Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VY) 1:24.7252 9 9 AUS Russell Ingall Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 1:25.0673 10 34 AUS Garth Tander Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VY) 1:26.6227 Leg 1 Pos No Driver Team Vehicle Laps Time/Retired Grid 1 4 AUS Marcos Ambrose Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 78 1hr 55min 06.9486sec 3 2 1 AUS Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VY) 78 + 2.206 2 3 50 AUS Jason Bright Paul Weel Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 78 + 15.827 1 4 11 NZL Steven Richards Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 78 + 19.640 5 5 2 AUS Todd Kelly Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VY) 78 + 25.290 8 6 17 AUS Steven Johnson Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 78 + 27.398 6 7 9 AUS Russell Ingall Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 78 + 38.029 9 8 3 AUS Cameron McConville Lansvale Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 78 + 42.342 11 9 15 AUS Rick Kelly Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia Holden Commodore (VX) 78 + 46.584 12 10 51 NZL Greg Murphy Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia Holden Commodore (VX) 78 + 48.438 4 11 8 AUS Paul Dumbrell Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 78 + 48.801 15 12 65 NZL Paul Radisich Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon (BA) 78 + 50.775 31 13 34 AUS Garth Tander Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VY) 78 + 53.225 10 14 16 AUS Paul Weel Paul Weel Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 78 + 53.542 24 15 20 AUS Jason Bargwanna Larkham Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 78 + 58.539 26 16 44 NZL Simon Wills Team Dynamik Holden Commodore (VY) 78 + 1:02.679 16 17 33 AUS Jamie Whincup Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 78 + 1:04.064 21 18 5 AUS Glenn Seton Ford Performance Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 78 + 1:07.194 13 19 75 AUS Anthony Tratt Paul Little Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 78 + 1:14.659 22 20 66 AUS Dean Canto Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon (BA) 77 + 1 lap 14 21 021 NZL Craig Baird Team Kiwi Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 77 + 1 lap 25 22 00 AUS Greg Ritter 00 Motorsport Ford Falcon (BA) 77 + 1 lap 29 23 10 AUS Mark Larkham Larkham Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 77 + 1 lap 28 24 21 AUS Brad Jones Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 76 + 2 laps 20 25 7 AUS Rodney Forbes 00 Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 74 + 4 laps 30 26 18 BRA Max Wilson Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 74 + 4 laps 33 27 29 AUS Paul Morris Paul Morris Motorsport Holden Commodore (VY) 73 + 5 laps 17 28 45 NZL Jason Richards Team Dynamik Holden Commodore (VY) 73 + 5 laps 34 29 31 AUS Steven Ellery Steven Ellery Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 59 + 19 laps 23 Ret 23 AUS Mark Noske Noske Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 52 Retired 19 Ret 19 AUS David Besnard Ford Performance Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 49 Retired 27 Ret 888 AUS John Bowe Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 48 Retired 7 Ret 24 AUS Paul Romano Romano Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 45 Retired 32 Ret 6 AUS Craig Lowndes Ford Performance Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 35 Engine 18 Fastest Lap: Marcos Ambrose (Stone Brothers Racing) - 1:23.4783 on lap 56 Source: Leg 2 Pos No Driver Team Vehicle Laps Time/Retired Grid 1 1 AUS Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VY) 78 2hr 09min 50.4167sec 2 2 11 NZL Steven Richards Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 78 + 1.746 4 3 16 AUS Paul Weel Paul Weel Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 78 + 10.128 14 4 65 NZL Paul Radisich Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon (BA) 78 + 12.275 12 5 2 AUS Todd Kelly Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VY) 78 + 12.517 5 6 50 AUS Jason Bright Paul Weel Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 78 + 13.208 3 7 6 AUS Craig Lowndes Ford Performance Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 78 + 13.944 34 8 8 AUS Paul Dumbrell Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 78 + 16.086 11 9 44 NZL Simon Wills Team Dynamik Holden Commodore (VY) 78 + 17.753 16 10 5 AUS Glenn Seton Ford Performance Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 78 + 18.465 18 11 51 NZL Greg Murphy Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia Holden Commodore (VX) 78 + 19.535 10 12 9 AUS Russell Ingall Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 78 + 19.554 7 13 00 AUS Greg Ritter 00 Motorsport Ford Falcon (BA) 78 + 23.666 22 14 021 NZL Craig Baird Team Kiwi Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 78 + 23.812 21 15 34 AUS Garth Tander Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VY) 78 + 24.106 13 16 10 AUS Mark Larkham Larkham Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 78 + 27.050 23 17 23 AUS Mark Noske Noske Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 78 + 27.340 30 18 21 AUS Brad Jones Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 78 + 29.021 24 19 20 AUS Jason Bargwanna Larkham Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 78 + 40.895 15 20 29 AUS Paul Morris Paul Morris Motorsport Holden Commodore (VY) 77 + 1 lap 27 21 7 AUS Rodney Forbes 00 Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 77 + 1 lap 25 22 33 AUS Jamie Whincup Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 76 + 2 laps 17 23 888 AUS John Bowe Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 65 + 13 laps 32 24 15 AUS Rick Kelly Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia Holden Commodore (VX) 62 + 16 laps 9 Ret 17 AUS Steven Johnson Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 75 Accident damage 6 Ret 4 AUS Marcos Ambrose Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 73 Suspension 1 Ret 19 AUS David Besnard Ford Performance Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 71 Retired 31 Ret 66 AUS Dean Canto Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon (BA) 66 Accident 20 Ret 3 AUS Cameron McConville Lansvale Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 54 Retired 8 Ret 18 BRA Max Wilson Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 50 Driver injury 26 Ret 24 AUS Paul Romano Romano Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 15 Retired 33 Ret 75 AUS Anthony Tratt Paul Little Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1 Accident 19 Ret 45 NZL Jason Richards Team Dynamik Holden Commodore (VY) 1 Accident 28 DSQ 31 AUS Steven Ellery Steven Ellery Racing Ford Falcon (BA) Disqualified 29 Fastest Lap: Mark Skaife (Holden Racing Team) - 1:23.2731 on lap 20 Source: Notes 1 1 – Russell Ingall was given a 10-second penalty after he was deemed to have gained an advantage by spinning Greg Murphy in the final laps. 2 2 – Craig Baird was given a 3-second penalty for a driving infringement. Round results Pos No Driver Leg 1Points Leg 2Points TotalPoints 1 1 Australia Mark Skaife 93 96 189 2 11 New Zealand Steven Richards 87 93 180 3 50 Australia Jason Bright 90 81 171 4 2 Australia Todd Kelly 84 84 168 5 65 New Zealand Paul Radisich 63 87 150 6 16 Australia Paul Weel 57 90 147 7 8 Australia Paul Dumbrell 66 75 141 8 9 Australia Russell Ingall 78 63 141 9 51 New Zealand Greg Murphy 69 66 135 10 44 New Zealand Simon Wills 51 72 123 11 4 Australia Marcos Ambrose 96 21 117 12 5 Australia Glenn Seton 45 69 114 13 34 Australia Garth Tander 60 54 114 14 17 Australia Steven Johnson 81 24 105 15 15 Australia Rick Kelly 72 27 99 16 20 Australia Jason Bargwanna 54 42 96 17 00 Australia Greg Ritter 33 60 93 18 021 New Zealand Craig Baird 36 57 93 19 3 Australia Cameron McConville 75 12 87 20 10 Australia Mark Larkham 30 51 81 21 33 Australia Jamie Whincup 48 33 81 22 6 Australia Craig Lowndes 78 78 23 21 Australia Brad Jones 27 45 72 24 7 Australia Rodney Forbes 24 36 60 25 23 Australia Mark Noske 9 48 57 26 29 Australia Paul Morris 18 39 57 27 66 Australia Dean Canto 39 15 54 28 75 Australia Anthony Tratt 42 42 29 888 Australia John Bowe 3 30 33 30 18 Brazil Max Wilson 21 9 30 31 19 Australia David Besnard 6 18 24 32 45 New Zealand Jason Richards 15 15 33 31 Australia Steve Ellery 12 12 DNF 24 Australia Paul Romano DNQ 99 New Zealand David Thexton Statistics Provisional Position - #50 Jason Bright - 1:22.2745 Pole Position - #50 Jason Bright - 1:23.3729 Fastest Lap - #1 Mark Skaife - 1:23.2731 (new lap record) External links Official race results Official V8 Supercar website References 2003 V8 Supercar Opening round 2003 Phillip Island V8 Supercar Round Category:Adelaide 500 Clipsal 500 Category:2003 in sport in Adelaide