2003 Sandown 500

2003 Supercar Championship event Victoria 2003 Sandown 500 9 13 2003 V8SC Sandown (Australia) track map.svg 12–14 September Melbourne, Victoria Sandown International Raceway Mixed 141 437 Marcos Ambrose Stone Brothers Racing 1:11.8554 Mark SkaifeTodd Kelly Holden Racing Team 3:26:50.4750 Mark SkaifeTodd Kelly Holden Racing Team 192 Steven ElleryLuke Youlden Steven Ellery Racing 188 Greg MurphyRick Kelly John Kelly Racing 184 The 2003 Sandown 500 (known for naming rights reasons as the 2003 Betta Electrical Sandown 500) was an endurance race for V8 Supercars and served as the ninth round of the 2003 V8 Supercar Championship Series. It was held on the weekend of 12 to 14 September at the Sandown Raceway in Melbourne, Victoria. The race was scheduled for 161 laps at a distance of 500 kilometers. Through the effects of the weather and a support race incident that delayed the start by 19 minutes, the race would be declared at 141 laps. In a race marred by tumultuous conditions, Mark Skaife and Todd Kelly secured victory as their competitors fell by the wayside throughout the race. The Stone Brothers Racing outfit of Marcos Ambrose and Russell Ingall entered the weekend as the combination to beat. After claiming pole position by nearly half a second and storming out to an early lead, the pairing appeared to be in the box seat for victory. However, the campaign would be dashed when Ingall spun into the gravel trap immediately after jumping into the car owing to his failure to bring the brake pedal up to pressure after the brake pads had been changed. The race was also notable for the late-race charge by Jason Richards who almost pulled off a major upset victory for Team Dynamik before understeering into the gravel with two laps remaining.2013-09-12 Race Flashback: HRT Wins After Richards' Late Dive https://www.supercars.com/news/race-flashback-hrt-wins-after-richards-late-dive 2026-09-19 Supercars en-AU2003-09-14 Skaife takes out Sandown 500 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2003-09-14/skaife-takes-out-sandown-500/1478982 2026-09-19 ABC News Australia en-AU2003-09-15 Skaife stays afloat to be back on track https://www.theage.com.au/sport/motorsport/skaife-stays-afloat-to-be-back-on-track-20030915-gdwce7.html 2026-09-19 The Age en-AU Background The event was held on the weekend of 12 to 14 September 2003. It was the 36th running of the Sandown 500, the first to be held as a championship event in the modern era, and consisted of one 500 km race with two compulsory pitstops for fuel and tyres. Entry list 2003 V8 Supercar Championship Series#Teams and drivers There were 35 drivers entered into the event. It featured mixture of vehicle models - three AU Ford Falcon's, fourteen BA Falcon's, seven VY Commodore's, and ten VX Commodore's. Preceding the event, British-based Triple Eight Race Engineering had bought the Briggs Motorsport team and assumed operations following the previous round in Oran Park.Triple Eight buys Briggs V8 team. https://www.crash.net/v8/news/103481/1/triple-eight-buys-briggs-v8-team 2026-09-19 Crash.net en-AU The Garry Rogers Motorsport entry of Garth Tander and Nathan Pretty featured the controversial 'x-bar' within the car. All cars were already fitted with what was known as the 'Larry bar' - a rollbar that ran diagonally across the car for chassis rigidity. The x-bar featured an additional bar which essentially mirrored the Larry bar, creating an x-formation and gave the chassis more rigidity and speed.2021-03-12 Strange But True: GRM's 'X-bar' experiment https://www.v8sleuth.com.au/strange-but-true-grms-x-bar-experiment/ 2026-09-19 V8 Sleuth en-AU Multiple entrants sported special liveries for this event. The Stone Brothers Racing cars featured split liveries with team sponsors Pirtek and Caltex Havoline. The Holden Racing Team cars featured a special Mobil 1 promotion on the bonnets. This event would also mark the series debut for multiple drivers including Mark Winterbottom, Allan Simonsen, Nicolas Minassian, Andy McElrea, Brett Peters, Kerry Wade, Marcus Marshall and Rickard Rydell. Race report Qualifying Paul Radisich took an emotional provisional pole position by less than one hundredth of a second over Mark Skaife. This marked Triple Eight Race Engineering's first pole position since entering the sport earlier that weekend and Radisich's first provisional pole position since 2001. Pos. No. Driver Entrant Car Time 1 65 NZL Paul Radisich Triple Eight Race Engineering Ford Falcon (BA) 1:11.0674 2 1 AUS Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VY) 1:11.0708 3 4 AUS Marcos Ambrose Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 1:11.0955 4 51 NZL Greg Murphy John Kelly Racing Holden Commodore (VY) 1:11.2962 5 31 AUS Steven Ellery Steven Ellery Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 1:11.3779 6 44 NZL Simon Wills Team Dynamik Holden Commodore (VY) 1:11.4141 7 17 AUS Steven Johnson Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 1:11.4766 8 21 AUS John Bowe Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 1:11.5216 9 29 AUS Paul Morris Paul Morris Motorsport Holden Commodore (VY) 1:11.5375 10 6 AUS Craig Lowndes Ford Performance Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 1:11.5527 11 34 AUS Garth Tander Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VY) 1:11.5914 12 18 BRA Max Wilson Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 1:11.6493 13 50 AUS Jason Bright Paul Weel Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 1:11.6521 14 9 AUS Mark Winterbottom Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 1:11.7148 15 15 GBR Andy Priaulx John Kelly Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 1:11.7584 16 021 NZL Craig Baird Team Kiwi Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 1:11.7841 17 10 AUS Mark Larkham Larkham Motorsport Ford Falcon (BA) 1:11.7869 18 66 AUS Dean Canto Triple Eight Race Engineering Ford Falcon (BA) 1:11.8689 19 888 AUS Andrew Jones Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 1:11.8935 20 16 AUS Greg Ritter Paul Weel Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 1:11.9202 21 11 NZL Steven Richards Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VY) 1:11.9703 22 5 AUS Adam Macrow Ford Performance Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 1:11.9750 23 19 AUS David Besnard Rod Nash Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 1:11.9948 24 8 AUS Paul Dumbrell Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 1:12.0768 25 3 AUS Cameron McConville Lansvale Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 1:12.1924 26 2 AUS Tony Longhurst Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VY) 1:12.2192 27 45 FRA Nicolas Minassian Team Dynamik Holden Commodore (VY) 1:12.2794 28 33 AUS Jamie Whincup Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 1:12.6031 29 75 AUS Anthony Tratt Paul Little Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 1:12.7129 30 13 AUS Steve Owen Robert Smith Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 1:12.8101 31 20 AUS Grant Johnson Larkham Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 1:13.0534 32 23 AUS Neal Bates Noske Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 1:13.3314 33 46 AUS Dale Brede John Faulkner Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 1:13.9016 34 24 AUS Alan Gurr Paul Morris Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 1:13.9372 35 99 NZL David Thexton Thexton Motor Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:15.4804 Source:2003 V8 Supercars Betta Electrical Sandown 500 https://www.racingyears.com/race/2003_V8_Supercars_Betta_Electrical_Sandown_500 2026-09-19 Racing Years en-AU Top ten shootout Pos. No. Driver Entrant Car Time 1 4 AUS Marcos Ambrose Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 1:11.8554 2 1 AUS Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VY) 1:12.2797 3 51 NZL Greg Murphy John Kelly Racing Holden Commodore (VY) 1:12.3744 4 65 NZL Paul Radisich Triple Eight Race Engineering Ford Falcon (BA) 1:12.6438 5 44 NZL Simon Wills Team Dynamik Holden Commodore (VY) 1:12.6448 6 17 AUS Steven Johnson Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 1:12.6711 7 6 AUS Craig Lowndes Ford Performance Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 1:12.6823 8 21 AUS John Bowe Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 1:12.9444 9 31 AUS Steven Ellery Steven Ellery Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 1:20.6263 EXC 29 AUS Paul Morris Paul Morris Motorsport Holden Commodore (VY) Excluded Source: Race The start of the race was delayed by 19 minutes owing to a crash in the Historic Touring Cars support race that necessitated barrier repairs at turn one. Glenn Seton would start from the pitlane after encountering a misfire during the reconnaissance lap. Despite their efforts, the problem would persist throughout the race. Under the ominous cover of dark clouds, Todd Kelly bogged down off the line, dropped to fifth position and Marcos Ambrose led the pack into turn one. At the start of lap four, Kelly began his recovery drive by passing Jason Richards for fourth. Later on the same lap, Garth Tander spun Steven Johnson on the approach to Dandenong Road Corner. Johnson then made contact with the side of Brad Jones and the Dick Johnson Racing Falcon was left stranded on the apex of the corner. In the melee, the second Dick Johnson Racing car of Max Wilson was spun into the side of his teammate, causing additional damage to both cars and sending them down to the back of the pack. Both cars would soon return to the pitlane for repairs. Kelly moved up to third, past Radisich, on lap 7 at turn one. For his role in the accident, Tander was issued a stop-go penalty. At the same time, the first reports of rain at the circuit were issued. Two laps later, Kelly moved past brother Rick Kelly at turn one to move back into second place. On lap 13, Cameron McConville retired from the race after encountering engine issues. Todd Kelly began to chip away at Ambrose's lead. Within a few laps, Kelly had whittled down the gap to less than a second. Behind them, Radisich and Rick Kelly came to blows at the final corner which saw the latter pitched into a spin. Multiple penalties were issued in this time. David Besnard would be issued a drive-through penalty for spinning Brad Jones at Dandenong Road Corner while Greg Ritter was issued one for kerb-hopping. By lap 40, the rain had arrived and teams began scrambling to pit their cars. Ambrose elected to pit from the lead while Kelly continued on. Three laps later, Kelly slid wide at the penultimate corner and almost became bunkered in the gravel trap such was the lack of grip on the circuit. After pitting for wet weather tyres immediately thereafter, Ambrose resumed the lead. Jason Bright also attempted to persist with slick tyres. But mere laps later, Bright made contact with the wall, causing substantial damage to the front-end of the car. The Team Kiwi Racing entry retired from the race on lap 54 when the engine expired. On lap 68, Todd Kelly pitted and handed the reigns over to co-driver, Mark Skaife. The next lap, Ambrose made his pitstop and stepped aside for Russell Ingall. During the pitstop, Stone Brothers Racing made a brakepad change on the car. Upon exiting the pitlane, Ingall, preoccupied with adjusting his seatbelts, did not bring the brake pedal up to pressure. As a result, he locked the rear brakes, pitching his car into the spin and came to rest in the gravel trap at turn one, rendering them out of contention for the win. Simon Wills almost joined him at the same point of the track after experiencing his own braking issues. With the car stranded in the gravel, the safety car was deployed with Greg Murphy having now assumed the lead. Upon the resumption of the race, Nathan Pretty was spun by John Cleland at turn one. By lap 104, the rain began to fall once again. On lap 109, both Murphy and Skaife pitted for wet weather tyres. Upon entering his pit box, the Garry Rogers Motorsport entry of Jamie Whincup was released into the path of Murphy causing him to stop and delayed his pitstop. In the commotion to align Murphy's car in the pitbox, his rear wing had become partially dislodged after the bolts on the right-hand side had loosened and fallen out. The delay sent Murphy tumbling down the order and out of contention. A few laps later, the rain further intensified with hail hitting the circuit as well. Such was the extent of the hail that the accumulated on the track and created a sludge that made the surface virtually undriveable. As a result, the safety car was deployed. Even with the yellow flags displayed and the field having slowed to a crawl, drivers still struggled to keep their cars on the track. Paul Dumbrell speared off the track at turn five and made heavy contact with the outside wall. This forced him to retire from the race and would extend the safety car period. By this stage, it was evident that the race would not reach the 500 kilometer distance in time and the race would become time-certain. The race resumed on lap 127 with roughly 20 minutes remaining in race time. Jason Richards began to eat into Skaife's lead at the rate of half a second per lap. Skaife begun experiencing electrical issues with his car and started turning off multiple electrical components in order to preserve the equipment and not risk a retirement. This inhibited Skaife's vision and pace, with the wipers having been turned off, and the windows began to fog. By lap 139, Richards had closed to the rear of Skaife's car and began to pressure him heavily for the lead. On lap 140, Richards attempted to pass Skaife at Dandenong Road Corner. The overtake was initially successful but he carried too much speed into the corner, slid wide and became bunkered in the gravel trap. The race was concluded at the end of lap 141 with Mark Skaife and Todd Kelly claiming victory. Half a minute behind, second place was claimed by Luke Youlden and Steven Ellery. Despite the nightmare pitstop, Greg Murphy and Rick Kelly would claim third place and reclaimed the lead lap after having been a lap down mere minutes earlier. Pos. No. Drivers Entrant Car Laps Time/Retired Grid Points 1 1 AUS Mark SkaifeAUS Todd Kelly Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VY) 141 03:26:50.4750 2 192 2 31 AUS Steven ElleryAUS Luke Youlden Steven Ellery Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 141 + 30.117 9 188 3 51 NZL Greg MurphyAUS Rick Kelly John Kelly Racing Holden Commodore (VY) 141 + 53.053 3 184 4 21 AUS John BoweAUS Brad Jones Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 141 + 1:13.830 8 180 5 4 AUS Marcos AmbroseAUS Russell Ingall Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 140 + 1 lap 1 176 6 11 NZL Steven RichardsAUS Larry Perkins Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VY) 140 + 1 lap 21 172 7 65 NZL Paul RadisichSWE Rickard Rydell Triple Eight Race Engineering Ford Falcon (BA) 140 + 1 lap 4 168 8 19 AUS David BesnardAUS Owen Kelly Rod Nash Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 140 + 1 lap 23 164 9 10 AUS Jason BargwannaAUS Mark Larkham Larkham Motorsport Ford Falcon (BA) 140 + 1 lap 17 160 10 2 NZL Jim RichardsAUS Tony Longhurst Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VY) 140 + 1 lap 26 156 11 9 AUS Mark WinterbottomAUS Mark Noske Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 140 + 1 lap 14 152 12 15 GBR Andy PriaulxAUS Cameron McLean John Kelly Racing Holden Commodore (VY) 140 + 1 lap 15 148 13 29 AUS Paul MorrisNZL John Faulkner Paul Morris Motorsport Holden Commodore (VY) 139 + 2 laps 10 144 14 66 AUS Dean CantoAUS Matthew White Triple Eight Race Engineering Ford Falcon (BA) 139 + 2 laps 18 140 15 17 AUS Steven JohnsonAUS Warren Luff Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 139 + 2 laps 6 136 16 6 AUS Craig LowndesAUS Glenn Seton Ford Performance Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 139 + 2 laps PL 132 17 5 AUS Darren HossackAUS Adam Macrow Ford Performance Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 139 + 2 laps 22 128 18 34 AUS Garth TanderAUS Nathan Pretty Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VY) 138 + 3 laps 11 124 19 18 BRA Max WilsonAUS David Brabham Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 138 + 3 laps 12 120 20 888 GBR John ClelandAUS Andrew Jones Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 138 + 3 laps 19 116 21 13 AUS Steve OwenAUS Phillip Scifleet Robert Smith Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 137 + 4 laps 30 112 22 16 AUS Greg Ritter AUS Marcus Marshall Paul Weel Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 137 + 4 laps 20 108 23 20 AUS Grant JohnsonAUS Kerry Wade Larkham Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 137 + 4 laps 31 104 24 46 AUS Dale BredeAUS Tony Ricciardello John Faulkner Racing Holden VX Commodore 136 + 5 laps 33 100 25 23 AUS Rick BatesAUS Neal Bates Noske Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 136 + 5 laps 32 96 26 99 NZL David ThextonAUS Brett Peters Thexton Motor Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 133 + 8 laps 35 92 27 24 AUS Alan GurrNZL Andy McElrea Paul Morris Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 133 + 8 laps 34 88 28 45 FRA Nicolas MinassianAUS Wayne Wakefield Team Dynamik Holden Commodore (VY) 132 + 9 laps 27 84 29 33 AUS Jamie WhincupDNK Allan Simonsen Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 130 + 11 laps 28 80 30 75 AUS Anthony TrattAUS Paul Stokell Paul Little Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 128 + 13 laps 29 76 31 50 AUS Jason BrightAUS Paul Weel Paul Weel Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 117 + 24 laps 13 72 Ret 44 NZL Simon WillsNZL Jason Richards Team Dynamik Holden Commodore (VY) 139 Spun off 6 68 Ret 8 AUS Paul DumbrellAUS Tomas Mezera Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 113 Accident 24 Ret 021 NZL Craig BairdNZL (Mark Porter) + Team Kiwi Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 54 Engine 16 Ret 3 AUS Cameron McConvilleAUS (Tim Leahey) + Lansvale Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 13 Engine 25 Fastest Lap: Mark Skaife (Holden Racing Team) - 1:12.0236 on lap 96 Source: + Mark Porter did not drive car 021 during the race and Tim Leahey did not drive car 3 during the race. Championship standings Pos. Position No Driver Team Pts Points 10px 1 4 AUS Marcos Ambrose Stone Brothers Racing 1867 10px 2 51 NZL Greg Murphy John Kelly Racing 1795 10px 3 9 AUS Russell Ingall Stone Brothers Racing 1703 10px 4 1 AUS Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team 1681 10px 5 6 AUS Craig Lowndes Ford Performance Racing 1540 References External links Race results, natsoft.com, as archived at web.archive.org Sandown 500 2003 2003 V8 Supercars Oran Park round 2003 Bathurst 1000 2002 Sandown 500 2004 Sandown 500 Category:Motorsport at Sandown Sandown 500 Category:Pre-Bathurst 500