2003 PlaceMakers V8 International

2003 Supercar Championship event May 2023 New Zealand 2003 PlaceMakers V8 International 12 13 2003 V8SC Pukekohe_Park_Raceway_(1990).png 7–9 November Pukekohe, New Zealand Pukekohe Park Raceway Friday: OvercastSaturday: Heavy rainSunday: Sunny 36 100 Greg Murphy John Kelly Racing 56.9015 Greg Murphy John Kelly Racing 43:48.1246 54 150 Greg Murphy John Kelly Racing 1:01:24.3090 54 150 Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team 53:22.1378 Greg Murphy John Kelly Racing 188 Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team 178 Todd Kelly Holden Racing Team 178 The 2003 PlaceMakers V8 International was the twelfth round of the 2003 V8 Supercar Championship Series. It was held on the weekend of 7 to 9 November at Pukekohe Park Raceway in New Zealand. The round was largely dominated once again by Greg Murphy, who took his third consecutive championship round victory at Pukekohe after winning the first two races. Despite entering the round with a sizeable championship lead, Marcos Ambrose struggled throughout the weekend, and forced the championship to be decided at the final round at Eastern Creek. Background Ambrose entered the weekend with a chance to clinch the championship. He had a 72-point gap over nearest championship rival, Murphy. The Tasmanian would have his work cut out for him as Pukekohe remained happy hunting ground for Murphy. The Kiwi had been undefeated in round victories since the inaugural event in 2001, and even in the non-championship round hosted in the 1996 Mobil Sprints. A total of 32 drivers were entered for the round. Seven of them were New Zealand-born drivers. These included Murphy, Steven Richards, Jason Richards, Paul Radisich, Simon Wills, Craig Baird and David Thexton. Despite having spent the vast majority of his life in the country, this would be Thexton's first attempt at racing at Pukekohe Park Raceway. Although given his failure to qualify at the vast majority of the 2003 championship rounds, whether he'd be able to race at all this weekend remained in question. Race report Qualifying In practice, Jason Richards was involved in a crash which saw his car roll several times, forcing him out of the weekend. Pos No Name Team Car Time Grid 1 51 NZL Greg Murphy John Kelly Racing Holden Commodore (VY) 56.5453 1 2 1 AUS Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VY) 56.5698 2 3 50 AUS Jason Bright Paul Weel Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 56.6932 3 4 18 BRA Max Wilson Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 56.7490 4 5 6 AUS Craig Lowndes Ford Performance Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 56.9390 5 6 4 AUS Marcos Ambrose Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 56.9618 6 7 34 AUS Garth Tander Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VY) 57.0019 7 8 20 AUS Jason Bargwanna Larkham Motorsport Ford Falcon (BA) 57.0416 8 9 65 NZL Paul Radisich Triple Eight Race Engineering Ford Falcon (BA) 57.0805 9 10 2 AUS Todd Kelly Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VY) 57.1031 10 11 11 NZL Steven Richards Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VY) 57.1377 11 12 17 AUS Steven Johnson Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 57.1615 12 13 66 AUS Dean Canto Triple Eight Race Engineering Ford Falcon (BA) 57.1670 13 14 5 AUS Glenn Seton Ford Performance Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 57.1729 14 15 888 AUS John Bowe Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 57.2001 15 16 21 AUS Brad Jones Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 57.2249 16 17 9 AUS Russell Ingall Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 57.2317 17 18 16 AUS Paul Weel Paul Weel Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 57.2934 18 19 021 NZL Craig Baird Team Kiwi Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 57.3320 19 20 31 AUS Steven Ellery Steven Ellery Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 57.3756 20 21 44 NZL Simon Wills Team Dynamik Holden Commodore (VY) 57.3867 21 22 29 AUS Paul Morris Paul Morris Motorsport Holden Commodore (VY) 57.4506 22 23 8 AUS Paul Dumbrell Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 57.5045 23 24 10 AUS Mark Larkham Larkham Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 57.5235 24 25 3 AUS Cameron McConville Lansvale Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 57.5580 25 26 15 AUS Rick Kelly John Kelly Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 57.5769 26 27 7 AUS David Besnard Rod Nash Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 57.6748 27 28 33 AUS Jamie Whincup Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 57.7048 28 29 23 AUS Mark Noske Noske Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 57.7748 29 30 99 NZL David Thexton Thexton Motor Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 59.0554 30 DNQ 45 NZL Jason Richards Team Dynamik Holden Commodore (VY) no time Sources: http://racing.natsoft.com.au/642786307/object_324714.81P/Result?3 Placemakers V8 International - Round 12 V8 Supercar Series - PUKEKOHE PARK RACEWAY - V8 SUPERCARS - Qualifying natsoft.com.au 10 November 2003 2024-10-04 Top Ten Shootout Results from the Top Ten Shootout were discounted due to the changing conditions throughout the session. Grid results were reverted to provisional qualifying. Pos No Name Team Vehicle Time 1 2 AUS Todd Kelly Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VY) 0:56.9015 2 50 AUS Jason Bright Paul Weel Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 0:57.6482 3 51 NZL Greg Murphy John Kelly Racing Holden Commodore (VY) 0:57.6955 4 18 BRA Max Wilson Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 0:57.8263 5 65 NZL Paul Radisich Triple Eight Race Engineering Ford Falcon (BA) 0:57.8697 6 1 AUS Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VY) 0:57.9175 7 20 AUS Jason Bargwanna Larkham Motor Sport Ford Falcon (BA) 0:58.1224 8 4 AUS Marcos Ambrose Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 0:58.2709 9 6 AUS Craig Lowndes Ford Performance Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 0:58.5551 10 34 AUS Garth Tander Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VY) 1:00.2457 Sources: http://racing.natsoft.com.au/642786307/object_324725.81S/Result?6 Placemakers V8 International - Round 12 V8 Supercar Series - PUKEKOHE PARK RACEWAY - V8 SUPERCARS - Shootout natsoft.com.au 10 November 2003 2024-10-04 Race 1 In inclement conditions, Max Wilson leapt off the line exceptionally well and challenged Skaife for the lead through turn one. Heading into turn two, both drivers held their ground and the resulting contact sent them both into a spin. Skaife was sent rearward into the wall and was fortunate to extricate himself from the gravel trap. Nonetheless, both he and Wilson had now fallen toward the end of the pack. A few hundred yards behind them, Jamie Whincup, Mark Larkham, David Besnard, Anthony Tratt and Cameron McConville had tangled and struck the fence. Tratt and McConville were unable to continue the race. The safety car was deployed and multiple drivers (including Murphy and Ambrose) peeled in to complete their mandatory stops. Jason Bright took over the lead on the safety car restart. Ambrose had jumped Murphy in the pitstop cycle but was quickly passed again by Murphy as the race resumed. Bright rapidly fell down the pack thanks to visibility issues brought on by a fault windshield wiper as Craig Lowndes assumed the lead. On lap 8, Mark Noske crashed heavily at turn one after aquaplaning into the armco barrier. The impact lifted the rear-end of the car meters off the ground and the resulting damage would ultimately force the Noske Motorsport car out of the rest of the weekend. On lap 25, Lowndes completed his pitstop as Murphy assumed the lead. Down the pack, Steven Richards' out-lap proved tricky. First tangling with Craig Baird at turn two and then Russell Ingall at the hairpin as he tumbled out of the top 20. Up the front, Murphy cruised home to victory. Todd Kelly and Garth Tander rounded out the podium. Ambrose managed to fend off a late race charge from Skaife to assist his championship hopes and Skaife's began to dwindle.https://au.motorsport.com/v8supercars/news/pukekohe-race-one-report-2003-11-10/1086487/ Pukekohe race one report Motorsport.com 10 November 2003 2024-10-03 Pos No Name Team Laps Time / difference Grid 1 51 NZL Greg Murphy John Kelly Racing 36 43min 48.1246sec 1 2 2 AUS Todd Kelly Holden Racing Team 36 + 8.249 10 3 34 AUS Garth Tander Garry Rogers Motorsport 36 + 9.217 7 4 20 AUS Jason Bargwanna Larkham Motorsport 36 + 10.019 8 5 65 NZL Paul Radisich Triple Eight Race Engineering 36 + 11.485 9 6 4 AUS Marcos Ambrose Stone Brothers Racing 36 + 14.513 6 7 1 AUS Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team 36 + 15.073 2 8 15 AUS Rick Kelly John Kelly Racing 36 + 17.122 26 9 31 AUS Steven Ellery Steven Ellery Racing 36 + 25.022 20 10 17 AUS Steven Johnson Dick Johnson Racing 36 + 26.173 12 11 5 AUS Glenn Seton Ford Performance Racing 36 + 27.725 14 12 888 AUS John Bowe Brad Jones Racing 36 + 29.278 15 13 44 NZL Simon Wills Team Dynamik 36 + 32.505 21 14 29 AUS Paul Morris Paul Morris Motorsport 36 + 37.106 22 15 16 AUS Paul Weel Paul Weel Racing 36 + 38.400 18 16 6 AUS Craig Lowndes Ford Performance Racing 36 + 41.086 5 17 66 AUS Dean Canto Triple Eight Race Engineering 36 + 42.208 13 18 18 BRA Max Wilson Dick Johnson Racing 36 + 46.975 4 19 9 AUS Russell Ingall Stone Brothers Racing 36 + 47.672 17 20 11 NZL Steven Richards Perkins Engineering 36 + 47.857 11 21 50 AUS Jason Bright Paul Weel Racing 36 + 57.903 3 22 21 AUS Brad Jones Brad Jones Racing 35 + 1 lap 16 23 021 NZL Craig Baird Team Kiwi Racing 35 + 1 lap 19 24 8 AUS Paul Dumbrell Perkins Engineering 34 + 2 laps 23 25 7 AUS David Besnard Rod Nash Racing 34 + 2 laps 27 26 99 NZL David Thexton Thexton Motor Racing 34 + 2 laps 29 27 10 AUS Mark Larkham Larkham Motorsport 29 + 7 laps 24 28 33 AUS Jamie Whincup Garry Rogers Motorsport 28 + 8 laps 27 DNF 23 AUS Mark Noske Noske Motorsport 7 Accident 28 DNF 75 AUS Anthony Tratt Paul Little Racing 0 Accident DNF 3 AUS Cameron McConville Lansvale Racing Team 0 Accident 25 Fastest lap: Steven Richards (Perkins Engineering), 1:01.6893 Sources: http://racing.natsoft.com.au/642786307/object_324736.81V/Result?7 Placemakers V8 International - Round 12 V8 Supercar Series - PUKEKOHE PARK RACEWAY - V8 SUPERCARS - Race 1 natsoft.com.au 10 November 2003 2024-10-04 Race 2 It was a clean start, with Murphy and Todd Kelly very evenly matched off the line. Murphy would prevail and set off into an affirmative lead. Stuck in traffic, Skaife completed his compulsory pitstop early. This proved extremely effective as, when race leader Murphy had completed his pitstop, Skaife was right behind him in what was a net second place. The battle was close, with Skaife nudging the rear of Murphy's car at the hairpin on lap 21, almost sending the Kiwi into a spin. The next lap, Skaife made the move stick with the battle still raging all the way up to Ford Mountain. Ingall and Brad Jones tangled at the hairpin, sending the former into the barrier on corner exit. The damage incurred forced the Stone Brothers racer into the pits. On lap 34, Steven Johnson's week-long engine issues culminated in a blown engine on the back straight. At the same time, Skaife tripped up on the oil left by Johnson's expired engine and conceded the lead back to Murphy. Paul Dumbrell fell victim to the same oil track and speared off into the gravel trap. Dumbrell's stranded car instigated a safety car. All the while, Ambrose completed an extra pitstop over tyre concerns, putting himself a lap down. Skaife applied the pressure to Murphy early following the restart. But as soon as the safety car had ended, it was brought out again, after Tander found himself stranded on the exit to the back straight. Damage to David Thexton's front bumper suggested that Tander had fallen victim to the mobile chicane. There was chaos at turn one when Steven Ellery was sent into a spin, scattering the field, who all miraculously avoided t-boning the Supercheap Auto Falcon. Murphy won once again, ahead of Skaife and Bright. Ambrose's low placing kept the championship alive heading into the final race. Pos No Name Team Laps Time / difference Grid 1 51 NZL Greg Murphy John Kelly Racing 54 1hr 01min 24.3090sec 1 2 1 AUS Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team 54 + 1.315 7 3 50 AUS Jason Bright Paul Weel Racing 54 + 2.776 21 4 2 AUS Todd Kelly Holden Racing Team 54 + 3.727 2 5 20 AUS Jason Bargwanna Larkham Motorsport 54 + 10.078 4 6 11 NZL Steven Richards Perkins Engineering 54 + 11.084 10 7 65 NZL Paul Radisich Triple Eight Race Engineering 54 + 11.446 5 8 44 NZL Simon Wills Team Dynamik 54 + 12.225 13 9 5 AUS Glenn Seton Ford Performance Racing 54 + 12.494 11 10 888 AUS John Bowe Brad Jones Racing 54 + 13.094 12 11 16 AUS Paul Weel Paul Weel Racing 54 + 13.250 15 12 6 AUS Craig Lowndes Ford Performance Racing 54 + 14.418 16 13 15 AUS Rick Kelly John Kelly Racing 54 + 15.036 8 14 66 AUS Dean Canto Triple Eight Race Engineering 54 + 16.129 17 15 7 AUS David Besnard Ford Performance Racing 54 + 16.477 25 16 29 AUS Paul Morris Paul Morris Motorsport 54 + 21.490 14 17 33 AUS Jamie Whincup Garry Rogers Motorsport 54 + 21.541 28 18 3 AUS Cameron McConville Lansvale Racing Team 54 + 22.000 31 19 021 NZL Craig Baird Team Kiwi Racing 54 + 22.157 23 20 10 AUS Mark Larkham Larkham Motorsport 54 + 22.838 27 21 31 AUS Steven Ellery Steven Ellery Racing 54 + 25.088 9 22 21 AUS Brad Jones Brad Jones Racing 53 + 1 lap 22 23 4 AUS Marcos Ambrose Stone Brothers Racing 53 + 1 lap 6 24 18 BRA Max Wilson Dick Johnson Racing 53 + 1 lap 18 25 75 AUS Anthony Tratt Paul Little Racing 53 + 1 lap 30 26 9 AUS Russell Ingall Stone Brothers Racing 52 + 2 laps 19 27 99 NZL David Thexton Thexton Motor Racing 52 + 2 laps 26 28 8 AUS Paul Dumbrell Perkins Engineering 50 + 4 laps 24 Ret 34 AUS Garth Tander Garry Rogers Motorsport 39 Accident 3 Ret 17 AUS Steven Johnson Dick Johnson Racing 32 Engine 10 WD 23 AUS Mark Noske Noske Motorsport Withdrawn Fastest lap: Mark Skaife (Holden Racing Team), 0.57.4463 Sources: http://racing.natsoft.com.au/642786307/object_324747.81Y/Result?10 Placemakers V8 International - Round 12 V8 Supercar Series - PUKEKOHE PARK RACEWAY - V8 SUPERCARS - Race 2 natsoft.com.au 10 November 2003 2024-10-04 Race 3 John Bowe did not start the racing owing to mechanical problems. At the start, Murphy bogged down somewhat and Skaife surged ahead of the Kmart car. Bright followed in hot pursuit, almost taking the lead altogether into turn one. Down the pack, Lowndes was served off the track by Paul Weel, losing him a bundle of positions. Heading into the hairpin, the front-left suspension on Jamie Whincup's car failed and was sent spearing into the wall at the hairpin. Whincup was able to extricate himself from the gravel trap, thus negating the need for safety car. Johnson and Ingall tangled at turn three, completing a torrid weekend for the Dick Johnson Racing driver. Ambrose wasn't faring much better. A slow stop shuffled him further down the order. When he rejoined, he found himself stuck behind Glenn Seton, who refused to relinquish his position. Ingall was dispatched to pave a way for his teammate, but the lack of pace in Ambrose's car hindered these efforts. Dean Canto crashed on the front straight, inflicting damage on all corners of his Falcon. With a handful of laps remaining, Besnard's engine detonated on the back straight. With 13 laps remaining, Murphy lost second place to Bright who set off after Skaife. Bright did gnaw down the gap to under four seconds, but Skaife had the race under control, and ultimately won. Bright finished second and Murphy was third, some 15 seconds behind Bright and holding off a late charge from Todd Kelly. Murphy once again won the round and kept his undefeated round tally at Pukekohe intact. Pos No Name Team Laps Time / difference Grid 1 1 AUS Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team 54 53min 22.1378sec 2 2 50 AUS Jason Bright Paul Weel Racing 54 + 3.901 3 3 51 NZL Greg Murphy John Kelly Racing 54 + 18.021 1 4 2 AUS Todd Kelly Holden Racing Team 54 + 18.181 4 5 15 AUS Rick Kelly John Kelly Racing 54 + 23.175 13 6 11 NZL Steven Richards Perkins Engineering 54 + 32.728 6 7 44 NZL Simon Wills Team Dynamik 54 + 36.036 8 8 65 NZL Paul Radisich Triple Eight Race Engineering 54 + 41.397 7 9 4 AUS Marcos Ambrose Stone Brothers Racing 54 + 44.768 23 10 9 AUS Russell Ingall Stone Brothers Racing 54 + 45.326 26 11 5 AUS Glenn Seton Ford Performance Racing 54 + 48.870 9 12 16 AUS Paul Weel Paul Weel Racing 54 + 50.074 11 13 20 AUS Jason Bargwanna Larkham Motorsport 54 + 50.480 5 14 31 AUS Steven Ellery Steven Ellery Racing 54 + 54.019 21 15 21 AUS Brad Jones Brad Jones Racing 54 + 55.296 22 16 17 AUS Steven Johnson Dick Johnson Racing 54 + 55.552 30 17 8 AUS Paul Dumbrell Perkins Engineering 54 + 58.937 28 18 6 AUS Craig Lowndes Ford Performance Racing 53 + 1 lap 12 19 18 BRA Max Wilson Dick Johnson Racing 53 + 1 lap 24 20 3 AUS Cameron McConville Lansvale Racing Team 53 + 1 lap 18 21 34 AUS Garth Tander Garry Rogers Motorsport 53 + 1 lap 29 22 021 NZL Craig Baird Team Kiwi Racing 53 + 1 lap 19 23 10 AUS Mark Larkham Larkham Motorsport 53 + 1 lap 20 24 75 AUS Anthony Tratt Paul Little Racing 52 + 2 laps 25 25 66 AUS Dean Canto Triple Eight Race Engineering 52 + 2 laps 14 26 99 NZL David Thexton Thexton Motor Racing 52 + 2 laps 27 Ret 7 AUS David Besnard Rod Nash Racing 48 Engine 15 Ret 29 AUS Paul Morris Paul Morris Motorsport 33 Retired 16 Ret 33 AUS Jamie Whincup Garry Rogers Motorsport 0 Suspension 17 DNS 888 AUS John Bowe Brad Jones Racing 0 Did Not Start 10 WD 23 AUS Mark Noske Noske Motorsport Withdrawn Fastest lap: Mark Skaife (Holden Racing Team), 0.57.4552 Sources: http://racing.natsoft.com.au/642786307/object_324758.81b/Result?11 Placemakers V8 International - Round 12 V8 Supercar Series - PUKEKOHE PARK RACEWAY - V8 SUPERCARS - Race 3 natsoft.com.au 10 November 2003 2024-10-04 Aftermath Despite entering the Pukekohe round with a chance of capturing his maiden championship, a string of poor results for Ambrose meant the gap between him and his title rivals had closed significantly. Skaife, initially 167 points behind Ambrose preceding this round, had more than halved the gap to the championship lead. Murphy was now only 24 points behind Ambrose, and with a string of wins in recent rounds, including the Bathurst 1000, he was looked at favourably to vanquish the Stone Brothers Racing driver in the championship finale. When the series returned in 2004, Murphy's dominance at the venue came to an end. Bright would take the spoils while Murphy was left to scrape podiums together in a grueling duel between him and championship rival, Ambrose. Mercifully, after having failed to qualify once again at the next round, this would prove to be the last V8 Supercar race for David Thexton. Championship standings Pos. Position No Driver Team Pts Points 10px 1 4 AUS Marcos Ambrose Stone Brothers Racing 1893 10px 2 51 NZL Greg Murphy John Kelly Racing 1869 10px 3 1 AUS Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team 1823 10px 4 9 AUS Russell Ingall Stone Brothers Racing 1709 10px 5 6 AUS Craig Lowndes Ford Performance Racing 1588 References External links PlaceMakers V8 Supercars website New Zealand V8 International 2003 2003 Gillette V8 Supercar Challenge 2003 Main Event (V8 Supercars) 2002 Boost Mobile V8 International 2004 PlaceMakers V8 International Placemakers Category:Auto races in New Zealand Place Category:November 2003 sports events in New Zealand