2003 V8 Supercars Darwin round

Motor race Northern Territory 2003 V8 Supercars Darwin round 6 13 2003 V8SC Hidden Valley Raceway (Australia) track map.svg 27–29 June Darwin, Northern Territory Hidden Valley Raceway Sunny 17 50 Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team 21:59.5111 Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team 42:44.5643 35 100 Marcos Ambrose Stone Brothers Racing 45:03.2352 35 100 Marcos Ambrose Stone Brothers Racing 52:06.2762 Marcos Ambrose Stone Brothers Racing 190 Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team 186 Jason Bright Paul Weel Racing 176 The 2003 V8 Supercars Darwin round was the sixth round of the 2003 V8 Supercar Championship Series. It was held on the weekend of 27 to 29 June at the Hidden Valley Raceway in Darwin, Northern Territory. The weekend was a close-fought battle between the forerunners of the Holden and Ford marques – Mark Skaife and Marcos Ambrose. Each driver traded sessions with Ambrose claiming provisional pole position and Skaife striking back in the shootout to take pole position for the first race.2003-06-28 Ambrose gets off to flyer in Darwin https://www.theage.com.au/sport/motorsport/ambrose-gets-off-to-flyer-in-darwin-20030628-gdvyc3.html 2026-09-24 The Age en-AU2003-06-28 Skaife secures V8 pole https://www.abc.net.au/news/2003-06-28/skaife-secures-v8-pole/1878398 2026-09-24 ABC News Australia en-AU Skaife held off Ambrose to win the first race and in the second race, Ambrose would take victory after a late-race restart fiasco involving Jamie Whincup. The third and final race was won by Ambrose and thus allowed him to take overall round honours ahead of Skaife. Jason Bright would take third in overall points for the weekend to help maintain his championship lead.2003-06-29 Ambrose makes it four in a row https://www.abc.net.au/news/2003-06-29/ambrose-makes-it-four-in-a-row/1878520 2026-09-24 ABC News Australia en-AU2003-06-30 Ambrose gets Ford home first again https://www.smh.com.au/sport/motorsport/ambrose-gets-ford-home-first-again-20030630-gdh0kk.html 2026-09-24 The Sydney Morning Herald en-AU Background The event was held on the weekend of 27 to 29 June 2003. It was the sixth V8 Supercar event to be held at Hidden Valley Raceway and consisted of one 50 km opener followed by two 100 km races with compulsory pitstops in each. Entry list 2003 V8 Supercar Championship Series#Teams and drivers There were 34 drivers entered into the event. It featured mixture of vehicle models - six AU Ford Falcon's, thirteen BA Falcon's, six VY Commodore's, and ten VX Commodore's. Amidst dispute regarding charter contracts, Greg Ritter returned to 00 Motorsport after missing the previous round in Perth. With the teams situation becoming increasingly turbulent, this would ultimately mark the final round 00 Motorsport would compete in. The Racing Entitlement Contract was sold to Paul Weel Racing and the hardware in 2004 to WPS Racing. David Thexton returned to the series after missing the previous round in Perth. Race report Qualifying Marcos Ambrose claimed provisional pole position over Mark Skaife over a tenth of a second. As often was the case, David Thexton failed to qualify for the event after posting a time three tenths shy of the 105% ruling. Pos No Name Team Vehicle Time 1 4 AUS Marcos Ambrose Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 1:08.4384 2 1 AUS Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VY) 1:08.5943 3 2 AUS Todd Kelly Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VY) 1:08.7783 4 9 AUS Russell Ingall Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 1:08.8589 5 6 AUS Craig Lowndes Ford Performance Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 1:08.9166 6 888 AUS John Bowe Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 1:08.9372 7 34 AUS Garth Tander Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VY) 1:08.9503 8 51 NZL Greg Murphy John Kelly Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 1:08.9770 9 65 NZL Paul Radisich Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon (BA) 1:08.9869 10 50 AUS Jason Bright Paul Weel Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 1:09.0214 11 31 AUS Steven Ellery Steven Ellery Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 1:09.0713 12 29 AUS Paul Morris Paul Morris Motorsport Holden Commodore (VY) 1:09.1142 13 44 NZL Simon Wills Team Dynamik Holden Commodore (VY) 1:09.1152 14 15 AUS Rick Kelly John Kelly Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 1:09.1239 15 45 NZL Jason Richards Team Dynamik Holden Commodore (VY) 1:09.1945 16 11 NZL Steven Richards Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 1:09.2386 17 16 AUS Paul Weel Paul Weel Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 1:09.2458 18 19 AUS David Besnard Rod Nash Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:09.2701 19 21 AUS Brad Jones Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 1:09.2873 20 5 AUS Glenn Seton Ford Performance Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 1:09.2897 21 20 AUS Jason Bargwanna Larkham Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 1:09.4000 22 18 BRA Max Wilson Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 1:09.4329 23 17 AUS Steven Johnson Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 1:09.4954 24 3 AUS Cameron McConville Lansvale Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 1:09.5310 25 10 AUS Mark Larkham Larkham Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 1:09.5447 26 8 AUS Paul Dumbrell Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 1:09.5486 27 66 AUS Dean Canto Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon (BA) 1:09.5559 28 00 AUS Greg Ritter 00 Motorsport Ford Falcon (BA) 1:09.5851 29 33 AUS Jamie Whincup Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 1:09.6171 30 75 AUS Anthony Tratt Paul Little Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:09.6612 31 7 AUS Rodney Forbes 00 Motorsport Ford Falcon (BA) 1:09.7827 32 23 AUS Mark Noske Tony Noske Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:09.8788 33 021 NZL Craig Baird Team Kiwi Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 1:09.9314 105% time – 1:11.8603 DNQ 99 NZL David Thexton Thexton Motor Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:12.1864 Source:2003 V8 Supercars Darwin (Race 1) https://www.racingyears.com/race/2003_V8_Supercars_Darwin_(Race_1) 2026-09-24 Racing Years en-AU Top ten shootout Pos No Name Team Vehicle Time 1 1 AUS Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VY) 1:08.6282 2 4 AUS Marcos Ambrose Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 1:08.6411 3 51 NZL Greg Murphy John Kelly Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 1:08.9303 4 50 AUS Jason Bright Paul Weel Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 1:09.0332 5 9 AUS Russell Ingall Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 1:09.2540 6 34 AUS Garth Tander Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VY) 1:09.2924 7 6 AUS Craig Lowndes Ford Performance Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 1:09.3161 8 65 NZL Paul Radisich Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon (BA) 1:09.5238 9 888 AUS John Bowe Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 1:09.6305 10 2 AUS Todd Kelly Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VY) 1:09.7555 Source: Race 1 Pos No Name Team Vehicle Laps Time/Retired Grid 1 1 AUS Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VY) 17 21:59.5111 1 2 4 AUS Marcos Ambrose Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 17 + 1.236 2 3 50 AUS Jason Bright Paul Weel Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 17 + 8.582 4 4 34 AUS Garth Tander Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VY) 17 + 9.794 6 5 65 NZL Paul Radisich Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon (BA) 17 + 10.984 8 6 51 NZL Greg Murphy John Kelly Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 17 + 11.870 3 7 2 AUS Todd Kelly Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VY) 17 + 12.418 10 8 31 AUS Steven Ellery Steven Ellery Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 17 + 15.754 11 9 11 NZL Steven Richards Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 17 + 16.319 16 10 888 AUS John Bowe Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 17 + 16.800 9 11 44 NZL Simon Wills Team Dynamik Holden Commodore (VY) 17 + 17.148 13 12 16 AUS Paul Weel Paul Weel Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 17 + 19.638 17 13 17 AUS Steven Johnson Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 17 + 20.493 23 14 15 AUS Rick Kelly John Kelly Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 17 + 21.390 14 15 21 AUS Brad Jones Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 17 + 22.382 19 16 45 NZL Jason Richards Team Dynamik Holden Commodore (VY) 17 + 23.309 15 17 20 AUS Jason Bargwanna Larkham Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 17 + 25.102 21 18 66 AUS Dean Canto Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon (BA) 17 + 26.088 27 19 23 AUS Mark Noske Tony Noske Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 17 + 31.565 32 20 33 AUS Jamie Whincup Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 17 + 33.048 29 21 7 AUS Rodney Forbes 00 Motorsport Ford Falcon (BA) 17 + 33.957 31 22 021 NZL Craig Baird Team Kiwi Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 17 + 36.790 33 23 3 AUS Cameron McConville Lansvale Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 17 + 37.245 24 24 19 AUS David Besnard Rod Nash Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 17 + 43.941 18 25 75 AUS Anthony Tratt Paul Little Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 17 + 46.992 30 26 10 AUS Mark Larkham Larkham Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 17 + 47.312 25 27 8 AUS Paul Dumbrell Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 17 + 49.765 26 28 6 AUS Craig Lowndes Ford Performance Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 16 + 1 lap 7 29 00 AUS Greg Ritter 00 Motorsport Ford Falcon (BA) 16 + 1 lap 28 Ret 18 BRA Max Wilson Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 12 Retired 22 Ret 5 AUS Glenn Seton Ford Performance Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 10 Retired 20 Ret 29 AUS Paul Morris Paul Morris Motorsport Holden Commodore (VY) 3 Retired 12 Ret 9 AUS Russell Ingall Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 0 Retired 5 Fastest Lap: Marcos Ambrose (Stone Brothers Racing) - 1:09.4432 on lap 9 Source: Race 2 Pos No Name Team Vehicle Laps Time/Retired Grid 1 4 AUS Marcos Ambrose Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 35 45:03.2352 2 2 1 AUS Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VY) 35 + 0.239 1 3 34 AUS Garth Tander Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VY) 35 + 3.696 4 4 50 AUS Jason Bright Paul Weel Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 35 + 6.122 3 5 51 NZL Greg Murphy John Kelly Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 35 + 6.539 6 6 11 NZL Steven Richards Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 35 + 6.857 9 7 15 AUS Rick Kelly John Kelly Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 35 + 7.202 14 8 65 NZL Paul Radisich Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon (BA) 35 + 7.642 5 9 44 NZL Simon Wills Team Dynamik Holden Commodore (VY) 35 + 7.851 11 10 888 AUS John Bowe Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 35 + 9.053 10 11 16 AUS Paul Weel Paul Weel Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 35 + 10.307 12 12 66 AUS Dean Canto Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon (BA) 35 + 10.559 18 13 20 AUS Jason Bargwanna Larkham Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 35 + 10.863 17 14 3 AUS Cameron McConville Lansvale Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 35 + 11.575 23 15 31 AUS Steven Ellery Steven Ellery Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 35 + 11.702 8 16 5 AUS Glenn Seton Ford Performance Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 35 + 12.406 31 17 9 AUS Russell Ingall Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 35 + 12.551 33 18 19 AUS David Besnard Rod Nash Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 35 + 13.004 24 19 021 NZL Craig Baird Team Kiwi Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 35 + 14.433 22 20 18 BRA Max Wilson Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 35 + 15.940 30 21 21 AUS Brad Jones Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 35 + 16.113 15 22 8 AUS Paul Dumbrell Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 35 + 18.850 27 23 29 AUS Paul Morris Paul Morris Motorsport Holden Commodore (VY) 35 + 19.291 32 24 2 AUS Todd Kelly Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VY) 34 + 1 lap 7 25 23 AUS Mark Noske Tony Noske Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 34 + 1 lap 19 26 00 AUS Greg Ritter 00 Motorsport Ford Falcon (BA) 34 + 1 lap 29 27 6 AUS Craig Lowndes Ford Performance Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 34 + 1 lap 28 28 7 AUS Rodney Forbes 00 Motorsport Ford Falcon (BA) 34 + 1 lap 21 29 17 AUS Steven Johnson Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 34 + 1 lap 13 30 10 AUS Mark Larkham Larkham Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 33 + 2 laps 26 31 45 NZL Jason Richards Team Dynamik Holden Commodore (VY) 28 + 7 laps 16 Ret 33 AUS Jamie Whincup Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 28 Retired 20 Ret 75 AUS Anthony Tratt Paul Little Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 24 Retired 25 Fastest Lap: Mark Skaife (Holden Racing Team) - 1:09.1488 on lap 6 Source:2003 V8 Supercars Darwin (Race 2) https://www.racingyears.com/race/2003_V8_Supercars_Darwin_(Race_2) 2026-09-24 Racing Years en-AU Race 3 Pos No Name Team Vehicle Laps Time/Retired Grid 1 4 AUS Marcos Ambrose Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 35 52:06.2762 1 2 51 NZL Greg Murphy John Kelly Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 35 + 1.132 5 3 1 AUS Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VY) 35 + 1.385 2 4 50 AUS Jason Bright Paul Weel Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 35 + 4.099 4 5 11 NZL Steven Richards Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 35 + 4.779 6 6 44 NZL Simon Wills Team Dynamik Holden Commodore (VY) 35 + 5.831 9 7 888 AUS John Bowe Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 35 + 6.500 28 8 9 AUS Russell Ingall Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 35 + 10.333 17 9 31 AUS Steven Ellery Steven Ellery Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 35 + 17.972 15 10 21 AUS Brad Jones Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 35 + 22.968 21 11 33 AUS Jamie Whincup Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 35 + 23.996 32 12 17 AUS Steven Johnson Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 35 + 24.581 29 13 16 AUS Paul Weel Paul Weel Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 35 + 25.082 11 14 3 AUS Cameron McConville Lansvale Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 35 + 26.108 14 15 6 AUS Craig Lowndes Ford Performance Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 35 + 26.316 27 16 18 BRA Max Wilson Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 35 + 26.494 20 17 5 AUS Glenn Seton Ford Performance Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 35 + 26.914 16 18 15 AUS Rick Kelly John Kelly Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 35 + 27.026 7 19 66 AUS Dean Canto Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon (BA) 35 + 27.375 12 20 20 AUS Jason Bargwanna Larkham Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 35 + 29.943 13 21 10 AUS Mark Larkham Larkham Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 35 + 31.767 30 22 00 AUS Greg Ritter 00 Motorsport Ford Falcon (BA) 35 + 34.000 26 23 65 NZL Paul Radisich Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon (BA) 35 + 34.217 8 24 45 NZL Jason Richards Team Dynamik Holden Commodore (VY) 35 + 34.696 31 25 34 AUS Garth Tander Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VY) 35 + 34.996 3 26 7 AUS Rodney Forbes 00 Motorsport Ford Falcon (BA) 35 + 36.098 28 27 021 NZL Craig Baird Team Kiwi Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 35 + 57.079 19 28 19 AUS David Besnard Rod Nash Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 35 + 58.044 18 29 23 AUS Mark Noske Tony Noske Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 33 + 2 laps 25 30 29 AUS Paul Morris Paul Morris Motorsport Holden Commodore (VY) 27 + 8 laps 23 Ret 8 AUS Paul Dumbrell Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 18 Retired 22 Ret 2 AUS Todd Kelly Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VY) 0 Accident 24 DNS 75 AUS Anthony Tratt Paul Little Racing Ford Falcon (AU) Did not start Fastest Lap: Marcos Ambrose (Stone Brothers Racing) - 1:09.5896 on lap 11 Source:2003 V8 Supercars Darwin (Race 3) https://www.racingyears.com/race/2003_V8_Supercars_Darwin_(Race_3) 2026-09-24 Racing Years en-AU Championship standings Pos. Position No Driver Team Pts Points 10px 1 50 AUS Jason Bright Paul Weel Racing 1027 10px 2 11 NZL Steven Richards Perkins Engineering 992 10px 3 4 AUS Marcos Ambrose Stone Brothers Racing 973 10px 4 51 NZL Greg Murphy John Kelly Racing 951 10px 5 1 AUS Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team 929 References Darwin Triple Crown 2003 2003 Perth 300 2003 Ipswich 300 2002 V8 Supercars Darwin round 2004 V8 Supercars Darwin round Darwin