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 Greg Murphy John Kelly Racing Holden Commodore (VY) 56.5453 1 2 1 Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VY) 56.5698 2 3 50 Jason Bright Paul Weel Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 56.6932 3 4 18 Max Wilson Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 56.7490 4 5 6 Craig Lowndes Ford Performance Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 56.9390 5 6 4 Marcos Ambrose Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 56.9618 6 7 34 Garth Tander Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VY) 57.0019 7 8 20 Jason Bargwanna Larkham Motorsport Ford Falcon (BA) 57.0416 8 9 65 Paul Radisich Triple Eight Race Engineering Ford Falcon (BA) 57.0805 9 10 2 Todd Kelly Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VY) 57.1031 10 11 11 Steven Richards Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VY) 57.1377 11 12 17 Steven Johnson Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 57.1615 12 13 66 Dean Canto Triple Eight Race Engineering Ford Falcon (BA) 57.1670 13 14 5 Glenn Seton Ford Performance Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 57.1729 14 15 888 John Bowe Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 57.2001 15 16 21 Brad Jones Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 57.2249 16 17 9 Russell Ingall Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 57.2317 17 18 16 Paul Weel Paul Weel Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 57.2934 18 19 021 Craig Baird Team Kiwi Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 57.3320 19 20 31 Steven Ellery Steven Ellery Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 57.3756 20 21 44 Simon Wills Team Dynamik Holden Commodore (VY) 57.3867 21 22 29 Paul Morris Paul Morris Motorsport Holden Commodore (VY) 57.4506 22 23 8 Paul Dumbrell Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 57.5045 23 24 10 Mark Larkham Larkham Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 57.5235 24 25 3 Cameron McConville Lansvale Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 57.5580 25 26 15 Rick Kelly John Kelly Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 57.5769 26 27 7 David Besnard Rod Nash Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 57.6748 27 28 33 Jamie Whincup Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 57.7048 28 29 23 Mark Noske Noske Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 57.7748 29 30 99 David Thexton Thexton Motor Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 59.0554 30 DNQ 45 Jason Richards Team Dynamik Holden Commodore (VY) no time Sources:
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 Todd Kelly Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VY) 0:56.9015 2 50 Jason Bright Paul Weel Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 0:57.6482 3 51 Greg Murphy John Kelly Racing Holden Commodore (VY) 0:57.6955 4 18 Max Wilson Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 0:57.8263 5 65 Paul Radisich Triple Eight Race Engineering Ford Falcon (BA) 0:57.8697 6 1 Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VY) 0:57.9175 7 20 Jason Bargwanna Larkham Motor Sport Ford Falcon (BA) 0:58.1224 8 4 Marcos Ambrose Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 0:58.2709 9 6 Craig Lowndes Ford Performance Racing Ford Falcon (BA) 0:58.5551 10 34 Garth Tander Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VY) 1:00.2457 Sources:
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. Pos No Name Team Laps Time / difference Grid 1 51 Greg Murphy John Kelly Racing 36 43min 48.1246sec 1 2 2 Todd Kelly Holden Racing Team 36 + 8.249 10 3 34 Garth Tander Garry Rogers Motorsport 36 + 9.217 7 4 20 Jason Bargwanna Larkham Motorsport 36 + 10.019 8 5 65 Paul Radisich Triple Eight Race Engineering 36 + 11.485 9 6 4 Marcos Ambrose Stone Brothers Racing 36 + 14.513 6 7 1 Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team 36 + 15.073 2 8 15 Rick Kelly John Kelly Racing 36 + 17.122 26 9 31 Steven Ellery Steven Ellery Racing 36 + 25.022 20 10 17 Steven Johnson Dick Johnson Racing 36 + 26.173 12 11 5 Glenn Seton Ford Performance Racing 36 + 27.725 14 12 888 John Bowe Brad Jones Racing 36 + 29.278 15 13 44 Simon Wills Team Dynamik 36 + 32.505 21 14 29 Paul Morris Paul Morris Motorsport 36 + 37.106 22 15 16 Paul Weel Paul Weel Racing 36 + 38.400 18 16 6 Craig Lowndes Ford Performance Racing 36 + 41.086 5 17 66 Dean Canto Triple Eight Race Engineering 36 + 42.208 13 18 18 Max Wilson Dick Johnson Racing 36 + 46.975 4 19 9 Russell Ingall Stone Brothers Racing 36 + 47.672 17 20 11 Steven Richards Perkins Engineering 36 + 47.857 11 21 50 Jason Bright Paul Weel Racing 36 + 57.903 3 22 21 Brad Jones Brad Jones Racing 35 + 1 lap 16 23 021 Craig Baird Team Kiwi Racing 35 + 1 lap 19 24 8 Paul Dumbrell Perkins Engineering 34 + 2 laps 23 25 7 David Besnard Rod Nash Racing 34 + 2 laps 27 26 99 David Thexton Thexton Motor Racing 34 + 2 laps 29 27 10 Mark Larkham Larkham Motorsport 29 + 7 laps 24 28 33 Jamie Whincup Garry Rogers Motorsport 28 + 8 laps 27 DNF 23 Mark Noske Noske Motorsport 7 Accident 28 DNF 75 Anthony Tratt Paul Little Racing 0 Accident DNF 3 Cameron McConville Lansvale Racing Team 0 Accident 25 Fastest lap: Steven Richards (Perkins Engineering), 1:01.6893 Sources:
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 Greg Murphy John Kelly Racing 54 1hr 01min 24.3090sec 1 2 1 Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team 54 + 1.315 7 3 50 Jason Bright Paul Weel Racing 54 + 2.776 21 4 2 Todd Kelly Holden Racing Team 54 + 3.727 2 5 20 Jason Bargwanna Larkham Motorsport 54 + 10.078 4 6 11 Steven Richards Perkins Engineering 54 + 11.084 10 7 65 Paul Radisich Triple Eight Race Engineering 54 + 11.446 5 8 44 Simon Wills Team Dynamik 54 + 12.225 13 9 5 Glenn Seton Ford Performance Racing 54 + 12.494 11 10 888 John Bowe Brad Jones Racing 54 + 13.094 12 11 16 Paul Weel Paul Weel Racing 54 + 13.250 15 12 6 Craig Lowndes Ford Performance Racing 54 + 14.418 16 13 15 Rick Kelly John Kelly Racing 54 + 15.036 8 14 66 Dean Canto Triple Eight Race Engineering 54 + 16.129 17 15 7 David Besnard Ford Performance Racing 54 + 16.477 25 16 29 Paul Morris Paul Morris Motorsport 54 + 21.490 14 17 33 Jamie Whincup Garry Rogers Motorsport 54 + 21.541 28 18 3 Cameron McConville Lansvale Racing Team 54 + 22.000 31 19 021 Craig Baird Team Kiwi Racing 54 + 22.157 23 20 10 Mark Larkham Larkham Motorsport 54 + 22.838 27 21 31 Steven Ellery Steven Ellery Racing 54 + 25.088 9 22 21 Brad Jones Brad Jones Racing 53 + 1 lap 22 23 4 Marcos Ambrose Stone Brothers Racing 53 + 1 lap 6 24 18 Max Wilson Dick Johnson Racing 53 + 1 lap 18 25 75 Anthony Tratt Paul Little Racing 53 + 1 lap 30 26 9 Russell Ingall Stone Brothers Racing 52 + 2 laps 19 27 99 David Thexton Thexton Motor Racing 52 + 2 laps 26 28 8 Paul Dumbrell Perkins Engineering 50 + 4 laps 24 Ret 34 Garth Tander Garry Rogers Motorsport 39 Accident 3 Ret 17 Steven Johnson Dick Johnson Racing 32 Engine 10 WD 23 Mark Noske Noske Motorsport Withdrawn Fastest lap: Mark Skaife (Holden Racing Team), 0.57.4463 Sources:
Race 3