The 2002 Canberra 400 (known for sponsorship reasons as the 2002 Stegbar Canberra 400) was the fifth round of the 2002 V8 Supercar Championship Series and the third and final running of the Canberra 400 event. It was held on the weekend of 7 to 9 June on the Canberra Street Circuit in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory.
Mark Skaife extended his championship lead by winning two out of the weekend's three races en route to taking overall round honours. This weekend also featured the sole reverse grid race of the season which was won by Russell Ingall. Todd Kelly finished second overall for the weekend while Craig Lowndes claimed third.
Despite having a five-year contract, the 2002 Canberra 400 event would be the last to be held and the series would not return for 2003. The main reason given for the cancellation of the contract was the amount of money being spent on the race and the lack of return compared to what was expected. Kate Carnell's initial estimation on cost blew out as the years went on, and some Canberrans believed that this money was better spent elsewhere. A report by the Auditor General of the Australian Capital Territory in 2002 summarised that the benefits of the race were overstated and costs were underestimated.
Background The event was held on the weekend of 7 to 9 June 2002. It was the third V8 Supercar event to be held on the streets of Canberra and consisted of two 100 km races followed by a 200 km final. In contrast the heat of Darwin, the Canberra event was marked by comparatively cold temperatures. The spectator attendance had dropped from 101,000 in 2000 to 89,000 in 2002, and the cold climate was cited as a key reason behind this.
Mark Skaife entered the round as the championship leader in what had been a dominant campaign, having won all four of the previous rounds and won eight out of the ten races run. The 2001 event was won by Steven Johnson.
Entry list
There were 34 drivers entered into the event with no necessitation for pre-qualifying.
Wayne Wakefield replaced Stephen White at Imrie Motorsport. It would be Wakefield's only solo appearance in the championship for the 2002 season.
Race report Qualifying Pos No Name Team Vehicle Time 1 2 Jason Bright Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 1:43.7613 2 4 Marcos Ambrose Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:43.9323 3 1 Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 1:44.0137 4 00 Craig Lowndes 00 Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 1:44.2079 5 34 Garth Tander Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 1:44.3727 6 8 Russell Ingall Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 1:44.4332 7 17 Steven Johnson Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:44.4876 8 51 Greg Murphy Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia Holden Commodore (VX) 1:44.5344 9 65 Max Wilson Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 1:44.6848 10 16 Steven Richards Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 1:44.6928 11 15 Todd Kelly Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia Holden Commodore (VX) 1:44.7090 12 9 David Besnard Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:44.7612 13 27 Neil Crompton 00 Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 1:44.7970 14 5 Glenn Seton Glenn Seton Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:44.8107 15 888 John Bowe Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:44.8277 16 18 Paul Radisich Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:44.9624 17 11 Larry Perkins Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 1:44.9786 18 10 Mark Larkham Larkham Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 1:45.1173 19 02 Rick Kelly Holden Young Lions Holden Commodore (VX) 1:45.1255 20 43 Paul Weel Paul Weel Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:45.1719 21 600 Simon Wills Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 1:45.2256 22 31 Steven Ellery Steven Ellery Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:45.2584 23 3 Cameron McConville Lansvale Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 1:45.3069 24 66 Tony Longhurst Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 1:45.4021 25 21 Brad Jones Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:45.5332 26 75 Anthony Tratt Paul Little Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:45.5476 27 40 Cameron McLean Paragon Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 1:45.6111 28 54 Craig Baird Rod Nash Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 1:45.6290 29 021 Jason Richards Team Kiwi Racing Holden Commodore (VT) 1:45.6848 30 29 Paul Morris Paul Morris Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 1:46.0476 31 35 Jason Bargwanna Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 1:46.1220 32 7 Rodney Forbes 00 Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 1:46.6828 33 46 John Faulkner John Faulkner Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 1:46.9451 34 14 Wayne Wakefield Imrie Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 1:48.4350 Source:
Top fifteen shootout Craig Lowndes secured pole position with a time merely half a tenth faster than nearest competitor, Jason Bright. Marcos Ambrose entered the shootout as one of the favourites but heading into the bus stop, he locked the front-right tyre which forced him to stray wide and made contact with the inside tyre bundle. This inflicted damage to the front spoiler and relegated him to the bottom of the timing sheets.
Pos No Name Team Vehicle Time 1 00 Craig Lowndes 00 Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 1:44.4035 2 2 Jason Bright Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 1:44.4646 3 51 Greg Murphy Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia Holden Commodore (VX) 1:44.7118 4 16 Steven Richards Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 1:44.9936 5 9 David Besnard Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:45.2086 6 1 Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 1:45.3248 7 17 Steven Johnson Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:45.5660 8 15 Todd Kelly Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia Holden Commodore (VX) 1:45.7127 9 5 Glenn Seton Glenn Seton Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:45.8391 10 65 Max Wilson Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 1:45.8524 11 8 Russell Ingall Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 1:45.8685 12 27 Neil Crompton 00 Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 1:46.0055 13 34 Garth Tander Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 1:46.2239 14 888 John Bowe Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:46.2932 15 4 Marcos Ambrose Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:52.1447 Source:
Race 1 Pos No Name Team Vehicle Laps Time/Retired Grid 1 1 Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 25 45:05.6630 6 2 16 Steven Richards Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 25 + 2.854 4 3 15 Todd Kelly Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia Holden Commodore (VX) 25 + 3.196 8 4 4 Marcos Ambrose Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 25 + 4.335 15 5 9 David Besnard Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 25 + 15.741 5 6 11 Larry Perkins Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 25 + 27.129 17 7 34 Garth Tander Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 25 + 27.382 13 8 18 Paul Radisich Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 25 + 33.360 16 9 00 Craig Lowndes 00 Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 25 + 36.828 1 10 17 Steven Johnson Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 25 + 44.480 7 11 888 John Bowe Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 25 + 44.840 14 12 27 Neil Crompton 00 Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 25 + 45.079 12 13 43 Paul Weel Paul Weel Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 25 + 45.873 20 14 5 Glenn Seton Glenn Seton Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 25 + 46.281 9 15 54 Craig Baird Rod Nash Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 25 + 46.643 28 16 2 Jason Bright Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 25 + 47.029 2 17 21 Brad Jones Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 25 + 51.341 25 18 31 Steven Ellery Steven Ellery Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 25 + 51.805 22 19 600 Simon Wills Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 25 + 53.188 21 20 10 Mark Larkham Larkham Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 25 + 1:03.067 18 21 66 Tony Longhurst Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 25 1:05.525 24 22 46 John Faulkner John Faulkner Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 25 + 1:06.796 33 23 75 Anthony Tratt Paul Little Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 25 + 1:11.958 26 24 7 Rodney Forbes 00 Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 25 + 1:21.033 32 25 29 Paul Morris Paul Morris Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 24 + 1 lap 30 26 021 Jason Richards Team Kiwi Racing Holden Commodore (VT) 24 + 1 lap 29 27 35 Jason Bargwanna Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 23 + 2 laps 31 28 8 Russell Ingall Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 24 + 1 lap 11 29 40 Cameron McLean Paragon Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 22 + 3 laps 27 Ret 65 Max Wilson Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 20 Suspension 10 Ret 51 Greg Murphy Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia Holden Commodore (VX) 14 Alternator 3 Ret 3 Cameron McConville Lansvale Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 13 Mechanical 23 Ret 02 Rick Kelly Holden Young Lions Holden Commodore (VX) 10 Driveline 19 Ret 14 Wayne Wakefield Imrie Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 5 Mechanical 34 Fastest Lap: Marcos Ambrose (Stone Brothers Racing) - 1:45.0180 on lap 15 Source:
Race 2 Pos No Name Team Vehicle Laps Time/Retired Grid 1 8 Russell Ingall Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 25 47:51.6151 2 2 2 Jason Bright Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 25 + 13.024 14 3 021 Jason Richards Team Kiwi Racing Holden Commodore (VT) 25 + 14.275 4 4 46 John Faulkner John Faulkner Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 25 + 15.147 8 5 66 Tony Longhurst Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 25 + 15.482 9 6 4 Marcos Ambrose Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 25 + 16.102 26 7 34 Garth Tander Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 25 + 16.834 23 8 35 Jason Bargwanna Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 25 + 17.134 3 9 16 Steven Richards Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 25 + 18.051 28 10 15 Todd Kelly Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia Holden Commodore (VX) 25 + 18.588 27 11 54 Craig Baird Rod Nash Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 25 + 20.388 15 12 10 Mark Larkham Larkham Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 25 + 21.338 10 13 1 Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team Ford Falcon (AU) 25 + 21.540 29 14 17 Steven Johnson Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 25 + 25.643 20 15 9 David Besnard Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 25 + 26.032 25 16 00 Craig Lowndes 00 Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 25 + 26.208 21 17 65 Max Wilson Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 25 + 34.367 30 18 11 Larry Perkins Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 25 + 34.645 24 19 888 John Bowe Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 25 + 34.912 19 20 21 Brad Jones Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 25 + 36.001 13 21 3 Cameron McConville Lansvale Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 25 + 36.735 32 22 40 Cameron McLean Paragon Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 25 + 52.934 1 23 29 Paul Morris Paul Morris Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 25 + 1:16.654 5 24 27 Neil Crompton 00 Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 24 + 1 lap 18 25 31 Steven Ellery Steven Ellery Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 23 + 2 laps 12 Ret 14 Wayne Wakefield Imrie Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 18 Retired 34 Ret 600 Simon Wills Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 17 Retired 11 Ret 43 Paul Weel Paul Weel Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 10 Accident damage 17 Ret 5 Glenn Seton Glenn Seton Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 6 Accident damage 16 Ret 7 Rodney Forbes 00 Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 5 Accident 6 Ret 18 Paul Radisich Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 3 Suspension 22 Ret 75 Anthony Tratt Paul Little Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 2 Retired 7 Ret 02 Rick Kelly Holden Young Lions Holden Commodore (VX) 2 Engine 33 Ret 51 Greg Murphy Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia Holden Commodore (VX) 2 Driveshaft 31 Fastest Lap: Jason Bright (Holden Racing Team) - 1:45.3325 on lap 6 Source:
Race 3