The 2002 Perth 300 (known for sponsorship reasons as the 2002 VB 300) was the sixth round of the 2002 V8 Supercar Championship Series. It was held on the weekend of 28 to 30 June on the Barbagallo Raceway in Perth, Western Australia.
The weekend was dominated by cars out of the Tom Walkinshaw stable. Mark Skaife won the opening race of the weekend with teammate Jason Bright following behind closely in second place and Greg Murphy in third. In the following race, Murphy claimed victory while Skaife endured a tough race that ended in the gravel trap at turn one. Race three was won by Bright and in doing so, claimed overall round honours to continue the Holden Racing Team's stranglehold over the championship.
Background The event was held on the weekend of 28 to 30 June 2002. It was the 26th ATCC/V8 Supercar event to be held at Barbagallo Raceway and consisted of three 100 km races with compulsory pitstops in each.
The Perth event had been under threat as the V8 Supercar establishment demanded the facilities be upgraded ahead of the 2002 event. Plans to initiate a street race fell through due to the lack of support from the local government. With the financial aid of Carlton and United Breweries, who would secure naming rights for the event, the series would return for 2002.
Mark Skaife entered the round as the championship leader in what had been a dominant campaign, having won all five of the previous rounds. The 2001 event was won by Paul Radisich.
Entry list
There were 32 drivers entered into the event with no necessitation for pre-qualifying.
Larry Perkins would not race in this round, the first V8 Supercar event he would not race in since the series' inception in 1993. Wayne Wakefield of Imrie Motorsport would also forego this round.
Race report Qualifying Provisional pole position was secured by Jason Bright with teammate Mark Skaife being the only other driver to post a time within the 57 second bracket. Having dominated the previous years event, Dick Johnson Racing proved a major disappointment with both drivers being relegated to the back of the grid as they continued to struggle with the setup of the AU Ford Falcon.
Pos No Name Team Vehicle Time 1 2 Jason Bright Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 57.9243 2 1 Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 57.9380 3 888 John Bowe Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 58.0104 4 02 Rick Kelly Holden Young Lions Holden Commodore (VX) 58.0489 5 9 David Besnard Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 58.0723 6 34 Garth Tander Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 58.0855 7 15 Todd Kelly Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia Holden Commodore (VX) 58.1306 8 16 Steven Richards Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 58.1386 9 65 Max Wilson Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 58.1586 10 8 Russell Ingall Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 58.1725 11 21 Brad Jones Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 58.1835 12 51 Greg Murphy Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia Holden Commodore (VX) 58.2021 13 10 Mark Larkham Larkham Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 58.2346 14 600 Simon Wills Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 58.2475 15 29 Paul Morris Paul Morris Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 58.2666 16 4 Marcos Ambrose Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 58.2983 17 66 Tony Longhurst Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 58.3358 18 00 Craig Lowndes 00 Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 58.3367 19 31 Steven Ellery Steven Ellery Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 58.3769 20 27 Neil Crompton 00 Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 58.3865 21 3 Cameron McConville Lansvale Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 58.4567 22 40 Cameron McLean Paragon Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 58.4946 23 43 Paul Weel Paul Weel Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 58.5415 24 7 Rodney Forbes 00 Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 58.5435 25 46 John Faulkner John Faulkner Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 58.5667 26 5 Glenn Seton Glenn Seton Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 58.5765 27 35 Jason Bargwanna Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 58.5826 28 021 Jason Richards Team Kiwi Racing Holden Commodore (VT) 58.6374 29 75 Anthony Tratt Paul Little Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 58.6664 30 18 Paul Radisich Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 58.6995 31 54 Craig Baird Rod Nash Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 58.9377 32 17 Steven Johnson Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 59.2977 Source:
Top ten shootout Pos No Name Team Vehicle Time 1 1 Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 58.0349 2 2 Jason Bright Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 58.2295 3 65 Max Wilson Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 58.3329 4 15 Todd Kelly Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia Holden Commodore (VX) 58.3728 5 9 David Besnard Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 58.5029 6 888 John Bowe Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 58.5421 7 34 Garth Tander Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 58.5926 8 02 Rick Kelly Holden Young Lions Holden Commodore (VX) 58.6866 9 8 Russell Ingall Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 58.7942 10 16 Steven Richards Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 58.9084 Source:
Race 1 Pos No Name Team Vehicle Laps Time/Retired Grid 1 1 Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 42 42:41.1383 1 2 2 Jason Bright Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 42 + 0.766 2 3 51 Greg Murphy Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia Holden Commodore (VX) 42 + 1.399 12 4 15 Todd Kelly Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia Holden Commodore (VX) 42 + 10.097 4 5 00 Craig Lowndes 00 Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 42 + 13.242 18 6 4 Marcos Ambrose Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 42 + 17.276 16 7 9 David Besnard Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 42 + 25.085 5 8 16 Steven Richards Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 42 + 28.174 10 9 888 John Bowe Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 42 + 28.432 6 10 66 Tony Longhurst Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 42 + 29.402 17 11 43 Paul Weel Paul Weel Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 42 + 29.731 23 12 65 Max Wilson Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 42 + 30.155 3 13 27 Neil Crompton 00 Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 42 + 35.905 20 14 29 Paul Morris Paul Morris Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 42 + 37.141 15 15 600 Simon Wills Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 42 + 38.173 14 16 8 Russell Ingall Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 42 + 39.114 9 17 02 Rick Kelly Holden Young Lions Holden Commodore (VX) 42 + 39.141 8 18 35 Jason Bargwanna Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 42 + 40.968 27 19 10 Mark Larkham Larkham Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 42 + 48.615 13 20 31 Steven Ellery Steven Ellery Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 42 + 48.679 19 21 40 Cameron McLean Paragon Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 42 + 49.995 22 22 5 Glenn Seton Glenn Seton Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 42 + 51.151 26 23 3 Cameron McConville Lansvale Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 42 + 51.940 21 24 18 Paul Radisich Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 42 + 54.107 30 25 54 Craig Baird Rod Nash Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 42 + 56.344 31 26 021 Jason Richards Team Kiwi Racing Holden Commodore (VT) 42 + 59.685 28 27 75 Anthony Tratt Paul Little Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 41 + 1 lap 29 28 46 John Faulkner John Faulkner Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 41 + 1 lap 25 29 7 Rodney Forbes 00 Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 41 + 1 lap 24 30 21 Brad Jones Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 38 + 4 laps 11 31 34 Garth Tander Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 37 + 5 laps 7 Ret 17 Steven Johnson Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 24 Retired 32 Fastest Lap: Todd Kelly (Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia) - 58.7621 on lap 6 Source:
Race 2 Pos No Name Team Vehicle Laps Time/Retired Grid 1 51 Greg Murphy Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia Holden Commodore (VX) 42 48:51.5977 3 2 2 Jason Bright Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 42 + 0.220 2 3 888 John Bowe Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 42 + 1.071 9 4 66 Tony Longhurst Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 42 + 9.049 10 5 3 Cameron McConville Lansvale Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 42 + 9.717 23 6 27 Neil Crompton 00 Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 42 + 10.207 13 7 9 David Besnard Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 42 + 13.698 7 8 21 Brad Jones Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 42 + 14.197 30 9 40 Cameron McLean Paragon Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 42 + 16.552 21 10 29 Paul Morris Paul Morris Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 42 + 23.921 14 11 7 Rodney Forbes 00 Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 42 + 24.666 29 12 46 John Faulkner John Faulkner Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 42 + 24.988 28 13 35 Jason Bargwanna Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 42 + 25.561 18 14 021 Jason Richards Team Kiwi Racing Holden Commodore (VT) 42 + 25.646 26 15 65 Max Wilson Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 42 + 25.818 12 16 18 Paul Radisich Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 42 + 26.602 24 17 16 Steven Richards Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 42 + 28.265 8 18 5 Glenn Seton Glenn Seton Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 42 + 28.327 22 19 54 Craig Baird Rod Nash Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 42 + 28.988 25 20 02 Rick Kelly Holden Young Lions Holden Commodore (VX) 42 + 29.146 17 21 43 Paul Weel Paul Weel Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 42 + 31.738 11 22 600 Simon Wills Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 42 + 31.970 15 23 17 Steven Johnson Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 42 + 32.266 32 24 4 Marcos Ambrose Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 42 + 34.391 6 25 34 Garth Tander Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 42 + 40.127 31 26 31 Steven Ellery Steven Ellery Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 42 + 58.596 20 27 8 Russell Ingall Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 42 + 59.446 16 28 00 Craig Lowndes 00 Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 41 + 1 lap 5 29 75 Anthony Tratt Paul Little Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 37 + 5 laps 27 Ret 15 Todd Kelly Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia Holden Commodore (VX) 34 Mechanical 4 Ret 1 Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 22 Spun off 1 Ret 10 Mark Larkham Larkham Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 21 Retired 19 Fastest Lap: Mark Skaife (Holden Racing Team) - 59.5022 on lap 3 Source:
Race 3