2003 Australian Drivers' Championship

The 2003 Australian Drivers' Championship was a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title for drivers of cars conforming to Formula 4000 regulations.[1] The title was contested over a six-round, twelve race series which was promoted as the 2003 Holden Australian Drivers' Championship for the CAMS Gold Star.[1] It was the 47th Australian Drivers' Championship.[2]

2003 Australian Drivers' Championship
Previous: 2002 Next: 2004

New Zealander Daniel Gaunt won the championship[2] driving three different Reynards for two different teams over the course of the season. Gaunt only won two of the twelve races but achieved a race finishing consistency his rivals lacked and finished eight points ahead of his nearest rivals. Second place was tied between Jonny Reid and Paul Trengove,[3] both driving Reynards.

Apart from the seven wins claimed by Gaunt and Reid, three wins were taken by another New Zealander, Nelson Hartley (Reynard 94D & Reynard 97D), and two wins by Ricky Occhipinti (Reynard 97D and 98D).

Race calendar

The 2003 Australian Drivers' Championship was contested over a six-round series with two races per round.[1]

Round Circuit Date Pole position Fastest lap Winning driver Winning team
1 R1 Wakefield Park Raceway
Goulburn, New South Wales		 21–23 February Akihiro Asai Jonny Reid Ricky Occhipinti Hocking Motorsport
R2 Jonny Reid Jonny Reid Ralt Australia
2 R1 Winton Motor Raceway
(Benalla, Victoria)		 23–25 May Jonny Reid Jonny Reid Ricky Occhipinti Hocking Motorsport
R2 Ricky Occhipinti Nelson Hartley Hocking Motorsport
3 R1 Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit
(Phillip Island, Victoria)		 4–6 July Ricky Occhipinti Nelson Hartley Nelson Hartley Hocking Motorsport
R2 Daniel Gaunt Nelson Hartley Hocking Motorsport
4 R1 Winton Motor Raceway
(Benalla, Victoria)		 1–3 August Jonny Reid Jonny Reid Jonny Reid Ralt Australia
R2 Jonny Reid Jonny Reid Ralt Australia
5 R1 Mallala Motor Sport Park
(Mallala, South Australia)		 29–31 August Jonny Reid Jonny Reid Daniel Gaunt Ralt Australia
R2 Paul Trengove Daniel Gaunt Ralt Australia
6 R1 Eastern Creek International Raceway
(Eastern Creek, New South Wales)		 28–30 November Jonny Reid Jonny Reid Jonny Reid Ralt Australia
R2 Jonny Reid Jonny Reid Ralt Australia

Points system

Championship points were awarded on a 20–15–12–10–8–6–4–3–2–1 basis for the first ten positions in each race.[1]

The round winner for each round was determined by the aggregation of championship points awarded in that round.[1] Where more than one driver had been awarded equal points, the round result was determined by the placings in Race 2.[1]

Results
          Wakefield Park Winton Phillip Island Winton Mallala Eastern Creek
Position [4] Driver [4] No [5] Car [5] Entrant [5] Race 1 [4] Race 2 [4] Race 1 [4] Race 2 [4] Race 1 [4] Race 2 [4] Race 1 [4] Race 2 [4] Race 1 [4] Race 2 [4] Race 1 [4] Race 2 [4] Total [4]
1 Daniel Gaunt 69 & 12 Reynard 92D, 96D & 94D Holden Pure Power Racing & Ralt Australia 8 8 6 10 8 15 15 - 20 20 15 15 140
2 Jonny Reid 12 Reynard 96D Holden Ralt Australia 12 20 - - 10 - 20 20 10 - 20 20 132
2 Paul Trengove 34 Reynard 95D Holden CPA Australia - - 15 15 12 12 12 15 12 15 12 12 132
4 Ricky Occhipinti 32 Reynard 97D & 98D Holden Formula Uno Racing 20 12 20 8 - - 10 12 15 12 8 8 125
5 Nelson Hartley 11 & 75 Reynard 94D & 97D Holden Ralt Australia & Hocking Motorsport 15 15 8 20 20 20 - - - - - 6 104
6 Ian Peters 24 Reynard 91D Holden EDS 10 6 4 6 - 6 6 8 3 8 10 4 71
7 Terry Clearihan 27 Reynard 92D Holden National Neon Signs Canberra 6 - 10 - 15 10 - 6 - 10 6 - 63
8 Rohan Carrig 49 Reynard 92D Holden Arlec / CRD Motorsport - 4 - 4 6 8 - - 6 6 3 2 39
9 Mikel Miller 75 Reynard 97D Holden Hocking Motorsport - 10 12 - - - - - - - - - 22
10 Darren Hossack 74 Reynard Holden Hocking Motorsport - - - - - - 8 10 - - - - 18
11 Michael Caruso 11 Reynard Holden Ralt Australia [4] - - - 12 - - - - - - - - 12
12 Michael Joannou 17 Reynard 96D Holden Mantis Racing - - - - - - - - 4 - 4 3 11
13 Peter Hill 4 Reynard 94D Holden Greg Murphy Racing - - - - - - - - - - - 10 10
14 Mark Ellis 17 Reynard Holden Mantis Racing - - - - - - 3 4 - - - - 7
15 Ken Smith 11 Reynard 97D Holden Ralt Australia - - - - - - 4 - - - - - 4

Note: All cars were required to be fitted with a 3.8-litre Holden V6 engine.[6]

Silver Star
Position [7] Driver [7] No [5] Car [5] Entrant [5] Points [7]
1 Ian Peters 24 Reynard 91D Holden EDS 197
2 Terry Clearihan 27 Reynard 92D Holden National Neon Signs Canberra 125
3 Rohan Carrig 49 Reynard 92D Holden Arlec / CRD Motorsport 117

Note: Approved competitors were awarded points towards a Silver Star Trophy based on their finishing positions in each race relative to other such nominated competitors.[1] These points had no reflection on the Australian Drivers' Championship classification.[1]

Yokohama Rookie of the Year Award

The Yokohama Rookie of the Year Award was won by Daniel Gaunt.[3] The award was open to drivers who had contested less than two races for the Australian Drivers' Championship since 1989.[1]

References
  1. Sporting Regulations – 2003 Holden Australian Drivers’ Championship for the CAMS Gold Star Retrieved on 5 May 2012
  2. "Gold Star Winners - 1957 - 2009". formula3.com.au. Retrieved 10 June 2010.
  3. Gold Star Glory for Dreamchaser - 01.12.03, www.f4000.com, as archived at web.archive.org
  4. 2003 Holden Australian Drivers Championship – Points Allocation, Retrieved from www.f4000.com circa 2004. Website no longer current.
  5. 2003 Race Results Archive at www.natsoft.biz Archived 21 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 5 May 2012
  6. Grant Rowley, Fortune formula, program, Konica V8 Supercar Series, Round 6, 30–31 August 2003, Mallala, pages 30 & 31
  7. '03 Silver Star, www.f4000.com, as archived at web.archive.org
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