Wikipedia

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]

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

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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

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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

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          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

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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

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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

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Sporting Regulations – 2003 Holden Australian Drivers’ Championship for the CAMS Gold Star Retrieved on 5 May 2012
  2. ^ a b "Gold Star Winners - 1957 - 2009". formula3.com.au. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 10 June 2010.
  3. ^ a b Gold Star Glory for Dreamchaser - 01.12.03, www.f4000.com, as archived at web.archive.org
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p 2003 Holden Australian Drivers Championship – Points Allocation, Retrieved from www.f4000.com circa 2004. Website no longer current.
  5. ^ a b c d e f 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. ^ a b c '03 Silver Star, www.f4000.com, as archived at web.archive.org
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