2003 CART season

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
2003 CART season
Bridgestone Presents the Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford
Season
Races19 18
Start dateFebruary 23
End dateOctober 26
Awards
Drivers' championCanada Paul Tracy
Constructors' CupUnited Kingdom Lola
Nations' CupCanada Canada
Rookie of the YearFrance Sébastien Bourdais
← 2002
2004 (CCWS) →

The 2003 Champ Car World Series, the twenty-fifth and final in the Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) era of American open-wheel car racing, consisted of 18 races, beginning in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States on February 23 and concluding in Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia on October 26. For sponsorship purposes, it was branded as Bridgestone Presents the Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford.

The intended final event, scheduled to be held in Fontana, California on November 9 was canceled due to wildfires, one of which was known as the "Grand Prix Fire", burning in and around San Bernardino County.

The Drivers' Champion was

Open-Wheel Racing Series
, who continued to brand its top series as the Champ Car World Series.

The season was the first since

1993 not to feature Michael Andretti
.

Drivers and teams

With the departure of

turbocharged 2.65L XFE V8 engine continued to be badged by Ford. Bridgestone continued on as the exclusive tire supplier for the series. Starting in 2003, CART began branding itself as the Champ Car World Series, and a marketing agreement between CART and the two suppliers resulted in the full branding of "Bridgestone Presents the Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford."[1]

The following teams and drivers competed in the 2003 Champ Car World Series season.

Team Chassis No Drivers Races Primary Sponsors
United States Newman/Haas Racing
Lola B02/00
1 Brazil Bruno Junqueira All
PacifiCare
2 France Sébastien Bourdais  R  All
ConnectED
1
Team Player's
Lola B02/00 3 Canada Paul Tracy All
Player's
16
It's Your World 2
LastLap.ca16-18
32 Canada Patrick Carpentier All
Mexico Herdez Competition Lola B02/00 4 Brazil Roberto Moreno 1-16, 18
Herdez
Roberto González
 R 
17
55 Mexico Mario Domínguez All
United States Walker Racing Reynard 02I 5 Mexico Rodolfo Lavín  R  All Corona
15 United Kingdom Darren Manning  R  All
U.S. Air Force 1
Air China 6
Sportsbook.com
5
25 Mexico Luis Díaz  R  17 Sun Microsystems
Fittipaldi-Dingman Racing
Reynard 02I 7 Portugal Tiago Monteiro  R  All 8
O2 Diesel 7
AllSlots.com 1
United States Team Rahal Lola B02/00 9 Mexico Michel Jourdain Jr. All Gigante 17
Office Depot 1
United States Dale Coyne Racing Lola B02/00 11
Roberto González
 R 
1 Lotto Speed 2
Snap-On Tools 1
Malaysia Airlines
2
Malaysia Alex Yoong  R  2-5
Brazil Gualter Salles 6 Alpina
United States Geoff Boss  R  7-18 Lacoste
19 Switzerland Joël Camathias  R  1-7 City of Lugano
Brazil Gualter Salles 8-9, 11-15, 17-18 Alpina
Brazil Alex Sperafico  R  10, 16 Dale Coyne Racing
American Spirit Team Johansson
Reynard 02I 12 United States Jimmy Vasser All American Spirit Team Johansson 17
Gonher de Mexico 1
31 United States Ryan Hunter-Reay  R  All
United States Patrick Racing Lola B02/00 20 Spain Oriol Servià All Visteon
United States PK Racing Lola B02/00 27 France Patrick Lemarié  R  1-6 Scientific Atlanta 17
Yalumba 1
United States Bryan Herta 7
Italy Max Papis 8-14
Finland Mika Salo  R  15-18
United States Rocketsports Racing Lola B02/00 33 Canada Alex Tagliani All Johnson Controls
United States Mi-Jack Conquest Racing Reynard 02I 34
Mario Haberfeld
 R 
All Mi-Jack
Mexico Fernández Racing Lola B02/00 51 Mexico Adrián Fernández All
Tecate
R Eligible for Rookie of the Year

Team changes

With the departure of Honda and Toyota to the IRL for the

2002
.

Four new teams joined the series. Businessman

American Spirit Team Johansson.[6]

Driver changes

Along with the major changes to the team lineup to the series, a great many new faces made their debut in 2003. Of the nineteen drivers at the season opener in St. Petersburg, nine were rookies. Most notable was

Mario Haberfeld, while PK Racing began the year with Patrick Lemarié
.

Familiar Champ Car drivers also found themselves in new surroundings for 2003. With Chip Ganassi Racing gone to the IRL,

American Spirit Team Johansson team after Team Rahal downsized to a single car. His teammate there was series rookie Ryan Hunter-Reay. Herdez Competition tabbed veteran Roberto Moreno
for their expanded two car team.

The list of drivers not changing teams was short.

Adrian Fernández
continued to drive his own car.

Mid-season changes

Season summary

Schedule

Rnd Race Name Circuit City/Location Date
1
Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
 R  Albert Whitted Airport St. Petersburg, Florida February 23
2 Mexico Tecate/Telmex Grand Prix  R  Fundidora Park Monterrey, Mexico March 23
3 United States Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach  R  Streets of Long Beach Long Beach, California April 13
4 United Kingdom The London Champ Car Trophy  R  Brands Hatch Longfield, United Kingdom May 5
5 Germany German 500  O 
EuroSpeedway Lausitz
Klettwitz, Germany May 11
6
Milwaukee Mile Centennial 250 Presented by Miller Lite and Argent Mortgage
 O  Milwaukee Mile West Allis, Wisconsin May 31
7
Grand Prix of Monterey
 R 
Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca
Monterey, California June 15
8 United States G.I. Joe's 200  R  Portland International Raceway Portland, Oregon June 22
9 United States U.S. Bank presents the Cleveland Grand Prix  R  Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport Cleveland, Ohio July 5
10
Molson Indy Toronto
 R  Exhibition Place Toronto, Ontario July 13
11 Canada Molson Indy Vancouver  R  Concord Pacific Place Vancouver, British Columbia July 27
12
Mario Andretti Grand Prix at Road America Presented by Briggs & Stratton
 R  Road America Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin August 3
13
Champ Car Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio
 R  Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Lexington, Ohio August 10
14
Molson Indy Montreal
 R  Circuit Gilles Villeneuve Montreal, Quebec August 24
15 United States Centrix Financial Grand Prix of Denver  R  Denver Civic Center
Denver, Colorado
August 31
16 United States Grand Prix Americas Presented by sportsbook.com  R  Miami Bayfront Park Street Circuit
Miami, Florida
September 28
17 Mexico Gran Premio Telmex-Gigante Presented by Banamex/VISA  R  Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez Mexico City, Mexico October 12
18 Australia Lexmark Indy 300  R  Surfers Paradise Street Circuit Surfers Paradise, Australia October 26
- United States King Taco 500 (Cancelled)  O  California Speedway Fontana, California November 9

 O  Oval/Speedway
 R  Road/Street course

Race results

Rnd Race Name Pole position Fastest lap Lead most laps Winning driver Winning team Report
1
St. Petersburg
France Sébastien Bourdais  R  France Sébastien Bourdais  R  Canada Paul Tracy Canada Paul Tracy
Team Player's
Report
2 Mexico Monterrey France Sébastien Bourdais  R  Brazil Bruno Junqueira Canada Paul Tracy Canada Paul Tracy
Team Player's
Report
3 United States Long Beach Mexico Michel Jourdain Jr. Mexico Michel Jourdain Jr. Mexico Michel Jourdain Jr. Canada Paul Tracy
Team Player's
Report
4 United Kingdom Brands Hatch Canada Paul Tracy Mexico Adrián Fernández France Sébastien Bourdais  R  France Sébastien Bourdais  R  Newman/Haas Racing Report
5 Germany EuroSpeedway France Sébastien Bourdais  R  Mexico Michel Jourdain Jr. France Sébastien Bourdais  R  France Sébastien Bourdais  R  Newman/Haas Racing Report
6
Milwaukee
Canada Alex Tagliani Canada Patrick Carpentier Mexico Michel Jourdain Jr. Mexico Michel Jourdain Jr. Team Rahal Report
7
Laguna Seca
Canada Patrick Carpentier Canada Patrick Carpentier Canada Patrick Carpentier Canada Patrick Carpentier
Team Player's
Report
8 United States Portland Canada Paul Tracy Canada Alex Tagliani Canada Paul Tracy
Mexico Michel Jourdain Jr.
Mexico Adrián Fernández Fernández Racing Report
9 United States Cleveland France Sébastien Bourdais  R  France Sébastien Bourdais  R  Canada Paul Tracy France Sébastien Bourdais  R  Newman/Haas Racing Report
10
Toronto
Canada Paul Tracy Canada Paul Tracy Canada Paul Tracy Canada Paul Tracy
Team Player's
Report
11 Canada Vancouver Canada Paul Tracy France Sébastien Bourdais  R  Canada Paul Tracy Canada Paul Tracy
Team Player's
Report
12
Road America
Brazil Bruno Junqueira France Sébastien Bourdais  R  Brazil Bruno Junqueira Brazil Bruno Junqueira Newman/Haas Racing Report
13
Mid-Ohio
Canada Paul Tracy United States Jimmy Vasser Canada Paul Tracy Canada Paul Tracy
Team Player's
Report
14
Montreal
Canada Alex Tagliani Brazil Bruno Junqueira Canada Alex Tagliani Mexico Michel Jourdain Jr. Team Rahal Report
15 United States Denver Brazil Bruno Junqueira
Mario Haberfeld
 R 
Brazil Bruno Junqueira Brazil Bruno Junqueira Newman/Haas Racing Report
16 United States Miami Mexico Adrián Fernández Mexico Adrián Fernández Mexico Adrián Fernández Mexico Mario Domínguez Herdez Competition
Report
17 Mexico Mexico City Canada Paul Tracy United States Ryan Hunter-Reay  R  Canada Paul Tracy Canada Paul Tracy
Team Player's
Report
18 Australia Surfers Paradise France Sébastien Bourdais  R  Brazil Roberto Moreno Brazil Bruno Junqueira United States Ryan Hunter-Reay  R 
American Spirit Team Johansson
Report
19 United States Fontana Report

Final driver standings

Pos Driver STP United States MTY Mexico LBH United States BRH United Kingdom LAU Germany MIL United States LAG United States POR United States CLE United States TOR Canada VAN Canada ROA United States MDO United States MTL Canada DEN United States
MIA United States
MEX Mexico SUR Australia Pts
1 Canada Paul Tracy 1* 1* 1 17 12 12 3 2* 2* 1* 1* 15 1* 6 4 16 1* 13 226
2 Brazil Bruno Junqueira 3 5 3 2 4 17 2 4 3 3 2 1* 13 13 1* 9 7 15* 199
3 Mexico Michel Jourdain Jr. 2 2 15* 6 3 1* 4 12 7 2 4 16 4 1 6 7 4 4 195
4 France Sébastien Bourdais  RY  11 17 16 1* 1* 9 17 14 1 4 3 2 5 19 2 17 2 17 159
5 Canada Patrick Carpentier 8 8 6 5 7 3 1* 16 4 7 13 5 2 3 17 6 14 5 146
6 Mexico Mario Domínguez 14 13 5 3 2 8 10 10 5 12 10 14 16 5 7 1 3 10 118
7 Spain Oriol Servià 12 18 12 4 5 2 6 5 6 5 16 18 18 2 3 19 13 19 108
8 Mexico Adrián Fernández 15 4 2 12 15 6 7 1 11 9 12 12 7 8 5 8* 8 12 105
9 United Kingdom Darren Manning  R  13 7 8 10 6 4 18 6 10 8 5 6 8 10 8 11 9 2 103
10 Canada Alex Tagliani 19 3 10 8 18 5 14 3 8 17 14 3 6 4* 9 13 16 7 97
11 United States Jimmy Vasser 6 14 4 19 8 11 8 7 13 13 11 9 15 16 11 4 17 3 72
12
Mario Haberfeld
 R 
4 16 9 9 14 7 5 8 15 19 7 8 10 11 10 5 12 14 71
13 Brazil Roberto Moreno 5 6 17 7 10 19 15 9 18 6 17 7 19 7 16 2 16 67
14 United States Ryan Hunter-Reay  R  16 12 7 16 11 16 12 17 9 11 6 10 3 17 15 12 11 1 64
15 Portugal Tiago Monteiro  R  7 19 11 14 13 10 9 19 Wth 10 15 17 11 18 13 15 6 18 29
16 Finland Mika Salo  R  14 3 5 11 26
17 Italy Max Papis 15 12 16 9 4 9 9 25
18 Mexico Rodolfo Lavín  R  18 15 18 15 9 14 19 11 14 15 8 19 12 15 19 18 18 8 17
19 Brazil Gualter Salles 13 18 17 18 11 17 12 18 15 6 11
20 United States Geoff Boss  R  16 13 16 14 19 13 14 14 12 10 20 9 8
21 France Patrick Lemarié  R  10 10 13 11 19 18 8
22 Switzerland Joël Camathias  R  9 11 14 13 16 15 13 6
23 Malaysia Alex Yoong  R  9 19 18 17 4
24
Roberto González
 R 
17 10 3
25 United States Bryan Herta 11 2
26 Brazil Alex Sperafico  R  18 14 0
27 Mexico Luis Díaz  R  19 0
Pos Driver STP United States MTY Mexico LBH United States BRH United Kingdom LAU Germany MIL United States LAG United States POR United States CLE United States TOR Canada VAN Canada ROA United States MDO United States MTL Canada DEN United States
MIA United States
MEX Mexico SUR Australia Pts
Color Result
Gold Winner
Silver 2nd place
Bronze 3rd place
Green 4th-6th place
Light Blue 7th-12th place
Dark Blue Finished
(Outside Top 12)
Purple Did not finish
Red Did not qualify
(DNQ)
Brown Withdrawn
(Wth)
Black Disqualified
(DSQ)
White Did not start
(DNS)
Blank Did not
participate
(DNP)
Not competing
In-line notation
Bold Pole position
Italics Ran fastest race lap
* Led most race laps
 RY  Rookie of the Year
 R  Rookie

Nations' Cup

  • Top result per race counts towards Nations' Cup.
Pos Country STP United States MTY Mexico LBH United States BRH United Kingdom LAU Germany MIL United States LAG United States POR United States CLE United States TOR Canada VAN Canada ROA United States MDO United States MTL Canada DEN United States
MIA United States
MEX Mexico SUR Australia Pts
1 Canada Canada 1 1 1 5 7 3 1 2 2 1 1 3 1 3 4 6 1 5 298
2 Mexico Mexico 2 2 2 3 2 1 4 1 5 2 4 12 4 1 5 1 3 4 262
3 Brazil Brazil 3 5 3 2 4 7 2 4 3 3 2 1 10 7 1 2 7 6 228
4 France France 10 10 13 1 1 9 17 14 1 4 3 2 5 19 2 17 2 17 161
5 United States United States 6 12 4 16 8 11 8 7 9 11 6 9 3 14 11 4 11 1 107
6 Spain Spain 12 18 12 4 5 2 6 5 6 5 16 18 18 2 3 19 13 19 106
7 England England 13 7 8 10 6 4 18 6 10 8 5 6 8 10 8 11 9 2 103
8 Portugal Portugal 7 19 11 14 13 10 9 19 Wth 10 15 17 11 18 13 15 6 18 28
9 Finland Finland 14 3 5 11 26
10 Italy Italy 15 12 16 9 4 9 9 25
11 Switzerland Switzerland 9 11 14 13 16 15 13 6
12 Malaysia Malaysia 9 19 18 17 4
Pos Country STP United States MTY Mexico LBH United States BRH United Kingdom LAU Germany MIL United States LAG United States POR United States CLE United States TOR Canada VAN Canada ROA United States MDO United States MTL Canada DEN United States
MIA United States
MEX Mexico SUR Australia Pts

Chassis Constructors' Cup

Pos Chassis Pts
1 United Kingdom Lola 387
2 United Kingdom Reynard 161
Pos Chassis Pts

Driver breakdown

Pos Driver Team Entries Wins Podiums Top 5s Top 10s Poles Laps Lead Points
1 Canada Tracy United States Team Player's 18 7 10 11 12 6 658 226
2 Brazil Junqueira
Newman-Haas Racing
18 2 9 12 14 2 184 199
3 Mexico Jourdain Jr.
Team Rahal
18 2 6 11 15 1 350 195
4 France Bourdais  R 
Newman-Haas Racing
18 3 7 9 10 5 254 159
5 Canada Carpentier United States Team Player's 18 1 4 8 14 1 107 146
6 Mexico Domínguez
Herdez Competition
18 1 4 7 13 -- 76 118
7 Spain Servià United States Patrick Racing 18 -- 3 7 9 -- 37 108
8
Fernández
Mexico Fernández Racing 18 1 2 4 11 1 123 105
9 United Kingdom Manning  R  United States Walker Racing 18 -- 1 3 15 -- 4 103
10 Canada Tagliani United States Rocketsports Racing 18 -- 3 5 11 1* 70 97
11 United States Vasser
American Spirit Team Johansson
18 -- 1 3 8 -- 18 72
12
Haberfeld
 R 
Mi-Jack Conquest Racing
18 -- -- 3 11 -- -- 71
13 Brazil Moreno
Herdez Competition
17 -- 1 2 9 -- 6 67
14 United States Hunter-Reay  R 
American Spirit Team Johansson
18 1 2 2 6 -- 15 64
15 Portugal Monteiro  R 
Fittipaldi-Dingman Racing
18 -- -- -- 5 -- 14 29
16 Finland Salo  R 
PK Racing
4 -- 1 2 2 -- 6 26
17 Italy Papis
PK Racing
7 -- -- 1 4 -- -- 25
18 Mexico Lavín  R  United States Walker Racing 18 -- -- -- 3 -- -- 17
19 Brazil Salles United States Dale Coyne Racing 9 -- -- -- 1 -- -- 11
20 United States Boss  R  United States Dale Coyne Racing 11 -- -- -- 2 -- -- 8
21 France Lemarié  R 
PK Racing
6 -- -- -- 2 -- -- 8
22 Switzerland Camathias  R  United States Dale Coyne Racing 7 -- -- -- 1 -- -- 6
23 Malaysia Yoong  R  United States Dale Coyne Racing 4 -- -- -- 1 -- -- 4
24
Roberto González
 R 
Herdez Competition
United States Dale Coyne Racing
2 -- -- -- 1 -- -- 3
25 United States Herta
PK Racing
1 -- -- -- -- -- -- 2
26 Brazil Sperafico  R  United States Dale Coyne Racing 2 -- -- -- -- -- -- 0
27 Mexico Díaz  R  United States Walker Racing 1 -- -- -- -- -- -- 0

* Alex Tagliani started on pole at Milwaukee but was not awarded the bonus point for it when the qualification session was rained out. The grid was set by practice times. This result is not counted in Tagliani's season total in this table.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ "Ford increases their stake in CART". motorsport.com. 2002-11-21. Archived from the original on 2008-10-12. Retrieved 2008-05-20.
  2. ^ "Conquest Racing joins Champ Car Series". motorsport.com. 2002-12-23. Archived from the original on 2008-10-12. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
  3. ^ "Pollock, Kalkhoven form Champ Car team". motorsport.com. 2003-01-15. Archived from the original on 2008-10-12. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
  4. ^ "Gentilozzi to own CART team in 2003". motorsport.com. 2002-11-16. Archived from the original on 2008-10-12. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
  5. ^ "Fittipaldi-Dingman Racing, driver Monteiro enter Champ Car series". motorsport.com. 2003-02-10. Archived from the original on 2005-11-12. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
  6. ^ "Johansson forms two car CART team". motorsport.com. 2002-12-20. Archived from the original on 2008-10-12. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
  7. ^ "Former F1 driver Yoong joins Dale Coyne Racing". motorsport.com. 2003-03-21. Archived from the original on 2008-10-12. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
  8. ^ "Yoong steps down at Dale Coyne Racing". motorsport.com. 2003-05-26. Archived from the original on 2008-10-12. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
  9. ^ "Herta replaces PK Racing's rookie for Laguna". motorsport.com. 2003-06-12. Archived from the original on 2008-10-12. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
  10. ^ "'Mad Max' Papis returns to Champ Car competition". motorsport.com. 2003-06-18. Archived from the original on 2008-10-12. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
  11. ^ "Dale Coyne Racing signs Geoff Boss". motorsport.com. 2003-06-12. Archived from the original on 2008-10-12. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
  12. ^ "Toronto: Round ten preview". motorsport.com. 2003-07-08. Archived from the original on 2008-10-12. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
  13. ^ "Salo to debut at Denver". motorsport.com. 2003-08-27. Archived from the original on 2008-10-12. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
  14. ^ "Walker Racing add Luis Diaz to team's Mexico City lineup". motorsport.com. 2003-09-30. Archived from the original on 2008-10-12. Retrieved 2008-06-11.

References