The 2003 Australian GT Performance Car Championship was a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title for production based cars. Procar Australia was appointed as the category manager for the championship, which was staged as part of the 2003 Procar Championship Series. It was the inaugural Australian GT Performance Car Championship, GT Performance Cars having previously competed in the Australian GT Production Car Championship as a separate class.
The 2003 Drivers’ Championship was won by Mark King, driving a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII and the Manufacturers’ Trophy was awarded to Mitsubishi.
Calendar
The championship was contested over an eight round series.
| Round | Circuit | State | Date |
| 1 | Adelaide Parklands Circuit | South Australia | 22 & 23 March |
| 2 | Symmons Plains International Raceway | Tasmania | 27 April |
| 3 | Wakefield Park | New South Wales | 1 June |
| 4 | Queensland Raceway | Queensland | 15 June |
| 5 | Oran Park Grand Prix Circuit | New South Wales | 13 July |
| 6 | Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit | Victoria | 10 August |
| 7 | Winton Motor Raceway | Victoria | 21 September |
| 8 | Surfers Paradise Street Circuit | Queensland | 23 & 24 October |
Rounds were contested over three races except for the Oran Park round, which was contested over two races.
Points system
Points towards the Drivers Championship were awarded in each race as per the following table.
| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | 11th | 12th | 13th | 14th | 15th |
| Points | 30 | 20 | 16 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
In addition, three championship points were awarded to the driver who obtained Pole Position for Race 1 at each round.
Points towards the Manufacturers' Trophy were awarded on the same scale as applied to the Drivers' Championship.
Results
Drivers Championship
| Position | Driver | No. | Car | Entrant | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mark King | 34 | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII | Delphi / King Springs | 350 |
| 2 | Wayne Boatwright | 60 | Subaru Impreza WRX STi | Establishment Hotel Bilstien | 311 |
| 3 | Garry Holt | 2 | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII | Nepean EFI | 222 |
| 4 | Peter Floyd | 300 | HSV VX GTS HSV VY GTS |
Floyd Motorsport | 219 |
| 5 | Justin Hemmes | 50 | Subaru Impreza WRX STi | Establishment Hotel Bilstien | 206 |
| 6 | John Falk | 87 | Subaru Impreza WRX STi FTE TE50 |
FRP Pools | 200 |
| 7 | Steve Cramp | 27 | BMW M Coupe | C.V.W Engineering/Scouts Aust | 179 |
| 8 | Graham Alexander | 57 | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII | Corio Auto Parts Plus | 177 |
| 9 | Barry Morcom | 11 | HSV VX GTS | Rondo Building Services | 162 |
| 10 | Bob Pearson | 33 | Mazda RX-7 Series 8 | Pro-Duct Motorsport | 158 |
| 11 | Ian Box | 666 | Subaru Impreza WRX STi | BT Lift Trucks | 134 |
| 12 | Steve Knight | 23 | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI | Steve Knight | 127 |
| 13 | Bob Hughes | 15 | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI | Bob Hughes Special Vehicles | 114 |
| 14 | Gary Deane | 91 | Subaru Impreza WRX STi | G.P. Motorsport | 98 |
| 15 | Peter Boylan | 7 | BMW M3 E46 | Quirks Refrigeration | 94 |
| 16 | Barrie Nesbitt | 5 | HSV VY GTS | Mortgage House | 73 |
| 17 | Robert Ogilvie | 10 | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V | Driving Force | 72 |
| 18 | Beric Lynton | 123 | BMW M3 E46 | Bruce Lynton BMW | 55 |
| 19 | Ric Shaw | 35 | Mazda RX-7 Series 6 | Ric Shaw Performance | 53 |
| 20 | Aaron McGill | 75 | Nissan 200SX GT | Dux Hot Water | 52 |
| 21 | Paul Stokell | 21 | Volkswagen Golf R32 | Volkswagen Dealer Racing | 42 |
| 22 | Mark Cohen | 44 | HSV VX GTS | Mark Cohen | 31 |
| 23 | Nathan Pilkington | 77 | Nissan 350Z | Nathan Pilkington | 27 |
| 24 | Michael Brock | 88 | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI | Michael Brock | 23 |
| 25 | Anton Mechtler | 9 | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII | Mek Tek Motorsport | 22 |
| 26 | Bruce Stewart | 3 | Mazda RX-7 Series 8 | Pro-Duct Motorsport | 16 |
| 27 | Mike Fitzgerald | 42 | Nissan 200SX GT | Aussie Hire Building Equipment | 15 |
| 28 | Jim Stewart | 41 | Subaru Impreza WRX STi | Jim Stewart Racing | 13 |
| 29 | Trevor Haines | 17 | FTE TE50 FPV BA GT |
FPV/Yamaha | 12 |
| 30 | Kenny Habul | 75 | BMW M Coupe | Go Karts Go | 10 |
| Ross Almond | 6 | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII | Nepean EFI | 10 | |
| 32 | Dennis Gilbert | 38 | HSV VY GTS | Castran Gilbert Pty Ltd | 8 |
| John Grounds | 16 | Subaru Impreza WRX STi | Donut King | 8 | |
| 34 | Anthony Alford | 12 | Nissan 200SX GT | Donut King | 7 |
| 35 | Stewart McColl | 20 | Volkswagen Golf R32 | Volkswagen Dealers Australia | 2 |
| Warren Millet | 18 | HSV VX GTS | Wake-Up | 2 |
Manufacturers’ Trophy
| Position | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1 | Mitsubishi | 1117 |
| 2 | Subaru | 831 |
| 3 | HSV | 495 |
| 4 | BMW | 338 |
| 5 | Mazda | 227 |
| 6 | Ford | 173 |
| 7 | Nissan | 108 |
| 8 | Volkswagen | 44 |
FTE and FPV models were considered to be Fords for the Manufacturers’ Trophy.
References
- ^ Sporting & Technical Regulations for the 2003 Procar Champ Series, www.procar.com.au, as archived at web.archive.org
- ^ Records, Titles and Awards, 2006 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, page 14-10
- ^ 2003 Season Events, www.procar.com.au, as archived at web.archive.org
- ^ 2003 Race Result Archive, www.natsoft.biz, as archived at web.archive.org
- Another 1-2 Finish For Protecnica Racing, www.procar.com.au, as archived at web.archive.org
- ^ Drivers Points For Season 2003, www.procar.com.au, as archived at web.archive.org
- ^ Manufacturers Points For Season 2003, www.procar.com.au, as archived at web.archive.org