# 2003 PlaceMakers V8 International

The 2003 PlaceMakers V8 International was the twelfth round of the 2003 V8 Supercar Championship Series. It was held on the weekend of 7 to 9 November at Pukekohe Park Raceway in New Zealand.
The round was largely dominated once again by Greg Murphy, who took his third consecutive championship round victory at Pukekohe after winning the first two races. Despite entering the round with a sizeable championship lead, Marcos Ambrose struggled throughout the weekend, and forced the championship to be decided at the final round at Eastern Creek.

## Background

Ambrose entered the weekend with a chance to clinch the championship. He had a 72-point gap over nearest championship rival, Murphy. The Tasmanian would have his work cut out for him as Pukekohe remained happy hunting ground for Murphy. The Kiwi had been undefeated in round victories since the inaugural event in 2001, and even in the non-championship round hosted in the 1996 Mobil Sprints.
A total of 32 drivers were entered for the round. Seven of them were New Zealand-born drivers. These included Murphy, Steven Richards, Jason Richards, Paul Radisich, Simon Wills, Craig Baird and David Thexton. Despite having spent the vast majority of his life in the country, this would be Thexton's first attempt at racing at Pukekohe Park Raceway. Although given his failure to qualify at the vast majority of the 2003 championship rounds, whether he'd be able to race at all this weekend remained in question.

## Race report
### Qualifying

In practice, Jason Richards was involved in a crash which saw his car roll several times, forcing him out of the weekend.
| Pos | No | Name | Team | Car | Time | Grid |
| 1 | 51 | Greg Murphy | John Kelly Racing | Holden Commodore (VY) | 56.5453 | 1 |
| 2 | 1 | Mark Skaife | Holden Racing Team | Holden Commodore (VY) | 56.5698 | 2 |
| 3 | 50 | Jason Bright | Paul Weel Racing | Holden Commodore (VX) | 56.6932 | 3 |
| 4 | 18 | Max Wilson | Dick Johnson Racing | Ford Falcon (BA) | 56.7490 | 4 |
| 5 | 6 | Craig Lowndes | Ford Performance Racing | Ford Falcon (BA) | 56.9390 | 5 |
| 6 | 4 | Marcos Ambrose | Stone Brothers Racing | Ford Falcon (BA) | 56.9618 | 6 |
| 7 | 34 | Garth Tander | Garry Rogers Motorsport | Holden Commodore (VY) | 57.0019 | 7 |
| 8 | 20 | Jason Bargwanna | Larkham Motorsport | Ford Falcon (BA) | 57.0416 | 8 |
| 9 | 65 | Paul Radisich | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Ford Falcon (BA) | 57.0805 | 9 |
| 10 | 2 | Todd Kelly | Holden Racing Team | Holden Commodore (VY) | 57.1031 | 10 |
| 11 | 11 | Steven Richards | Perkins Engineering | Holden Commodore (VY) | 57.1377 | 11 |
| 12 | 17 | Steven Johnson | Dick Johnson Racing | Ford Falcon (BA) | 57.1615 | 12 |
| 13 | 66 | Dean Canto | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Ford Falcon (BA) | 57.1670 | 13 |
| 14 | 5 | Glenn Seton | Ford Performance Racing | Ford Falcon (BA) | 57.1729 | 14 |
| 15 | 888 | John Bowe | Brad Jones Racing | Ford Falcon (BA) | 57.2001 | 15 |
| 16 | 21 | Brad Jones | Brad Jones Racing | Ford Falcon (BA) | 57.2249 | 16 |
| 17 | 9 | Russell Ingall | Stone Brothers Racing | Ford Falcon (BA) | 57.2317 | 17 |
| 18 | 16 | Paul Weel | Paul Weel Racing | Holden Commodore (VX) | 57.2934 | 18 |
| 19 | 021 | Craig Baird | Team Kiwi Racing | Holden Commodore (VX) | 57.3320 | 19 |
| 20 | 31 | Steven Ellery | Steven Ellery Racing | Ford Falcon (BA) | 57.3756 | 20 |
| 21 | 44 | Simon Wills | Team Dynamik | Holden Commodore (VY) | 57.3867 | 21 |
| 22 | 29 | Paul Morris | Paul Morris Motorsport | Holden Commodore (VY) | 57.4506 | 22 |
| 23 | 8 | Paul Dumbrell | Perkins Engineering | Holden Commodore (VX) | 57.5045 | 23 |
| 24 | 10 | Mark Larkham | Larkham Motorsport | Ford Falcon (AU) | 57.5235 | 24 |
| 25 | 3 | Cameron McConville | Lansvale Racing Team | Holden Commodore (VX) | 57.5580 | 25 |
| 26 | 15 | Rick Kelly | John Kelly Racing | Holden Commodore (VX) | 57.5769 | 26 |
| 27 | 7 | David Besnard | Rod Nash Racing | Ford Falcon (BA) | 57.6748 | 27 |
| 28 | 33 | Jamie Whincup | Garry Rogers Motorsport | Holden Commodore (VX) | 57.7048 | 28 |
| 29 | 23 | Mark Noske | Noske Motorsport | Ford Falcon (AU) | 57.7748 | 29 |
| 30 | 99 | David Thexton | Thexton Motor Racing | Ford Falcon (AU) | 59.0554 | 30 |
| DNQ | 45 | Jason Richards | Team Dynamik | Holden Commodore (VY) | no time | |
| Sources: |||||||

### Top Ten Shootout

Results from the Top Ten Shootout were discounted due to the changing conditions throughout the session. Grid results were reverted to provisional qualifying.
| Pos | No | Name | Team | Vehicle | Time |
| 1 | 2 | Todd Kelly | Holden Racing Team | Holden Commodore (VY) | 0:56.9015 |
| 2 | 50 | Jason Bright | Paul Weel Racing | Holden Commodore (VX) | 0:57.6482 |
| 3 | 51 | Greg Murphy | John Kelly Racing | Holden Commodore (VY) | 0:57.6955 |
| 4 | 18 | Max Wilson | Dick Johnson Racing | Ford Falcon (BA) | 0:57.8263 |
| 5 | 65 | Paul Radisich | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Ford Falcon (BA) | 0:57.8697 |
| 6 | 1 | Mark Skaife | Holden Racing Team | Holden Commodore (VY) | 0:57.9175 |
| 7 | 20 | Jason Bargwanna | Larkham Motor Sport | Ford Falcon (BA) | 0:58.1224 |
| 8 | 4 | Marcos Ambrose | Stone Brothers Racing | Ford Falcon (BA) | 0:58.2709 |
| 9 | 6 | Craig Lowndes | Ford Performance Racing | Ford Falcon (BA) | 0:58.5551 |
| 10 | 34 | Garth Tander | Garry Rogers Motorsport | Holden Commodore (VY) | 1:00.2457 |
| Sources: ||||||

### Race 1

In inclement conditions, Max Wilson leapt off the line exceptionally well and challenged Skaife for the lead through turn one. Heading into turn two, both drivers held their ground and the resulting contact sent them both into a spin. Skaife was sent rearward into the wall and was fortunate to extricate himself from the gravel trap. Nonetheless, both he and Wilson had now fallen toward the end of the pack. A few hundred yards behind them, Jamie Whincup, Mark Larkham, David Besnard, Anthony Tratt and Cameron McConville had tangled and struck the fence. Tratt and McConville were unable to continue the race. The safety car was deployed and multiple drivers (including Murphy and Ambrose) peeled in to complete their mandatory stops.
Jason Bright took over the lead on the safety car restart. Ambrose had jumped Murphy in the pitstop cycle but was quickly passed again by Murphy as the race resumed. Bright rapidly fell down the pack thanks to visibility issues brought on by a fault windshield wiper as Craig Lowndes assumed the lead. On lap 8, Mark Noske crashed heavily at turn one after aquaplaning into the armco barrier. The impact lifted the rear-end of the car meters off the ground and the resulting damage would ultimately force the Noske Motorsport car out of the rest of the weekend. On lap 25, Lowndes completed his pitstop as Murphy assumed the lead. Down the pack, Steven Richards' out-lap proved tricky. First tangling with Craig Baird at turn two and then Russell Ingall at the hairpin as he tumbled out of the top 20.
Up the front, Murphy cruised home to victory. Todd Kelly and Garth Tander rounded out the podium. Ambrose managed to fend off a late race charge from Skaife to assist his championship hopes and Skaife's began to dwindle.
| Pos | No | Name | Team | Laps | Time / difference | Grid |
| 1 | 51 | Greg Murphy | John Kelly Racing | 36 | 43min 48.1246sec | 1 |
| 2 | 2 | Todd Kelly | Holden Racing Team | 36 | + 8.249 | 10 |
| 3 | 34 | Garth Tander | Garry Rogers Motorsport | 36 | + 9.217 | 7 |
| 4 | 20 | Jason Bargwanna | Larkham Motorsport | 36 | + 10.019 | 8 |
| 5 | 65 | Paul Radisich | Triple Eight Race Engineering | 36 | + 11.485 | 9 |
| 6 | 4 | Marcos Ambrose | Stone Brothers Racing | 36 | + 14.513 | 6 |
| 7 | 1 | Mark Skaife | Holden Racing Team | 36 | + 15.073 | 2 |
| 8 | 15 | Rick Kelly | John Kelly Racing | 36 | + 17.122 | 26 |
| 9 | 31 | Steven Ellery | Steven Ellery Racing | 36 | + 25.022 | 20 |
| 10 | 17 | Steven Johnson | Dick Johnson Racing | 36 | + 26.173 | 12 |
| 11 | 5 | Glenn Seton | Ford Performance Racing | 36 | + 27.725 | 14 |
| 12 | 888 | John Bowe | Brad Jones Racing | 36 | + 29.278 | 15 |
| 13 | 44 | Simon Wills | Team Dynamik | 36 | + 32.505 | 21 |
| 14 | 29 | Paul Morris | Paul Morris Motorsport | 36 | + 37.106 | 22 |
| 15 | 16 | Paul Weel | Paul Weel Racing | 36 | + 38.400 | 18 |
| 16 | 6 | Craig Lowndes | Ford Performance Racing | 36 | + 41.086 | 5 |
| 17 | 66 | Dean Canto | Triple Eight Race Engineering | 36 | + 42.208 | 13 |
| 18 | 18 | Max Wilson | Dick Johnson Racing | 36 | + 46.975 | 4 |
| 19 | 9 | Russell Ingall | Stone Brothers Racing | 36 | + 47.672 | 17 |
| 20 | 11 | Steven Richards | Perkins Engineering | 36 | + 47.857 | 11 |
| 21 | 50 | Jason Bright | Paul Weel Racing | 36 | + 57.903 | 3 |
| 22 | 21 | Brad Jones | Brad Jones Racing | 35 | + 1 lap | 16 |
| 23 | 021 | Craig Baird | Team Kiwi Racing | 35 | + 1 lap | 19 |
| 24 | 8 | Paul Dumbrell | Perkins Engineering | 34 | + 2 laps | 23 |
| 25 | 7 | David Besnard | Rod Nash Racing | 34 | + 2 laps | 27 |
| 26 | 99 | David Thexton | Thexton Motor Racing | 34 | + 2 laps | 29 |
| 27 | 10 | Mark Larkham | Larkham Motorsport | 29 | + 7 laps | 24 |
| 28 | 33 | Jamie Whincup | Garry Rogers Motorsport | 28 | + 8 laps | 27 |
| DNF | 23 | Mark Noske | Noske Motorsport | 7 | Accident | 28 |
| DNF | 75 | Anthony Tratt | Paul Little Racing | 0 | Accident | |
| DNF | 3 | Cameron McConville | Lansvale Racing Team | 0 | Accident | 25 |
| Fastest lap: Steven Richards (Perkins Engineering), 1:01.6893 |||||||
| Sources: |||||||

### Race 2

It was a clean start, with Murphy and Todd Kelly very evenly matched off the line. Murphy would prevail and set off into an affirmative lead. Stuck in traffic, Skaife completed his compulsory pitstop early. This proved extremely effective as, when race leader Murphy had completed his pitstop, Skaife was right behind him in what was a net second place. The battle was close, with Skaife nudging the rear of Murphy's car at the hairpin on lap 21, almost sending the Kiwi into a spin. The next lap, Skaife made the move stick with the battle still raging all the way up to Ford Mountain.
Ingall and Brad Jones tangled at the hairpin, sending the former into the barrier on corner exit. The damage incurred forced the Stone Brothers racer into the pits. On lap 34, Steven Johnson's week-long engine issues culminated in a blown engine on the back straight. At the same time, Skaife tripped up on the oil left by Johnson's expired engine and conceded the lead back to Murphy. Paul Dumbrell fell victim to the same oil track and speared off into the gravel trap. Dumbrell's stranded car instigated a safety car. All the while, Ambrose completed an extra pitstop over tyre concerns, putting himself a lap down.
Skaife applied the pressure to Murphy early following the restart. But as soon as the safety car had ended, it was brought out again, after Tander found himself stranded on the exit to the back straight. Damage to David Thexton's front bumper suggested that Tander had fallen victim to the mobile chicane. There was chaos at turn one when Steven Ellery was sent into a spin, scattering the field, who all miraculously avoided t-boning the Supercheap Auto Falcon.
Murphy won once again, ahead of Skaife and Bright. Ambrose's low placing kept the championship alive heading into the final race.
| Pos | No | Name | Team | Laps | Time / difference | Grid |
| 1 | 51 | Greg Murphy | John Kelly Racing | 54 | 1hr 01min 24.3090sec | 1 |
| 2 | 1 | Mark Skaife | Holden Racing Team | 54 | + 1.315 | 7 |
| 3 | 50 | Jason Bright | Paul Weel Racing | 54 | + 2.776 | 21 |
| 4 | 2 | Todd Kelly | Holden Racing Team | 54 | + 3.727 | 2 |
| 5 | 20 | Jason Bargwanna | Larkham Motorsport | 54 | + 10.078 | 4 |
| 6 | 11 | Steven Richards | Perkins Engineering | 54 | + 11.084 | 10 |
| 7 | 65 | Paul Radisich | Triple Eight Race Engineering | 54 | + 11.446 | 5 |
| 8 | 44 | Simon Wills | Team Dynamik | 54 | + 12.225 | 13 |
| 9 | 5 | Glenn Seton | Ford Performance Racing | 54 | + 12.494 | 11 |
| 10 | 888 | John Bowe | Brad Jones Racing | 54 | + 13.094 | 12 |
| 11 | 16 | Paul Weel | Paul Weel Racing | 54 | + 13.250 | 15 |
| 12 | 6 | Craig Lowndes | Ford Performance Racing | 54 | + 14.418 | 16 |
| 13 | 15 | Rick Kelly | John Kelly Racing | 54 | + 15.036 | 8 |
| 14 | 66 | Dean Canto | Triple Eight Race Engineering | 54 | + 16.129 | 17 |
| 15 | 7 | David Besnard | Ford Performance Racing | 54 | + 16.477 | 25 |
| 16 | 29 | Paul Morris | Paul Morris Motorsport | 54 | + 21.490 | 14 |
| 17 | 33 | Jamie Whincup | Garry Rogers Motorsport | 54 | + 21.541 | 28 |
| 18 | 3 | Cameron McConville | Lansvale Racing Team | 54 | + 22.000 | 31 |
| 19 | 021 | Craig Baird | Team Kiwi Racing | 54 | + 22.157 | 23 |
| 20 | 10 | Mark Larkham | Larkham Motorsport | 54 | + 22.838 | 27 |
| 21 | 31 | Steven Ellery | Steven Ellery Racing | 54 | + 25.088 | 9 |
| 22 | 21 | Brad Jones | Brad Jones Racing | 53 | + 1 lap | 22 |
| 23 | 4 | Marcos Ambrose | Stone Brothers Racing | 53 | + 1 lap | 6 |
| 24 | 18 | Max Wilson | Dick Johnson Racing | 53 | + 1 lap | 18 |
| 25 | 75 | Anthony Tratt | Paul Little Racing | 53 | + 1 lap | 30 |
| 26 | 9 | Russell Ingall | Stone Brothers Racing | 52 | + 2 laps | 19 |
| 27 | 99 | David Thexton | Thexton Motor Racing | 52 | + 2 laps | 26 |
| 28 | 8 | Paul Dumbrell | Perkins Engineering | 50 | + 4 laps | 24 |
| Ret | 34 | Garth Tander | Garry Rogers Motorsport | 39 | Accident | 3 |
| Ret | 17 | Steven Johnson | Dick Johnson Racing | 32 | Engine | 10 |
| WD | 23 | Mark Noske | Noske Motorsport | | Withdrawn | |
| Fastest lap: Mark Skaife (Holden Racing Team), 0.57.4463 |||||||
| Sources: |||||||

### Race 3

John Bowe did not start the racing owing to mechanical problems. At the start, Murphy bogged down somewhat and Skaife surged ahead of the Kmart car. Bright followed in hot pursuit, almost taking the lead altogether into turn one. Down the pack, Lowndes was served off the track by Paul Weel, losing him a bundle of positions. Heading into the hairpin, the front-left suspension on Jamie Whincup's car failed and was sent spearing into the wall at the hairpin. Whincup was able to extricate himself from the gravel trap, thus negating the need for safety car.
Johnson and Ingall tangled at turn three, completing a torrid weekend for the Dick Johnson Racing driver. Ambrose wasn't faring much better. A slow stop shuffled him further down the order. When he rejoined, he found himself stuck behind Glenn Seton, who refused to relinquish his position. Ingall was dispatched to pave a way for his teammate, but the lack of pace in Ambrose's car hindered these efforts. Dean Canto crashed on the front straight, inflicting damage on all corners of his Falcon. With a handful of laps remaining, Besnard's engine detonated on the back straight.
With 13 laps remaining, Murphy lost second place to Bright who set off after Skaife. Bright did gnaw down the gap to under four seconds, but Skaife had the race under control, and ultimately won. Bright finished second and Murphy was third, some 15 seconds behind Bright and holding off a late charge from Todd Kelly. Murphy once again won the round and kept his undefeated round tally at Pukekohe intact.
| Pos | No | Name | Team | Laps | Time / difference | Grid |
| 1 | 1 | Mark Skaife | Holden Racing Team | 54 | 53min 22.1378sec | 2 |
| 2 | 50 | Jason Bright | Paul Weel Racing | 54 | + 3.901 | 3 |
| 3 | 51 | Greg Murphy | John Kelly Racing | 54 | + 18.021 | 1 |
| 4 | 2 | Todd Kelly | Holden Racing Team | 54 | + 18.181 | 4 |
| 5 | 15 | Rick Kelly | John Kelly Racing | 54 | + 23.175 | 13 |
| 6 | 11 | Steven Richards | Perkins Engineering | 54 | + 32.728 | 6 |
| 7 | 44 | Simon Wills | Team Dynamik | 54 | + 36.036 | 8 |
| 8 | 65 | Paul Radisich | Triple Eight Race Engineering | 54 | + 41.397 | 7 |
| 9 | 4 | Marcos Ambrose | Stone Brothers Racing | 54 | + 44.768 | 23 |
| 10 | 9 | Russell Ingall | Stone Brothers Racing | 54 | + 45.326 | 26 |
| 11 | 5 | Glenn Seton | Ford Performance Racing | 54 | + 48.870 | 9 |
| 12 | 16 | Paul Weel | Paul Weel Racing | 54 | + 50.074 | 11 |
| 13 | 20 | Jason Bargwanna | Larkham Motorsport | 54 | + 50.480 | 5 |
| 14 | 31 | Steven Ellery | Steven Ellery Racing | 54 | + 54.019 | 21 |
| 15 | 21 | Brad Jones | Brad Jones Racing | 54 | + 55.296 | 22 |
| 16 | 17 | Steven Johnson | Dick Johnson Racing | 54 | + 55.552 | 30 |
| 17 | 8 | Paul Dumbrell | Perkins Engineering | 54 | + 58.937 | 28 |
| 18 | 6 | Craig Lowndes | Ford Performance Racing | 53 | + 1 lap | 12 |
| 19 | 18 | Max Wilson | Dick Johnson Racing | 53 | + 1 lap | 24 |
| 20 | 3 | Cameron McConville | Lansvale Racing Team | 53 | + 1 lap | 18 |
| 21 | 34 | Garth Tander | Garry Rogers Motorsport | 53 | + 1 lap | 29 |
| 22 | 021 | Craig Baird | Team Kiwi Racing | 53 | + 1 lap | 19 |
| 23 | 10 | Mark Larkham | Larkham Motorsport | 53 | + 1 lap | 20 |
| 24 | 75 | Anthony Tratt | Paul Little Racing | 52 | + 2 laps | 25 |
| 25 | 66 | Dean Canto | Triple Eight Race Engineering | 52 | + 2 laps | 14 |
| 26 | 99 | David Thexton | Thexton Motor Racing | 52 | + 2 laps | 27 |
| Ret | 7 | David Besnard | Rod Nash Racing | 48 | Engine | 15 |
| Ret | 29 | Paul Morris | Paul Morris Motorsport | 33 | Retired | 16 |
| Ret | 33 | Jamie Whincup | Garry Rogers Motorsport | 0 | Suspension | 17 |
| DNS | 888 | John Bowe | Brad Jones Racing | 0 | Did Not Start | 10 |
| WD | 23 | Mark Noske | Noske Motorsport | | Withdrawn | |
| Fastest lap: Mark Skaife (Holden Racing Team), 0.57.4552 |||||||
| Sources: |||||||

## Aftermath

Despite entering the Pukekohe round with a chance of capturing his maiden championship, a string of poor results for Ambrose meant the gap between him and his title rivals had closed significantly. Skaife, initially 167 points behind Ambrose preceding this round, had more than halved the gap to the championship lead. Murphy was now only 24 points behind Ambrose, and with a string of wins in recent rounds, including the Bathurst 1000, he was looked at favourably to vanquish the Stone Brothers Racing driver in the championship finale.
When the series returned in 2004, Murphy's dominance at the venue came to an end. Bright would take the spoils while Murphy was left to scrape podiums together in a grueling duel between him and championship rival, Ambrose.
Mercifully, after having failed to qualify once again at the next round, this would prove to be the last V8 Supercar race for David Thexton.

### Championship standings

| Pos. | No | Driver | Team | Pts |
| 1 | 4 | Marcos Ambrose | Stone Brothers Racing | 1893 |
| 2 | 51 | Greg Murphy | John Kelly Racing | 1869 |
| 3 | 1 | Mark Skaife | Holden Racing Team | 1823 |
| 4 | 9 | Russell Ingall | Stone Brothers Racing | 1709 |
| 5 | 6 | Craig Lowndes | Ford Performance Racing | 1588 |