# 2003 Japanese Formula 3 Championship

The 2003 Japanese Formula 3 Championship was the 25th edition of the Japanese Formula 3 Championship. It began on 22 March at Suzuka and ended on 19 October at Motegi. Australian driver James Courtney took the championship title, winning 13 from 20 races.

## Teams and drivers

* All teams were Japanese-registered. All cars were powered by Bridgestone tyres.
| Team | No | Driver | Chassis | Engine | Rounds |
| Dome Racing Team | 1 | Shinya Hosokawa | Lola-Dome F106 | Mugen-Honda MF204C | 1–5 |
| Dome Racing Team | 1 | Koji Yamanishi | Lola-Dome F106 | Mugen-Honda MF204C | 7–10 |
| Dome Racing Team | 10 | Rob Austin | Lola-Dome F106 | Mugen-Honda MF204B | 9–10 |
| Dome Racing Team | 11 | Yuki Shibata | Lola-Dome F106 | Mugen-Honda MF204B | 1–7 |
| Toda Racing | 2 | Shinya Sato | Dallara F302 | Toda-Honda MF204B | All |
| Inging | 3 | Naoki Yokomizo | Dallara F303 | Torii-Toyota 3S-GE | All |
| Inging | 4 | Ronnie Quintarelli | Dallara F302 | Torii-Toyota 3S-GE | All |
| TOM'S | 7 | James Courtney | Dallara F302 | Toyota-TOM'S 3S-GE | All |
| TOM'S | 8 | Wataru Kobayakawa | Dallara F302 | Toyota-TOM'S 3S-GE | All |
| TOM'S | 36 | Tatsuya Kataoka | Dallara F302 | Toyota-TOM'S 3S-GE | All |
| ThreeBond Racing | 12 | Paolo Montin | Dallara F303 | Tomei Nissan SR20VE | All |
| ThreeBond Racing | 14 | Masataka Yanagida | Dallara F302 | Tomei Nissan SR20VE | 2 |
| Aim Sports | 18 | Takahiro Ogawa | Dallara F302 | Torii-Toyota 3S-GE | 1–5 |
| Aim Sports | 18 | Atsushi Katsumata | Dallara F302 | Torii-Toyota 3S-GE | 8 |
| DTM | 19 | Hiroyoshi Shibata | Dallara F302 | Toyota-TOM'S 3S-GE | All |
| Now Motor Sports | 32 | Taku Bamba | Lola-Dome F106 | Toyota-TOM'S 3S-GE | All |
| Now Motor Sports | 33 | Hiroki Yoshimoto | Lola-Dome F106 | Toyota-TOM'S 3S-GE | All |

## Race calendar and results

| Round | Round | Circuit | Date | Pole Position | Fastest Lap | Winning driver | Winning team |
| 1 | R1 | Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka | 22 March | Paolo Montin | James Courtney | James Courtney | TOM'S |
| 1 | R2 | Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka | 23 March | James Courtney | Yuki Shibata | Yuki Shibata | Dome Racing Team |
| 2 | R1 | Fuji Speedway, Oyama | 5 April | James Courtney | James Courtney | James Courtney | TOM'S |
| 2 | R2 | Fuji Speedway, Oyama | 6 April | James Courtney | Tatsuya Kataoka | James Courtney | TOM'S |
| 3 | R1 | Okayama International Circuit | 17 May | James Courtney | James Courtney | James Courtney | TOM'S |
| 3 | R2 | Okayama International Circuit | 18 May | James Courtney | James Courtney | James Courtney | TOM'S |
| 4 | R1 | Twin Ring Motegi, Motegi | 7 June | Paolo Montin | Paolo Montin | Paolo Montin | ThreeBond Racing |
| 4 | R2 | Twin Ring Motegi, Motegi | 8 June | Paolo Montin | Paolo Montin | Paolo Montin | ThreeBond Racing |
| 5 | R1 | Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka | 5 July | James Courtney | Shinya Hosokawa | Shinya Hosokawa | Dome Racing Team |
| 5 | R2 | Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka | 6 July | Paolo Montin | James Courtney | Paolo Montin | ThreeBond Racing |
| 6 | R1 | Sportsland SUGO, Murata | 26 July | James Courtney | James Courtney | James Courtney | TOM'S |
| 6 | R2 | Sportsland SUGO, Murata | 27 July | James Courtney | James Courtney | James Courtney | TOM'S |
| 7 | R1 | Tsukuba Circuit, Shimotsuma | 9 August | Tatsuya Kataoka | Koji Yamanishi | Koji Yamanishi | Dome Racing Team |
| 7 | R2 | Tsukuba Circuit, Shimotsuma | 10 August | Tatsuya Kataoka | Tatsuya Kataoka | Tatsuya Kataoka | Dome Racing Team |
| 8 | R1 | Sportsland SUGO, Murata | 6 September | James Courtney | James Courtney | James Courtney | TOM'S |
| 8 | R2 | Sportsland SUGO, Murata | 7 September | James Courtney | James Courtney | James Courtney | TOM'S |
| 9 | R1 | Mine Circuit, Mine | 20 September | Tatsuya Kataoka | James Courtney | James Courtney | TOM'S |
| 9 | R2 | Mine Circuit, Mine | 21 September | James Courtney | James Courtney | James Courtney | TOM'S |
| 10 | R1 | Twin Ring Motegi, Motegi | 18 October | James Courtney | James Courtney | James Courtney | TOM'S |
| 10 | R2 | Twin Ring Motegi, Motegi | 19 October | James Courtney | James Courtney | James Courtney | TOM'S |

### Notes

* ↑ The qualifying session were abandoned due to heavy rain. The grid of the second race was equal to the first race.

## Standings

* Points are awarded as follows, with only the best 16 results to count:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| 20 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Pos | Driver | SUZ | SUZ | FUJ | FUJ | OKA | OKA | MOT | MOT | SUZ | SUZ | SUG | SUG | TSU | TSU | SUG | SUG | MIN | MIN | MOT | MOT | Pts |
| 1 | James Courtney | 1 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 305 |
| 2 | Paolo Montin | 5 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | Ret | 4 | 3 | 4 | 2 | Ret | 3 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 209 |
| 3 | Tatsuya Kataoka | 11 | Ret | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 207 |
| 4 | Ronnie Quintarelli | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 200 |
| 5 | Naoki Yokomizo | 2 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 5 | Ret | 9 | Ret | 8 | 6 | 8 | 3 | Ret | 8 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 109 |
| 6 | Shinya Hosokawa | 8 | 9 | 6 | 3 | Ret | 4 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | 87 |
| 7 | Shinya Sato | 4 | Ret | 10 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 8 | NC | 6 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 79 |
| 8 | Yuki Shibata | 6 | 1 | 5 | Ret | Ret | DNS | 8 | 12 | 10 | 5 | 7 | Ret | 9 | 7 | | | | | | | 56 |
| 9 | Koji Yamanishi | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 | 5 | 7 | Ret | DNS | Ret | 4 | 4 | 52 |
| 10 | Hiroki Yoshimoto | Ret | DNS | 11 | Ret | 6 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 12 | 8 | 6 | 12 | 9 | Ret | 8 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 52 |
| 11 | Wataru Kobayakawa | 7 | 4 | 9 | 10 | Ret | 5 | 11 | 11 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 7 | 8 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 9 | Ret | 10 | 51 |
| 12 | Hiroyoshi Shibata | 10 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 13 | 9 | 7 | 11 | 5 | Ret | 11 | 11 | 10 | 4 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 51 |
| 13 | Taku Bamba | 9 | 5 | 12 | 11 | DNS | 10 | 10 | Ret | 11 | 8 | 3 | Ret | 10 | 10 | 9 | 5 | Ret | Ret | 8 | 11 | 42 |
| 14 | Rob Austin | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 10 | 5 | Ret | 8 | 12 |
| 15 | Takahiro Ogawa | 12 | Ret | 14 | Ret | 8 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 10 | | | | | | | | | | | 7 |
| 16 | Atsushi Katsumata | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 11 | 7 | | | | | 4 |
| 17 | Masataka Yanagida | | | 13 | 9 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2 |
| Pos | Driver | SUZ | SUZ | FUJ | FUJ | OKA | OKA | MOT | MOT | SUZ | SUZ | SUG | SUG | TSU | TSU | SUG | SUG | MIN | MIN | MOT | MOT | Pts |
| Colour | Result |
| Gold | Winner |
| Silver | Second place |
| Bronze | Third place |
| Green | Points finish |
| Blue | Non-points finish |
| Blue | Non-classified finish (NC) |
| Purple | Retired (Ret) |
| Red | Did not qualify (DNQ) |
| Red | Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) |
| Black | Disqualified (DSQ) |
| White | Did not start (DNS) |
| White | Withdrew (WD) |
| White | Race cancelled (C) |
| Blank | Did not practice (DNP) |
| Blank | Did not arrive (DNA) |
| Blank | Excluded (EX) |