# 2003 Champ Car World Series

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 Paul Tracy. Rookie of the Year was Sébastien Bourdais. At the end of the season, the operations of a now bankrupt CART were assumed by 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 Honda and Toyota to the Indy Racing League (IRL) for the 2003 season, Cosworth became the exclusive engine supplier for the CART series. Their 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."
The following teams and drivers competed in the 2003 Champ Car World Series season.
| Team | Chassis | No | Drivers | Races | Primary Sponsors |
| Newman/Haas Racing | Lola B02/00 | 1 | Bruno Junqueira | All | PacifiCare |
| Newman/Haas Racing | Lola B02/00 | 2 | Sébastien Bourdais R | All | Eli Lilly 13 McDonald's 3 Cialis 1 ConnectED 1 |
| Team Player's | Lola B02/00 | 3 | Paul Tracy | All | Player's 16 It's Your World 2 LastLap.ca16-18 |
| Team Player's | Lola B02/00 | 32 | Patrick Carpentier | All | Player's 16 It's Your World 2 LastLap.ca16-18 |
| Herdez Competition | Lola B02/00 | 4 | Roberto Moreno | 1–16, 18 | Herdez |
| Herdez Competition | Lola B02/00 | 4 | Roberto González R | 17 | Herdez |
| Herdez Competition | Lola B02/00 | 55 | Mario Domínguez | All | Herdez |
| Walker Racing | Reynard 02I | 5 | Rodolfo Lavín R | All | Corona |
| Walker Racing | Reynard 02I | 15 | Darren Manning R | All | RAC AutoWindscreens 6 U.S. Air Force 1 Air China 6 Sportsbook.com 5 |
| Walker Racing | Reynard 02I | 25 | Luis Díaz R | 17 | Sun Microsystems |
| Fittipaldi-Dingman Racing | Reynard 02I | 7 | Tiago Monteiro R | All | Laureus 2 World Childhood Foundation 8 O2 Diesel 7 AllSlots.com 1 |
| Team Rahal | Lola B02/00 | 9 | Michel Jourdain Jr. | All | Gigante 17 Office Depot 1 |
| Dale Coyne Racing | Lola B02/00 | 11 | Roberto González R | 1 | Lotto Speed 2 Snap-On Tools 1 Malaysia Airlines 2 |
| Dale Coyne Racing | Lola B02/00 | 11 | Alex Yoong R | 2–5 | Lotto Speed 2 Snap-On Tools 1 Malaysia Airlines 2 |
| Dale Coyne Racing | Lola B02/00 | 11 | Gualter Salles | 6 | Alpina |
| Dale Coyne Racing | Lola B02/00 | 11 | Geoff Boss R | 7–18 | Lacoste |
| Dale Coyne Racing | Lola B02/00 | 19 | Joël Camathias R | 1–7 | City of Lugano |
| Dale Coyne Racing | Lola B02/00 | 19 | Gualter Salles | 8–9, 11–15, 17–18 | Alpina |
| Dale Coyne Racing | Lola B02/00 | 19 | Alex Sperafico R | 10, 16 | Dale Coyne Racing |
| American Spirit Team Johansson | Reynard 02I | 12 | Jimmy Vasser | All | American Spirit Team Johansson 17 Gonher de Mexico 1 |
| American Spirit Team Johansson | Reynard 02I | 31 | Ryan Hunter-Reay R | All | American Spirit Team Johansson 17 Gonher de Mexico 1 |
| Patrick Racing | Lola B02/00 | 20 | Oriol Servià | All | Visteon |
| PK Racing | Lola B02/00 | 27 | Patrick Lemarié R | 1–6 | Scientific Atlanta 17 Yalumba 1 |
| PK Racing | Lola B02/00 | 27 | Bryan Herta | 7 | Scientific Atlanta 17 Yalumba 1 |
| PK Racing | Lola B02/00 | 27 | Max Papis | 8-–14 | Scientific Atlanta 17 Yalumba 1 |
| PK Racing | Lola B02/00 | 27 | Mika Salo R | 15–18 | Scientific Atlanta 17 Yalumba 1 |
| Rocketsports Racing | Lola B02/00 | 33 | Alex Tagliani | All | Johnson Controls |
| Mi-Jack Conquest Racing | Reynard 02I | 34 | Mário Haberfeld R | All | Mi-Jack |
| Fernández Racing | Lola B02/00 | 51 | Adrián Fernández | All | Tecate |

### Team changes

With the departure of Honda and Toyota to the IRL for the 2003 season, four CART teams joined them in the rival series as well. Chip Ganassi Racing, Andretti Green Racing (a merger of the former Team Green and Michael Andretti's Team Motorola) and Mo Nunn Racing became full-time IRL competitors for the 2003 season. Meanwhile, Mi-Jack Conquest Racing went against flow and jumped from the IRL to CART. Team Rahal and Fernández Racing split their efforts between the two series, each reducing their Champ Car teams to a single car. Dale Coyne Racing returned to full-time status after a partial season effort in 2002.
Four new teams joined the series. Businessman Kevin Kalkhoven and Craig Pollock, who previously managed the British American Racing team in Formula One, started the PK Racing team. Long-time Trans-Am competitor Paul Gentilozzi expanded his Rocketsports Racing team to include a Champ Car effort. Kalkhoven and Gentilozzi would go on to become two of the owners of the series in 2004 after the CART organization went bankrupt. Formula One and Champ Car champion Emerson Fittipaldi and businessman Jamie Dingman formed Fittipaldi-Dingman Racing while Formula One and Champ Car veteran Stefan Johansson formed American Spirit Team Johansson.

### 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 2002 Formula 3000 champion Sébastien Bourdais who joined Newman/Haas Racing. Bourdais would impress immediately by taking pole in his first race, winning his fourth race, and finishing fourth in the season championship. Walker Racing had a lineup of two rookies, Rodolfo Lavín and Darren Manning, who actually debuted at the 2002 race at the Rockingham Motor Speedway in Corby, England but was still considered a series rookie. Three rookie teams campaigned with rookie drivers. Fittipaldi-Dingman Racing ran Tiago Monteiro, Mi-Jack Conquest Racing chose Mário 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, Bruno Junqueira took over the #1 car at Newman-Haas, replacing Cristiano da Matta who moved on to Formula One after winning the 2002 CART championship. With Team Green also gone to the IRL, Paul Tracy moved over to Team Player's. Tracy would reward his new team with the season championship. Alex Tagliani lost his Player's seat to Tracy but found a ride with the new Rocketsports Racing team. Champ Car's elder statesman Jimmy Vasser joined the new 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. Patrick Carpentier at Player's, Mario Domínguez at Herdez, Michel Jourdain Jr. at Team Rahal, Oriol Servia at Patrick Racing, and Adrian Fernández continued to drive his own car.

### Mid-season changes

* Alex Yoong, a former Formula One pay driver, took over the Dale Coyne Racing #11 car from Roberto González starting with the 2nd race of the season in Monterrey.
* Sponsorship problems caused Yoong to lose his race seat to Champ Car veteran Gualter Salles at Milwaukee. This marked Salles's first Champ Car start since Road America in August 2000.
* After a series of disappointing results to open the season, PK Racing replaced Patrick Lemarié with noted Laguna Seca expert Brian Herta for the race there. Herta's full-time job in 2003 was driving in the IRL for Andretti Green Racing so Max Papis took over the car starting with the following round at Portland.
* Also at Laguna, the revolving door at Coyne continued with Geoff Boss taking over the #11 from Salles.
* The shuffle at Coyne did not stop at Portland as Gualter Salles returned, taking over the #19 car from Joël Camathias. Salles remained in the #19 for the rest of the year with two exceptions: Alex Sperafico took over the car at Toronto and Miami because Salles had previous commitments those weekends.
* PK Racing brought in Formula One veteran Mika Salo for the final four races of the year starting with the race in Denver.
* Two extra Mexican drivers were brought in for the race in Mexico City. Herdez Competition gave away Roberto Moreno's car to Roberto González for the race, while Walker Racing ran a third car for Luis Díaz.

## 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 | Tecate/Telmex Grand Prix | R Fundidora Park | Monterrey, Mexico | March 23 |
| 3 | Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach | R Streets of Long Beach | Long Beach, California | April 13 |
| 4 | The London Champ Car Trophy | R Brands Hatch | Longfield, United Kingdom | May 5 |
| 5 | 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 | G.I. Joe's 200 | R Portland International Raceway | Portland, Oregon | June 22 |
| 9 | 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 | 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 | Centrix Financial Grand Prix of Denver | R Denver Civic Center | Denver, Colorado | August 31 |
| 16 | Grand Prix Americas Presented by sportsbook.com | R Miami Bayfront Park Street Circuit | Miami, Florida | September 28 |
| 17 | Gran Premio Telmex-Gigante Presented by Banamex/VISA | R Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez | Mexico City, Mexico | October 12 |
| 18 | Lexmark Indy 300 | R Surfers Paradise Street Circuit | Surfers Paradise, Australia | October 26 |
| - | 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 | Sébastien Bourdais R | Sébastien Bourdais R | Paul Tracy | Paul Tracy | Team Player's | Report |
| 2 | Monterrey | Sébastien Bourdais R | Bruno Junqueira | Paul Tracy | Paul Tracy | Team Player's | Report |
| 3 | Long Beach | Michel Jourdain Jr. | Michel Jourdain Jr. | Michel Jourdain Jr. | Paul Tracy | Team Player's | Report |
| 4 | Brands Hatch | Paul Tracy | Adrián Fernández | Sébastien Bourdais R | Sébastien Bourdais R | Newman/Haas Racing | Report |
| 5 | EuroSpeedway | Sébastien Bourdais R | Michel Jourdain Jr. | Sébastien Bourdais R | Sébastien Bourdais R | Newman/Haas Racing | Report |
| 6 | Milwaukee | Alex Tagliani | Patrick Carpentier | Michel Jourdain Jr. | Michel Jourdain Jr. | Team Rahal | Report |
| 7 | Laguna Seca | Patrick Carpentier | Patrick Carpentier | Patrick Carpentier | Patrick Carpentier | Team Player's | Report |
| 8 | Portland | Paul Tracy | Alex Tagliani | Paul Tracy Michel Jourdain Jr. | Adrián Fernández | Fernández Racing | Report |
| 9 | Cleveland | Sébastien Bourdais R | Sébastien Bourdais R | Paul Tracy | Sébastien Bourdais R | Newman/Haas Racing | Report |
| 10 | Toronto | Paul Tracy | Paul Tracy | Paul Tracy | Paul Tracy | Team Player's | Report |
| 11 | Vancouver | Paul Tracy | Sébastien Bourdais R | Paul Tracy | Paul Tracy | Team Player's | Report |
| 12 | Road America | Bruno Junqueira | Sébastien Bourdais R | Bruno Junqueira | Bruno Junqueira | Newman/Haas Racing | Report |
| 13 | Mid-Ohio | Paul Tracy | Jimmy Vasser | Paul Tracy | Paul Tracy | Team Player's | Report |
| 14 | Montreal | Alex Tagliani | Bruno Junqueira | Alex Tagliani | Michel Jourdain Jr. | Team Rahal | Report |
| 15 | Denver | Bruno Junqueira | Mário Haberfeld R | Bruno Junqueira | Bruno Junqueira | Newman/Haas Racing | Report |
| 16 | Miami | Adrián Fernández | Adrián Fernández | Adrián Fernández | Mario Domínguez | Herdez Competition | Report |
| 17 | Mexico City | Paul Tracy | Ryan Hunter-Reay R | Paul Tracy | Paul Tracy | Team Player's | Report |
| 18 | Surfers Paradise | Sébastien Bourdais R | Roberto Moreno | Bruno Junqueira | Ryan Hunter-Reay R | American Spirit Team Johansson | Report |
| 19 | Fontana | | | | | | Report |

### Final driver standings

| Pos | Driver | STP | MTY | LBH | BRH | LAU | MIL | LAG | POR | CLE | TOR | VAN | ROA | MDO | MTL | DEN | MIA | MEX | SUR | Pts |
| 1 | Paul Tracy | 1* | 1* | 1 | 17 | 12 | 12 | 3 | 2* | 2* | 1* | 1* | 15 | 1* | 6 | 4 | 16 | 1* | 13 | 226 |
| 2 | Bruno Junqueira | 3 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 17 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1* | 13 | 13 | 1* | 9 | 7 | 15* | 199 |
| 3 | Michel Jourdain Jr. | 2 | 2 | 15* | 6 | 3 | 1* | 4 | 12 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 16 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 195 |
| 4 | Sébastien Bourdais RY | 11 | 17 | 16 | 1* | 1* | 9 | 17 | 14 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 19 | 2 | 17 | 2 | 17 | 159 |
| 5 | Patrick Carpentier | 8 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 1* | 16 | 4 | 7 | 13 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 17 | 6 | 14 | 5 | 146 |
| 6 | Mario Domínguez | 14 | 13 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 5 | 12 | 10 | 14 | 16 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 118 |
| 7 | Oriol Servià | 12 | 18 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 2 | 3 | 19 | 13 | 19 | 108 |
| 8 | Adrián Fernández | 15 | 4 | 2 | 12 | 15 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 11 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 8* | 8 | 12 | 105 |
| 9 | Darren Manning R | 13 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 18 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 11 | 9 | 2 | 103 |
| 10 | Alex Tagliani | 19 | 3 | 10 | 8 | 18 | 5 | 14 | 3 | 8 | 17 | 14 | 3 | 6 | 4* | 9 | 13 | 16 | 7 | 97 |
| 11 | Jimmy Vasser | 6 | 14 | 4 | 19 | 8 | 11 | 8 | 7 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 9 | 15 | 16 | 11 | 4 | 17 | 3 | 72 |
| 12 | Mário Haberfeld R | 4 | 16 | 9 | 9 | 14 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 15 | 19 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 5 | 12 | 14 | 71 |
| 13 | Roberto Moreno | 5 | 6 | 17 | 7 | 10 | 19 | 15 | 9 | 18 | 6 | 17 | 7 | 19 | 7 | 16 | 2 | | 16 | 67 |
| 14 | Ryan Hunter-Reay R | 16 | 12 | 7 | 16 | 11 | 16 | 12 | 17 | 9 | 11 | 6 | 10 | 3 | 17 | 15 | 12 | 11 | 1 | 64 |
| 15 | Tiago Monteiro R | 7 | 19 | 11 | 14 | 13 | 10 | 9 | 19 | Wth | 10 | 15 | 17 | 11 | 18 | 13 | 15 | 6 | 18 | 29 |
| 16 | Mika Salo R | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 14 | 3 | 5 | 11 | 26 |
| 17 | Max Papis | | | | | | | | 15 | 12 | 16 | 9 | 4 | 9 | 9 | | | | | 25 |
| 18 | Rodolfo Lavín R | 18 | 15 | 18 | 15 | 9 | 14 | 19 | 11 | 14 | 15 | 8 | 19 | 12 | 15 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 8 | 17 |
| 19 | Gualter Salles | | | | | | 13 | | 18 | 17 | | 18 | 11 | 17 | 12 | 18 | | 15 | 6 | 11 |
| 20 | Geoff Boss R | | | | | | | 16 | 13 | 16 | 14 | 19 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 20 | 9 | 8 |
| 21 | Patrick Lemarié R | 10 | 10 | 13 | 11 | 19 | 18 | | | | | | | | | | | | | 8 |
| 22 | Joël Camathias R | 9 | 11 | 14 | 13 | 16 | 15 | 13 | | | | | | | | | | | | 6 |
| 23 | Alex Yoong R | | 9 | 19 | 18 | 17 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 4 |
| 24 | Roberto González R | 17 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 10 | | 3 |
| 25 | Bryan Herta | | | | | | | 11 | | | | | | | | | | | | 2 |
| 26 | Alex Sperafico R | | | | | | | | | | 18 | | | | | | 14 | | | 0 |
| 27 | Luis Díaz R | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 19 | | 0 |
| Pos | Driver | STP | MTY | LBH | BRH | LAU | MIL | LAG | POR | CLE | TOR | VAN | ROA | MDO | MTL | DEN | MIA | MEX | SUR | 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) |
| Blank | 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 | MTY | LBH | BRH | LAU | MIL | LAG | POR | CLE | TOR | VAN | ROA | MDO | MTL | DEN | MIA | MEX | SUR | Pts |
| 1 | Canada | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 298 |
| 2 | Mexico | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 262 |
| 3 | Brazil | 3 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 228 |
| 4 | France | 10 | 10 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 17 | 14 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 19 | 2 | 17 | 2 | 17 | 161 |
| 5 | United States | 6 | 12 | 4 | 16 | 8 | 11 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 6 | 9 | 3 | 14 | 11 | 4 | 11 | 1 | 107 |
| 6 | Spain | 12 | 18 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 2 | 3 | 19 | 13 | 19 | 106 |
| 7 | England | 13 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 18 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 11 | 9 | 2 | 103 |
| 8 | Portugal | 7 | 19 | 11 | 14 | 13 | 10 | 9 | 19 | Wth | 10 | 15 | 17 | 11 | 18 | 13 | 15 | 6 | 18 | 28 |
| 9 | Finland | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 14 | 3 | 5 | 11 | 26 |
| 10 | Italy | | | | | | | | 15 | 12 | 16 | 9 | 4 | 9 | 9 | | | | | 25 |
| 11 | Switzerland | 9 | 11 | 14 | 13 | 16 | 15 | 13 | | | | | | | | | | | | 6 |
| 12 | Malaysia | | 9 | 19 | 18 | 17 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 4 |
| Pos | Country | STP | MTY | LBH | BRH | LAU | MIL | LAG | POR | CLE | TOR | VAN | ROA | MDO | MTL | DEN | MIA | MEX | SUR | Pts |

### Chassis Constructors' Cup

| Pos | Chassis | Pts |
| 1 | Lola | 387 |
| 2 | Reynard | 161 |
| Pos | Chassis | Pts |

### Driver breakdown

* 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.