2003 Lexmark Indy 300

Last updated

Flag of Australia (converted).svg 2003 Surfers Paradise
Race details
Race 18 of 19 in the 2003 CART season
Surfers Paradise Street Circuit.svg
Track map of the Surfers Paradise street circuit at Surfers Paradise, Australia.
Date26 October, 2003
Official name Lexmark Indy 300
Location Surfers Paradise Street Circuit
Queensland, Australia
CourseTemporary Street Circuit
2.795 mi / 4.498 km
Distance47 laps
131.365 mi / 211.406 km
WeatherThunderstorms with temperatures reaching up to 27.4 °C (81.3 °F) [1]
Pole position
Driver Flag of France.svg Sébastien Bourdais  (Newman/Haas Racing)
Time1:31.718
Fastest lap
Driver Flag of Brazil.svg Roberto Moreno  (Herdez Competition)
Time1:35.561 (on lap 10 of 47)
Podium
First Flag of the United States.svg Ryan Hunter-Reay  (American Spirit Team Johansson)
Second Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Darren Manning  (Walker Racing)
Third Flag of the United States.svg Jimmy Vasser  (American Spirit Team Johansson)

The 2003 Lexmark Indy 300 was the eighteenth last race of the 2003 CART World Series season, held on 26 October 2003 on the Surfers Paradise Street Circuit, Queensland, Australia. A hail storm 20 minutes into the race caused an hour long red flag period and shortened the race to 47 laps from the scheduled 65.

Contents

Ryan Hunter-Reay won the race, his first victory in top-level American open wheel racing, and Reynard's final win in CART competition (sweeping the podium positions). Neither of the two drivers who could still win the season championship, leader Paul Tracy and second-place Bruno Junqueira, finished in the Top 12 points-paying positions (though Junqueira received two bonus points on the weekend: one for having the fastest lap in Friday qualifying, and the other for leading the most laps in the race), meaning Tracy had a big enough lead to clinch the championship with one race to go. [2]

Final CART event

The event was to have been the penultimate race of the 2003 season, but it later became the final round after the 2003 King Taco 500 was canceled because of a wildfire near to the California Speedway venue. In December 2003 the CART World Series declared bankruptcy and as a result went out of business. Therefore, this race became the final completed CART sanctioned event, although the series would be reborn under new ownership as the Champ Car World Series in 2004.

Qualifying results

PosNatDriverTeamCarQual 1Qual 2Best
1 Flag of France.svg Sébastien Bourdais Newman/Haas Racing Lola B2/00 Ford-Cosworth 1:33.3211:31.7181:31.718
2 Flag of Brazil.svg Bruno Junqueira Newman-Haas Racing Lola B2/00 Ford-Cosworth 1:32.7081:31.9941:31.994
3 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Paul Tracy Team Player's Lola B2/00 Ford-Cosworth 1:34.1611:32.0001:32.000
4 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Alex Tagliani Rocketsports Racing Lola B2/00 Ford-Cosworth -1:32.1351:32.135
5 Flag of Mexico.svg Adrian Fernández Fernández Racing Lola B2/00 Ford-Cosworth 1:33.6681:32.4361:32.436
6 Flag of Spain.svg Oriol Servià Patrick Racing Lola B2/00 Ford-Cosworth 1:34.3171:32.7311:32.731
7 Flag of Brazil.svg Roberto Moreno Herdez Competition Lola B2/00 Ford-Cosworth 1:34.3131:32.7321:32.732
8 Flag of Mexico.svg Mario Domínguez Herdez Competition Lola B2/00 Ford-Cosworth 1:35.0171:32.9081:32.908
9 Flag of Mexico.svg Michel Jourdain Jr. Team Rahal Lola B2/00 Ford-Cosworth 1:34.4471:33.1121:33.112
10 Flag of Finland.svg Mika Salo PK Racing Lola B2/00 Ford-Cosworth 1:35.5061:33.1871:33.187
11 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Patrick Carpentier Team Player's Lola B2/00 Ford-Cosworth 1:34.8081:33.4371:33.437
12 Flag of the United States.svg Ryan Hunter-Reay American Spirit Team Johansson Reynard 02i Ford-Cosworth 1:36.3981:33.5421:33.542
13 Flag of Portugal (official).svg Tiago Monteiro Fittipaldi-Dingman Racing Reynard 02i Ford-Cosworth 1:35.3791:33.8571:33.857
14 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Darren Manning Walker Racing Reynard 02i Ford-Cosworth 1:35.4251:33.9221:33.922
15 Flag of the United States.svg Jimmy Vasser American Spirit Team Johansson Reynard 02i Ford-Cosworth 1:34.2661:35.4251:34.266
16 Flag of Brazil.svg Mario Haberfeld Mi-Jack Conquest Racing Reynard 02i Ford-Cosworth 1:35.8211:34.2991:34.299
17 Flag of Brazil.svg Gualter Salles Dale Coyne Racing Lola B2/00 Ford-Cosworth 1:36.4951:34.6461:34.646
18 Flag of Mexico.svg Rodolfo Lavín Walker Racing Reynard 02i Ford-Cosworth -1:36.0751:36.075
19 Flag of the United States.svg Geoff Boss Dale Coyne Racing Lola B2/00 Ford-Cosworth -1:37.2471:37.247

Race

PosNoDriverTeamLapsTime/retiredGridPoints
131 Flag of the United States.svg Ryan Hunter-Reay American Spirit Team Johansson 471:49:02.8031220
215 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Darren Manning Walker Racing 47+1.546 secs1416
312 Flag of the United States.svg Jimmy Vasser American Spirit Team Johansson47+3.792 secs1514
49 Flag of Mexico.svg Michel Jourdain Jr. Team Rahal 47+5.315 secs912
532 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Patrick Carpentier Team Player's 47+5.837 secs1110
619 Flag of Brazil.svg Gualter Salles Dale Coyne Racing 47+8.180 secs178
733 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Alex Tagliani Rocketsports Racing 47+10.131 secs46
85 Flag of Mexico.svg Rodolfo Lavín Walker Racing47+11.673 secs185
911 Flag of the United States.svg Geoff Boss Dale Coyne Racing47+50.728 secs194
1055 Flag of Mexico.svg Mario Domínguez Herdez Competition 46+ 1 Lap83
1127 Flag of Finland.svg Mika Salo PK Racing 46+ 1 Lap102
1251 Flag of Mexico.svg Adrian Fernández Fernández Racing 46+ 1 Lap51
133 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Paul Tracy Team Player's45+ 2 Laps30
1434 Flag of Brazil.svg Mario Haberfeld Mi-Jack Conquest Racing 43+ 4 Laps160
151 Flag of Brazil.svg Bruno Junqueira Newman/Haas Racing 36Contact22
164 Flag of Brazil.svg Roberto Moreno Herdez Competition23Contact70
172 Flag of France.svg Sébastien Bourdais Newman-Haas Racing11Contact11
187 Flag of Portugal (official).svg Tiago Monteiro Fittipaldi-Dingman Racing 3Mechanical130
1920 Flag of Spain.svg Oriol Servià Patrick Racing 1Contact60

Caution flags

LapsCause
1Yellow start
2 Servià (20) contact
11-13 Bourdais (2) contact
14-15Restart after red flag (rain)
16-17 Salo (27) spun/stalled
19-20 Tracy (3), Tagliani (33), Manning (15), Salles (19) & Moreno (4) contact
31-34 Tagliani (33) & Haberfeld (34) spun/stalled; Domínguez (55) loose wheel
37-39 Junqueira (1) & Haberfeld (34) contact; Haberfeld (34) stopped on course
41-42 Fernández (51) spun/stalled

Notes

LapsLeader
1-29 Bruno Junqueira
30-32 Michel Jourdain Jr.
33-47 Ryan Hunter-Reay
 
DriverLaps led
Bruno Junqueira 29
Ryan Hunter-Reay 15
Michel Jourdain Jr. 2

References

  1. Weather information for the 2003 Lexmark Indy 300 at the Australian Government's Bureau of Meteorology Website
  2. CBC.ca: Paul Tracy clinches CART championship
Previous race:
2003 Gran Premio Telmex-Gigante
Champ Car World Series
2003 season
Next race:
2003 King Taco 500
Previous race:
2002 Honda Indy 300
2003 Lexmark Indy 300 Next race:
2004 Lexmark Indy 300

27°59′17.9″S153°25′42.1″E / 27.988306°S 153.428361°E / -27.988306; 153.428361