2008 V8 Supercar Championship Series

The 2008 V8 Supercar Championship Series was the tenth V8 Supercar Championship Series and the twelfth series in which V8 Supercars contested the premier Australian touring car title. The championship began on 21 February at the Clipsal 500 on the streets of Adelaide and concluded on 7 December at Oran Park Raceway. It consisted of 14 rounds covering all states and the Northern Territory of Australia as well as rounds in New Zealand and Bahrain.

Race start at Round 2, Eastern Creek

Jamie Whincup secured the Drivers championship with two races in hand with victory in race 1 of the 2008 NRMA Motoring & Services Grand Finale. Whincup was also awarded the 49th Australian Touring Car Championship title by CAMS.[1] Triple Eight Race Engineering won the Teams Championship and Ford was awarded the Manufacturers Championship.[2]

Race calendar

Rd.Race titleCircuitCity / stateDate
1 Clipsal 500Adelaide Street CircuitAdelaide, South Australia21–24 February
2 Eastern CreekEastern Creek RacewaySydney, New South Wales7–9 March
3 Hamilton 400Hamilton Street CircuitHamilton, New Zealand18–20 April
4 BigPond 400Barbagallo RacewayWanneroo, Western Australia9–11 May
5 Midas 400Sandown RacewayMelbourne, Victoria7–9 June
6 Skycity Triple CrownHidden Valley RacewayDarwin, Northern Territory4–6 July
7 City of Ipswich 400Queensland RacewayIpswich, Queensland18–20 July
8 WintonWinton Motor RacewayBenalla, Victoria1–3 August
9 L&H 500Phillip Island Grand Prix CircuitPhillip Island, Victoria12–14 September
10 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000Mount Panorama CircuitBathurst, New South Wales9–12 October
11 The Coffee Club V8 Supercar ChallengeSurfers Paradise Street CircuitSurfers Paradise, Queensland23–26 October
12 Gulf Air Desert 400Bahrain International CircuitManama, Bahrain6–8 November
13 Falken Tasmania ChallengeSymmons Plains RacewayLaunceston, Tasmania21–23 November
14 NRMA Motoring & Services Grand FinaleOran Park RacewaySydney, New South Wales4–7 December

Teams and drivers

Mark Winterbottom driving a Ford Falcon BF for Ford Performance Racing
Mark Skaife driving a Holden Commodore VE for the Holden Racing Team

The following teams and drivers contested the 2008 V8 Supercar Championship Series.

ManufacturerCarTeamNo.DriversEventsEndurance Event Drivers
FordFalcon BFStone Brothers Racing4 James CourtneyAll David Besnard
9 Shane van GisbergenAll Jonathon Webb
Ford Performance Racing5 Mark WinterbottomAll Luke Youlden
Dean Canto
6 Steven RichardsAll
Dick Johnson Racing17 Steven JohnsonAll Steve Owen
Warren Luff
18 Will DavisonAll
Team Kiwi Racing021 Kayne Scott1, 3–7 Kayne Scott
Chris Pither2, 8–10
Steve Owen11
Fahad Al Musalam12
Daniel Gaunt13–14
Walden Motorsport24 Garth Walden1[a]
Britek Motorsport25 Jason BrightAll Adam Macrow
26 Marcus MarshallAll Matthew Halliday
Triple Eight Race Engineering88 Jamie WhincupAll Fabrizio Giovanardi
Marc Hynes
888 Craig LowndesAll
Paul Cruickshank Racing111 Fabian CoulthardAll John McIntyre*
Alex Davison**
Ford Rising Stars Racing777 Michael Patrizi3–14 Grant Denyer*
Karl Reindler**
HoldenCommodore VEHolden Racing Team1 Garth TanderAll Glenn Seton
Craig Baird
2 Mark SkaifeAll
Tasman Motorsport3 Jason RichardsAll Mark Noske
Dale Wood
51 Greg MurphyAll
Perkins Engineering7 Todd KellyAll Nathan Pretty
Jack Perkins
11 Shane Price1–10
Jack Perkins11–14
Brad Jones Racing12 Andrew JonesAll Brad Jones
Max Wilson
14 Cameron McConvilleAll
HSV Dealer Team (HRT)15 Rick KellyAll Paul Radisich
16 Paul DumbrellAll David Reynolds
Garry Rogers Motorsport33 Lee HoldsworthAll Greg Ritter
Steven Ellery
34 Michael CarusoAll
Paul Morris Motorsport39 Russell IngallAll Boris Said
Matt Neal
67 Paul MorrisAll
Paul Weel Racing50 Andrew ThompsonAll Paul Weel
Rod Nash Racing
Tony D'Alberto Racing
55 Tony D'AlbertoAll Jason Bargwanna

* Phillip Island 500 only
** Bathurst 1000 only

Team and driver changes

WPS Racing announced the closure of their team with the vehicles and equipment sold off to new owners, citing business and health issues affecting team principal Craig Gore.[5]

Two new entities entered the championship in 2008. The first of these was Development Series team Ford Rising Stars Racing, who bought a licence from Paul Weel RacingFormula 3 Euroseries driver Michael Patrizi was hired to drive, but the team skipped the first round in Adelaide to prepare properly.[6] Walden Motorsport were committed to return to the series with Garth Walden driving, however the team failed to appear at the first two rounds and the franchise was put up for sale.[7][8][9]

Reigning series champion Garth Tander transferred from the HSV Dealer Team to the Holden Racing Team, replacing Todd Kelly. Kelly replaced Marcus Marshall at Perkins Engineering, with Marshall moving to Britek Motorsport in place of the outgoing Alan Gurr.[10] Tander was replaced at HSVDT with Paul Dumbrell, who moved from Paul Weel Racing which had intended to cease operations at the conclusion of 2007. This decision was reversed, with Andrew Thompson racing their sole Commodore VE.[11]

Russell Ingall moved to Paul Morris Motorsport, replacing Owen Kelly. Shane van Gisbergen took over Ingall's seat at Stone Brothers Racing following his half-season at Team Kiwi Racing.[12] Team Kiwi cut ties with Stone Brothers and settled on running a Triple Eight-built Falcon independently, signing Development Series veteran Kayne Scott.[13][7]

Dean Canto's contract with Garry Rogers Motorsport was terminated a year early.[14] He was replaced with 2007 Development Series runner-up Michael Caruso.[15]

Cameron McConville signed with Brad Jones Racing, whom he had previously raced for in Super Touring. The team moved from Ford to Holden and ran with the technical assistance of Walkinshaw Performance, the organisation that runs the Holden Racing Team and HSV Dealer Teams.[16]

Paul Cruickshank Racing signed Fabian Coulthard to replace the retiring John Bowe.[10]

Second tier Fujitsu series champion team Tony D'Alberto Racing moved to the V8 Supercar series, and took over the running of the Rod Nash Racing owned franchise, replacing Independent Racing Cars who previously operated the team. Tony D'Alberto replaced Steve Owen as driver.[17]

Mid-season changes

Due to a date clash with the final round of the New Zealand V8 series, Kayne Scott was not available to compete for Team Kiwi Racing at Eastern Creek and was replaced by Chris Pither.[18] Pither again replaced Scott for the Winton round later in the year. Following a crash at Bathurst that severely dented the teams' financial resources, Steve Owen was drafted in for the Gold Coast round, followed by Bahraini driver Fahad Al Musalam for the Desert 400 and 23-year-old Daniel Gaunt for the final two rounds of the season.

Shane Price was sacked from the Perkins Engineering a week after the Bathurst 1000 and replaced with endurance co-driver Jack Perkins.[19]

Rule changes

Technical

An option to use sequential gearboxes in lieu of H-pattern gearboxes was introduced.[20] Initially optional, sequential gearboxes later became mandatory.

Sporting

The points system was changed for 2008. Points were awarded to the top 30 drivers, with 300 points being the most available to a driver in each round.[21]

In Friday practice sessions, drivers who had finished in the top 15 in the 2007 Championship were not permitted to participate for the first 30 minutes.[22]

Results and standings

Season summary

RoundRaceEventPole positionRace winnersRound winnerReport
1R1Adelaide Jamie Whincup Jamie Whincup Jamie Whincup
(Triple Eight Race Engineering, Ford)
report
R2 Jamie Whincup
2R1Eastern Creek Garth Tander Garth Tander Will Davison
(Dick Johnson Racing, Ford)
report
R2 Will Davison
R3 Mark Winterbottom
3R1Hamilton Steven Richards Garth Tander Garth Tander
(Holden Racing Team, Holden)
report
R2 Garth Tander
R3 Garth Tander
4R1Perth Mark Winterbottom Mark Winterbottom Mark Winterbottom
(Ford Performance Racing, Ford)
report
R2 Mark Winterbottom
R3 Mark Winterbottom
5R1Sandown Jamie Whincup Jamie Whincup Jamie Whincup
(Triple Eight Race Engineering, Ford)
report
R2 Craig Lowndes
R3 Jamie Whincup
6R1Darwin Mark Winterbottom Mark Winterbottom Steven Richards
(Ford Performance Racing, Ford)
report
R2 Garth Tander
R3 Steven Richards
7R1Ipswich James Courtney James Courtney Mark Winterbottom
(Ford Performance Racing, Ford)
report
R2 Mark Winterbottom
R3 Mark Winterbottom
8R1Winton Mark Winterbottom Jamie Whincup Garth Tander
(Holden Racing Team, Holden)
report
R2 Will Davison
R3 Garth Tander
9Phillip Island Craig Lowndes
Jamie Whincup
Garth Tander
Mark Skaife
(Holden Racing Team, Holden)
report
10Bathurst Garth Tander Craig Lowndes
Jamie Whincup
(Triple Eight Race Engineering, Ford)
report
11R1Gold Coast Jamie Whincup Jamie Whincup Jamie Whincup
(Triple Eight Race Engineering, Ford)
report
R2 Jamie Whincup
R3 Jamie Whincup
12R1Bahrain Jamie Whincup Jamie Whincup Jamie Whincup
(Triple Eight Race Engineering, Ford)
report
R2 Jamie Whincup
R3 Jamie Whincup
13R1Launceston Garth Tander Todd Kelly Jamie Whincup
(Triple Eight Race Engineering, Ford)
report
R2 Jamie Whincup
R3 Jamie Whincup
14R1Oran Park Garth Tander Jamie Whincup Garth Tander
(Holden Racing Team, Holden)
report
R2 Garth Tander
R3 Rick Kelly

Points system

Points are awarded to any driver that completes 75% of race distance and is running on the completion of the final lap.

Pos1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th8th9th10th11th12th13th14th15th16th17th18th19th20th21st22nd23rd24th25th26th27th28th29th30th
Adelaide150138129120111102969084787269666360575451484542393633302724211815
Std1009286807468646056524846444240383634323028262422201816141210
L&H 500 Qual5046434037343230282624232221201918171615141312111098765
L&H 500 Feature2001841721601481361281201121049692888480767268646056524844403632282420
Bathurst300276258240222204192180168156144138132126120114108102969084787266605448423630

NOTES:

Adelaide: Clipsal 500.

Std denotes all races except the Clipsal 500, L&H 500, and Bathurst 1000. These three races have unique rules.

L&H 500: Phillip Island races are split into qualifying races and 500 km feature race. The two drivers per team will be grouped into separate qualifying races that will count towards drivers' individual point totals and towards the starting grid for the feature race. The two drivers will then race one car for the 500 km endurance race.

Bathurst: Both drivers will share one car for entire race.

Drivers' Championship

Pos.DriverNo.ADE
EAS
HAM
BAR
SAN
HID
QLD
WIN
PHI
BAT
SUR
BAH
SYM
ORA
Pen.Pts.
1 Jamie Whincup8811354DNSDNSDNS733131458936142211111112111Ret2303332
2 Mark Winterbottom52Ret102110751112621322112122644333214434423121803079
3 Garth Tander1231919311132259123134443311122221411232085612123048
4 Craig Lowndes8883Ret7381914754431DNS54Ret2812711562169923362225302871
5 Will Davison187Ret216922Ret856Ret1178105655214367Ret10Ret10645610152102495
6 James Courtney416Ret515Ret433208764310237162992563911Ret572Ret171056402446
7 Rick Kelly1586462264665712179968Ret131065720Ret6592220199894102430
8 Steven Richards6515277Ret322479231692217711524Ret4411128859RetRet174317122416
9 Russell Ingall3914Ret1147RetRet111124Ret4767643237Ret7918587425132516321102236
10 Steven Johnson1769211918Ret1381315131351015191716171517111336155468138671591602163
11 Lee Holdsworth3342881154Ret24Ret231122813171610181018735Ret10417312810791225602065
12 Todd Kelly7154131315819159Ret81785112911191312613111317476206Ret13378Ret02053
13 Fabian Coulthard111111814171678617912814Ret142422128819189161014Ret13Ret167910Ret1810801823
14 Mark Skaife291761451823122RetDNS10182225818510912RetDNS112161614Ret17Ret252415RetRet1201644
15 Shane van Gisbergen9125172717212610Ret12109241215917211714221210Ret1713Ret726105RetEXRet13501614
16 Greg Murphy51107911102325Ret122115222611182210242019272121Ret2Ret14121019181612142117Ret01572
17 Jason Richards313812161920914Ret22Ret18201667Ret1414224RetDNSRet2131711RetDNSDNS11181216181401548
18 Michael Caruso34Ret11252614121817Ret17162023191612151516168Ret205Ret2018191514171716188111001439
19 Jason Bright25Ret10202220111213Ret1314Ret1514Ret18Ret18Ret252081011924RetRet221314711Ret137701438
20 Paul Morris67Ret161810Ret2417181611251521242026132715Ret1312159182519Ret119122314131414901436
21 Paul Dumbrell16RetRet161291411Ret15162212132719111411112015108Ret208Ret1612181121132019Ret1301398
22 Cameron McConville14Ret315181265201010Ret141013Ret161213914232319RetRet1222Ret1325211415Ret11192201370
23 Marcus Marshall26191326Ret221616Ret221917Ret2421212120RetRetRet261723211426232016211518192320222401113
24 Andrew Jones1218122223Ret22159141411161715232721222418291416RetRet19Ret21Ret2016222021Ret20Ret01071
25 Tony D'Alberto5517Ret2320Ret1310Ret212320252525191423202226241614RetRetRet241817241924Ret19RetRet190890
26 Michael Patrizi777Ret2119192021RetEX26262019252523252024181921Ret22242322122126Ret21250848
27 Shane Price1121Ret192121Ret241618Ret191919182213Ret21192122151813170843
28 Andrew Thompson5020Ret24241315RetDNSRet18182427202428Ret2323Ret16DNS1723DNS2220Ret18RetRet15Ret22Ret23150771
29 Jack Perkins11881815231915RetRet222517Ret200620
30 David Besnard4630459
31 Kayne Scott02122141720Ret23Ret24212823Ret252426Ret24DNSRet0362
32 Steve Owen17/02122112321150351
33 Brad Jones141550343
Max Wilson141550343
35 Nathan Pretty11880338
36 Adam Macrow251190320
37 Warren Luff1722110259
38 Dean Canto52470252
Luke Youlden52470252
40 Steven Ellery3412160245
Greg Ritter3412160245
42 Mark Noske5120130226
Dale Wood5120130226
44 Matt Halliday2621140225
45 Fabrizio Giovanardi8817150222
Marc Hynes8817150222
47 Paul Radisich157DNS0196
48 Jonathon Webb910Ret0190
49 Alex Davison111100156
50 Chris Pither021282523281922DNSRet0130
51 John McIntyre111160128
52 Craig Baird214Ret0118
Glenn Seton214Ret0118
54 Daniel Gaunt0212623242224Ret0112
55 Grant Denyer777180102
56 Karl Reindler77719096
57 Matt Neal67RetRet094
Boris Said67RetRet094
59 Paul Weel50RetDNS084
60 Fahad Al Musalam02123Ret24046
61 Jason Bargwanna55RetRet038
62 David Reynolds16RetDNS022
Pos.DriverNo.ADE
EAS
HAM
BAR
SAN
HID
QLD
WIN
PHI
BAT
SUR
BAH
SYM
ORA
Pen.Pts.

Teams Championship

Triple Eight Race Engineering won the Teams Championship.[2]

PosTeamADE
EAS
HAM
BAR
SAN
HID
QLD
WIN
PHI
BAT
SUR
BAH
SYM
ORA
Pen.Pts.
1Triple Eight Race Engineering42945013847047236833446236042048056429212405867
2Ford Performance Racing30932446050037056246823427143241237828230605308
3Dick Johnson Racing28235418633028229433040035034835229241425404478
4Holden Racing Team22242640436228838642231837013840215024630604432
5Stone Brothers Racing23720235025246228236024636125818036416234004060
6HSV Dealer Team1923803303142523062303462189024624025035003738
7Garry Rogers Motorsport33024827012022024225427433011426831028029403550
8Paul Morris Motorsport12027814017630230432025826710225439621236603491
9Perkins Motorsport22221619218226817821026028128830817031819003285
10Tasman Motorsport33027217214019424419415214640821211825417803018
11Brad Jones Racing24917029423625215222417217022213216016613602735
12Britek Motorsport1921302141801321205422025129410021820225002551
13Paul Cruickshank Racing (s)123116192138102901661221281568010215614601823
14Rod Nash Racing (s)5454968260987410238Ret569054320890
15Speed FX Racing (s)60901880647210296507292480848
16Paul Weel Racing (s)458840686836487484WD523466640771
17Team Kiwi Racing (s)10258664666424072DNSRet924664480742
PosTeamADE
EAS
HAM
BAR
SAN
HID
QLD
WIN
PHI
BAT
SUR
BAH
SYM
ORA
Pen.Pts.
ColourResult
GoldWinner
SilverSecond place
BronzeThird place
GreenPoints finish
BlueNon-points finish
Non-classified finish (NC)
PurpleRetired (Ret)
RedDid not qualify (DNQ)
Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
BlackDisqualified (DSQ)
WhiteDid not start (DNS)
Withdrew (WD)
Race cancelled (C)
BlankDid not practice (DNP)
Did not arrive (DNA)
Excluded (EX)
  • (s) denotes a single-car team.

Manufacturers Championship

Ford won the Manufacturers Championship having won more rounds than rival Holden.[23]

See also

2008 V8 Supercar season

Notes

References