The 2008 V8 Supercar Championship Series was the tenth

V8 Supercar The Supercars Championship is a touring car racing category in Australia, running as an International Series under Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) regulations, governing the sport. Supercars events take place in all Australian ...

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 The Adelaide 500 (also known as the VALO Adelaide 500 for sponsorship reasons) is an annual motor racing event for Supercars held on the streets of the east end of Adelaide, South Australia between 1999 to 2020 and again from 2022. It is sometim ...

on the streets of

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

and concluded on 7 December at

Oran Park Raceway Oran Park Raceway was a motor racing circuit at Narellan south west of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia which was operational from February 1962 until its closure in January 2010. The track was designed and started by George Murray and Jac ...

. It consisted of 14 rounds covering all states and the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

of Australia as well as rounds in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

Jamie Whincup Jamie Whincup (born 6 February 1983) is an Australian professional racing driver competing in the Supercars Championship. He currently is team principal for Triple Eight Race Engineering. He has driven the No. 88 Holden Commodore (ZB), Holden Z ...

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 The Australian Touring Car Championship (ATCC) is a touring car racing award held in Australia since 1960. The series itself is no longer contested, but the title lives on, with the winner of the Repco Supercars Championship awarded the trophy ...

title by CAMS.

Triple Eight Race Engineering Triple Eight Race Engineering, (branded as Red Bull Ampol Racing) is an Australian motor racing team competing in the Supercars Championship. The team has been the only Brisbane based V8 Supercar team since its formation, originally operating ...

won the Teams Championship and

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

was awarded the Manufacturers Championship.TeamVodafone scoops the pool
Retrieved from www.v8supercars.com.au on 10 January 2010

Race calendar

Mark Skaife At Queensland Raceway In 2008

Teams and drivers

The following teams and drivers contested the 2008 V8 Supercar Championship Series. * Phillip Island 500 only
** Bathurst 1000 only

Rule Changes

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.V8 Supercars to reward more teams in 2008 points score
Official Site of the Australian V8 Supercar Championship Series retrieved on 25 January 2008 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.

Technical changes

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

Driver changes

Russell Ingall Russell Ingall (born 24 February 1964 in London, England) is a former full-time Australian V8 Supercar driver. He won his V8 Supercars title in 2005, and finished second in 1998, 1999, 2001 and 2004. Ingall has also won the Bathurst 1000, i ...

signed with

Paul Morris Motorsport Paul Morris Motorsport, also known as its business name of Nemo Racing, is an Australian motor racing team that competed in V8 Supercars between 2000 and 2012. The team also won the 1997 AMP Bathurst 1000 and four Australian Super Touring Cha ...

and raced under the identity of Supercheap Auto Racing. In a complicated series of moves several drivers have been shuffled around the Holden teams. The juggling began with

Todd Kelly Todd Kelly (born 9 October 1979) is a retired Australian professional racing driver who competed in the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship. He is the older brother of fellow Supercars driver and former Bathurst 1000 winner, Rick Kelly. H ...

signing with

Perkins Engineering Perkins Engineering was a team contesting the Australian V8 Supercar Championship Series, operating as an active racing team between 1986 and 2008. From 2009 onwards, the involvement of Perkins Engineering in the championship wounded back into ...

. Reigning series champion

Garth Tander Garth Tander (born 31 March 1977) is a multiple-championship winning Australian motor racing driver competing in the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship's Enduro Cup, co-driving the No. 97 Holden ZB Commodore for Triple Eight Race Engineer ...

took the #1 plate to the

Holden Racing Team Walkinshaw Andretti United is an Australian motor racing team based in the Melbourne suburb of Clayton. The team currently fields two Holden ZB Commodores in the Supercars Championship for Nick Percat and Chaz Mostert, along with a Porsche 91 ...

with

Toll Toll may refer to: Transportation * Toll (fee) a fee charged for the use of a road or waterway ** Road pricing, the modern practice of charging for road use ** Road toll (historic), the historic practice of charging for road use ** Shadow toll, ...

sponsorship and some key personnel led by Rob Crawford transfer across teams with him. And finally, former Supercheap Auto driver

Paul Dumbrell Paul Dumbrell (born 1 September 1982) is an Australian business executive and retired racing driver. Racing history Junior career Son of former racing driver Garry Dumbrell, Paul Dumbrell started racing in karts in 1996 and by the end of 1997 D ...

took Tander's seat at the

HSV Dealer Team The HSV Dealer Team, previously known as the K-Mart Racing Team, was an Australian V8 Supercar team. The team ceased operations at the end of 2008, with Walkinshaw Racing and Kelly Racing being formed by owners and staff of the former team. The ...

. Second tier Fujitsu series champion team

Tony D'Alberto Racing Tony D'Alberto Racing, was a motor racing team which competed in the V8 Supercars Championship, an Australian based motor racing series. The team, which was owned by the D'Alberto family, operated a single entry for Tony D'Alberto while on occasi ...

moved to the V8 Supercar series, and took over the running of the

Rod Nash Racing Rod Nash Racing is a Supercars Championship racing entity, owned by Rod Nash. Nash co-owns Tickford Racing and since 2018, Rod Nash Racing has run under the Tickford name. Racing history Privateer entry Rod Nash first appeared in the series in ...

owned franchise, replacing Independent Racing Cars who previously operated the team.

Tony D'Alberto Antonio 'Tony' D'Alberto (born 9 December 1985) is an Australian professional racing driver. He currently drives the No.11 Ford Mustang GT for Dick Johnson Racing as a co-driver in the Bathurst 1000. Racing career Formula Ford D'Alberto began ...

replaced Steve Owen as driver.A full field
motorsport enews retrieved on 29 January 2008

Paul Cruickshank Racing Paul Cruickshank Racing was an Australian motor racing team that competed in several Sports Car and Touring Car categories. History While new to the championship in 2006, Cruickshank has run several cars in the Fujitsu V8 Supercars Series, Dev ...

signed

Fabian Coulthard Fabian "Fabs" Coulthard (born 28 July 1982) is a British-born New Zealand professional race car driver, currently competing in the Repco Supercars Championship, driving as an endurance co-driver for Chaz Mostert with Walkinshaw Andretti United ...

to replace the retired John Bowe.Old faces, new seats
motorsport enews retrieved on 18 December 2007

Marcus Marshall Marcus Marshall (born 25 November 1978) is a former Champ Car driver from Australia. Biography He began racing in British Formula Three, where he was generally a running outside the top ten, but took a hard-fought win in a wet race. He contes ...

drove the

Irwin Irwin may refer to: Places ;United States * Irwin, California * Irwin, Idaho * Irwin, Illinois * Irwin, Iowa * Irwin, Nebraska * Irwin, Ohio * Irwin, Pennsylvania * Irwin, South Carolina * Irwin County, Georgia * Irwin Township, Venango County, Pe ...

backed Falcon at

Britek Motorsport Britek Motorsport was an Australian Supercars Championship, Supercars motor racing team owned by Bathurst 1000 winning driver Jason Bright. Established in 2005, the team originally ran as an independent team, however since 2010, its only remaini ...

Dean Canto Dean Justin Canto (born 24 September 1980) is a multiple-championship winning Australian motor racing driver. Best noted as a Supercars driver, Canto was the inaugural winner of the second-tier V8 Supercar development series in 2000, and the fir ...

announced on his website that he had his contract with

Garry Rogers Motorsport Garry Rogers Motorsport is an Australian motor racing team. It is owned by retired racing driver Garry Rogers who began the team to further his own racing efforts. Based in Melbourne, originally out of a Nissan dealership owned by Rogers, the te ...

terminated a year early. He later drove for Ford Performance Racing in the endurance events.Statement regarding Dean Canto and the 2008 series
Dean Canto Racing retrieved on 12 January 2008

announced their new driver as Fujitsu series runner up, and

WPS Racing WPS Racing was an Australian motor racing team that competed in Australian V8 Supercar racing between 2004 and 2007. It was owned by Queensland businessman Craig Gore and sponsored by his Wright Patton Shakespeare company. History In 2003, W ...

enduro driver, Michael Caruso.Michael Caruso joins Garry Rogers Motorsport
Official Site of the Australian V8 Supercar Championship Series retrieved on 14 January 2008

Team Kiwi Racing Team Kiwi Racing is a racing team that previously competed in the Australian V8 Supercar series, the Australian Carrera Cup Series, The New Zealand 2.0ltr Touring Car Championship, The NZV8 Championship and BMW Championship Series. The team has s ...

purchased a former

Falcon and ran the car themselves. While the team had not made a formal announcement, V8Supercars have published Fujitsu series front runner

Kayne Scott Kayne Scott (born 21 June 1968 in Hamilton, New Zealand) started his motorsport career by competing in motocross at the age of 12. Scott is a five time New Zealand Trans-Am Series, Trans-Am champion and won the 2005/06 New Zealand V8s series. He ...

as the team's driver.TKR goes it alone, Scott driving
crash.net retrieved on 15 January 2008V8 Supercar Championship Series gets full 2008 grid
Official Site of the Australian V8 Supercar Championship Series retrieved on 31 January 2008 Although due to a date clash with Round 2 and the final of the New Zealand V8 series, Scott was not available and was replaced by

Chris Pither Chris Pither (born 3 December 1986) is a New Zealand professional racing driver, currently competing in the Supercars Championship driving the No. 22 Holden ZB Commodore for PremiAir Racing. Pither has won eight national championships inclu ...

.Pither: Kiwi Sub
motorsport enews retrieved on 4 March 2008 Reversing a previous decision to fold their team,

Paul Weel Racing Paul Weel Racing was an Australian motor racing team which competed in the V8 Supercars Championship Series between 1998 and 2008. Ford Years After some brief appearances in 1997 in minor events, Paul Weel Racing debuted in the 1998 Australi ...

announced their return for the 2008 season and ran a single VE Commodore for Andrew Thompson.Andrew Thompson signs with PWR Racing
Official Site of the Australian V8 Supercar Championship Series retrieved on 25 January 2008 Former PWR racer

Cameron McConville Cameron 'Conkers' McConville (born 22 January 1974) is an Australian racing driver and motorsport celebrity. While retired from full-time competition, McConville still races occasionally and is an in-demand endurance event co-driver. McConville ...

signed with

Brad Jones Racing Brad Jones Racing is an Australian motor racing team owned by Brad Jones based in Albury. The team competes in the Supercars Championship and the Super2 Series. Recently they have also returned to Australian Formula Ford where Brad and Kim be ...

, a team he raced for previously in the mid-90s when it ran the

Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. As a subsidiary of its parent company, the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. Th ...

Super Touring program. The team also changed manufacturer camps to become a Holden team and ran with the technical assistance of

Walkinshaw Performance Walkinshaw Performance is an automotive company involved in motor racing and the production of high performance sporting cars for regular road use. The company was founded by former racing driver, Scottish businessman, Tom Walkinshaw and is essentia ...

, the organisation that runs the

and

s.New Cars, New Driver for Team BOC
Team BOC website retrieved on 29 January 2008 Ford Rising Stars Racing named

Formula 3 Euroseries The Formula 3 Euro Series was a European-based junior single seater formula for Formula Three chassis that was launched (in its current form) in 2003 as a merger of the French Formula Three Championship and German Formula Three Championship. The ...

racer

Michael Patrizi Michael Patrizi (born 4 May 1984) is an Australian racing driver. Biography Starting off in karts in his native Western Australia, he moved to Formula Ford in 2004, then to Formula BMW in Asia 2005, then UK in 2006. In 2007 he joined the compet ...

as the driver for their début season. However the team did not make their season debut until the third round of the year at the

Hamilton 400 The Hamilton 400, also known as the ITM Hamilton 400 for sponsorship reasons, was a V8 Supercar motor racing event held on the Hamilton Street Circuit, Hamilton, New Zealand. The event was held from 2008 to 2012, and is one of only two New Zeala ...

. The team utilised the second of the two

franchises.Chance and Challenge
motorsport enews retrieved on 30 January 2008

Stone Brothers Racing Stone Brothers Racing (SBR) was an Australian motor racing team that competed in the International V8 Supercars Championship between 1998 and 2012. The team was formed in 1998 when Ross and Jim Stone bought Alan Jones's shares in Alan Jones ...

named teenager

Shane van Gisbergen Shane Robert van Gisbergen (born 9 May 1989) is a New Zealand racing driver in the Supercars Championship racing in the Number 97 Holden ZB Commodore car for Triple Eight Race Engineering. With three Supercars Championship wins (2016, 2021, 202 ...

to the #9 Ford Falcon, replacing

. Van Gisbergen was linked to SBR last season and was placed with

in the second half of the season after TKR's previous partnership with

Ford Performance Racing Tickford Racing (formerly known as Prodrive Racing Australia and Ford Performance Racing) is an Australian motor racing team which competes in the Supercars Championship. The team currently campaigns three Ford Mustangs, with their current drive ...

dissolved.Van Gisbergen claims prize SBR drive
Stone Brothers Racing website retrieved on 30 January 2008 Despite previously announcing that they would be forced to sell their franchise from lack of a major sponsor and technical partner,Walden Motorsport Forced To Sell Or Lease Licence.
Norrgard Motorsport Development retrieved on 21 December 2007

Walden Motorsport Walden Motorsport is a specialist race car preparation outfit in Western Sydney owned by Brian Walden. History Running in Production Car and Improved Production Car events, it entered the 1997 ARDC AMSCAR series and Bathurst 1000 with an ex Ter ...

had committed to run and V8Supercar's website had named

Australian Production Car Championship The Australian Production Car Championship is an Australian motor racing title for production cars, sanctioned by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS). The championship was first contested in 1987 and from 2008 to 2015 the title was ...

racer

Garth Walden Garth Walden is best known as a race driver in his native Australia. He is the son of well-known Sydney race specialist Brian Walden. He has raced in various classes, probably known for his V8 Supercar Season in 2004, driving a privately entered ...

as the driver in the teams

Ford Falcon Ford Falcon is an automobile nameplate applied to several vehicles worldwide. * Ford Falcon (North America), an automobile produced by Ford from 1960 to 1970. * Ford Falcon (Argentina), a car built by Ford Argentina from 1962 until 1991. * Fo ...

, although it has yet to be confirmed that the team actually have possession of an eligible car. After failing to appear at the first two rounds the franchise has been placed for sale.Walden licence for sale
Official Site of the Australian V8 Supercar Championship Series retrieved on 20 March 2008

announced the closure of the team with the vehicles and equipment sold off to new owners. The franchises have already been sold within TEGA. The team cite business and health issues affecting team principal Craig Gore.WPS/Wow Racing Withdraws From V8 Supercars, 11/02/2008, www.wpsracing.net.au, as archived at web.archive.org
/ref>

Shane Price Shane Price, (born 26 December 1986 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) is an Australian motor racing driver who raced for two seasons in the V8 Supercar Championship Series in 2007 and 2008. He has been a front runner in several different motor ...

was sacked from the

a week after the

Bathurst 1000 The Bathurst 1000 (formally known as the Repco Bathurst 1000) is a touring car race held annually on the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It is currently run as part of the Supercars Championship, the most recen ...

and replaced with endurance co-driver Jack Perkins.Price dumped for Perkins
Official Site of the Australian V8 Supercar Championship Series retrieved on 21 October 2008

Results and standings

Drivers Championship

Teams Championship

won the Teams Championship. * (s) denotes a single-car team.

Manufacturers Championship

won the Manufacturers Championship having won more rounds than rival

Holden Holden, formerly known as General Motors-Holden, was an Australian subsidiary company of General Motors. It was an Australian automobile manufacturer, importer, and exporter which sold cars under its own marque in Australia. In its last thre ...

.Ford Wins 2008 Manufacturer's Championship
Archived at www.webcitation.org on 10 January 2010

References

External links

Official V8 Supercar website

2008 Racing Results Archive

2008 V8 Supercar images
Retrieved from www.motorsport.com on 20 May 2009 {{Australian Touring Car Racing Supercars Championship seasons

V8 Supercar Championship Series The Supercars Championship is a touring car racing category in Australia, running as an International Series under Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) regulations, governing the sport. Supercars events take place in all Australian ...