The 2003 Formula Nippon Championship was contested over 10 rounds. 10 different teams and 21 different drivers competed. All teams had to use Lola chassis (Lola B03/51) and Mugen Honda (Mugen MF308) engines.
At race 5 a sprint race of 18 laps (104.526 km) set the grid for the main race. The sprint race winner Richard Lyons started from pole in the main race. Takeshi Tsuchiya set pole position for the sprint race.