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.
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 Racing – Formula 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]
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.
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]
Points are awarded to any driver that completes 75% of race distance and is running on the completion of the final lap.
Pos
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
10th
11th
12th
13th
14th
15th
16th
17th
18th
19th
20th
21st
22nd
23rd
24th
25th
26th
27th
28th
29th
30th
Adelaide
150
138
129
120
111
102
96
90
84
78
72
69
66
63
60
57
54
51
48
45
42
39
36
33
30
27
24
21
18
15
Std
100
92
86
80
74
68
64
60
56
52
48
46
44
42
40
38
36
34
32
30
28
26
24
22
20
18
16
14
12
10
L&H 500 Qual
50
46
43
40
37
34
32
30
28
26
24
23
22
21
20
19
18
17
16
15
14
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
L&H 500 Feature
200
184
172
160
148
136
128
120
112
104
96
92
88
84
80
76
72
68
64
60
56
52
48
44
40
36
32
28
24
20
Bathurst
300
276
258
240
222
204
192
180
168
156
144
138
132
126
120
114
108
102
96
90
84
78
72
66
60
54
48
42
36
30
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.
^Walden had purchased a Racing Entitlements Contract and had been entered in the first round. Having initially entered a Holden Commodore VE but not purchased one, the team attempted to source a Ford Falcon BF but could not do so in time for the event and did not participate, despite Walden himself being in attendance.[3][4]
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