2003 Berlin Thunder season
The 2003 Berlin Thunder season was the fifth season for the franchise in the NFL Europe League (NFLEL). The team was led by head coach Peter Vaas in his fourth year, and played its home games at Olympic Stadium in Berlin, Germany. They finished the regular season in sixth place with a record of three wins and seven losses.


2003 Bermudian general election
General elections were held in Bermuda on 24 July 2003. The result was a victory for the Progressive Labour Party, which won 22 of the 36 seats in the House of Assembly.


2003 Betta Electrical Sandown 500
The 2003 Betta Electrical Sandown 500 was an endurance race for V8 Supercars. The event was staged at the Sandown International Raceway near Melbourne in Victoria, Australia on 14 September 2003 as Round 9 of the 2003 V8 Supercar Championship Series. The programmed race distance was 161 laps of the 3.1 km circuit (499 km) however the race was declared at 141 laps (437 km) due to the effects of the weather and a 19-minute delayed start due to a support category incident. It was the 36th Sandown 500 endurance race.


2003 Betta Electrical Sandown 500
The race was won by Mark Skaife and Todd Kelly driving a  Holden VY Commodore.


2003 Betta Electrical Sandown 500, Race results
+ Mark Porter did not drive car 021 during the race and Tim Leahey did not drive car 3 during the race.


2003 Bhutan A-Division
The 2003 season of the Bhutanese A-Division was the ninth recorded season of top-flight football in Bhutan. 10 teams competed, and the championship was won by Druk Pol, their second title in a row and seventh in the last eight seasons. It is assumed that Veterans were promoted having won the final of the B-Division.


2003 Big 12 Championship Game
The 2003 Big 12 Football Championship Game was played on December 6, 2003 in Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. The game determined the 2003 football champion of the Big 12 Conference. The Oklahoma Sooners, winners of the South division of the Big 12, were upset by the Kansas State Wildcats, who won the North division, by a score of 35–7. This was the second time the two teams met in the Big 12 Championship Game. The first was the 2000 Big 12 Championship Game, a game in which Oklahoma won 27-24.


2003 Big 12 Championship Game, Leading up to the game
The Sooners came into the game already being called possibly the greatest team in college football history. They were undefeated, boasting a 12–0 record, including 8–0 in conference play. They ranked first in points scored per game (48.3) and points allowed (13.1) per game. They also came in with dominant victories of 65–13 and 77–0 over Texas and Texas A&M, respectively.


2003 Big 12 Championship Game, Leading up to the game
The Wildcats came into the game 10–3, with a 6–2 mark in conference play. The Wildcats lost at home to Marshall in September, and followed it up with losses to #13 Texas in Austin, and Oklahoma State in Stillwater. The Wildcats would go on to win six games in a row, including their first win in Lincoln against the Nebraska Cornhuskers since 1968, clinching their third division title, and their third Big 12 Championship Game appearance.


2003 Big 12 Championship Game, Game summary
In one of the most stunning upsets in national conference championship history, Kansas State upended Oklahoma, consensus No. 1 in the polls for 16 consecutive weeks, 35–7. This was the fourth consecutive win for the North Division champ in an odd-numbered year – Nebraska in 1997 and ’99, Colorado in 2001 and KSU in 2003.


2003 Big 12 Championship Game, Game summary
Kansas State head coach Bill Snyder’s squad played fundamental football in the Wildcats’ third trip to the title game, amassing 519 yards of total offense and clutch defense in the red zone to produce victory.


2003 Big 12 Championship Game, Game summary
On the first possession of the game, it appeared another Oklahoma rout would take place as Kejuan Jones 42-yard touchdown run just 2:49 into the game gave Oklahoma a 7–0 advantage.


2003 Big 12 Championship Game, Game summary
Snyder’s Wildcats then began a 35–0 run almost 15 minutes later in game time as tight end Brian Casey caught a 19-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ell Roberson. After taking over at their own 27-yard line, the drive lasted four plays and 58 seconds for 73 yards.


2003 Big 12 Championship Game, Game summary
The drive was the first of three touchdown drives on the Wildcats’ next four possessions. After the initial score, Oklahoma’s offense went three-and-out and had a missed field goal and an interception during their next five possessions.


2003 Big 12 Championship Game, Game summary
Roberson and All-America running back Darren Sproles turned the tide with a 21-point second quarter. Roberson had 30.3 yards per connection and threw three TD passes in the opening half while Sproles rumbled to an eventual championship record of 235 rushing yards.


2003 Big 12 Championship Game, Game summary
Two of the nation’s testiest defenses entering the game allowed almost 1,000 yards (917 total), but the Wildcats limited the nation’s No. 1 scoring team (48.3 points per game) to a touchdown and added a defensive score to ice the game with 10:16 left to play. Sophomore linebacker Ted Sims returned an interception 27 yards for the fifth K-State touchdown of the night.


2003 Big 12 Championship Game, Scoring summary
First Quarter OU (0–7) - Kejuan Jones 42-yard run (Trey DiCarlo kick); 12:11


2003 Big 12 Championship Game, Scoring summary
Second Quarter KSU (7–7) -  Brian Casey 19-yard pass from Ell Roberson (Joe Rheem kick); 13:57 KSU (14–7) - James Terry 63-yard pass from Roberson (Rheem kick); 11:34 KSU (21–7) - Darren Sproles 60-yard pass from Roberson (Rheem kick); 3:18


2003 Big 12 Championship Game, Scoring summary
Third Quarter KSU (28–7) -  Antoine Polite 10-yard pass from Roberson (Rheem kick); 3:02


2003 Big 12 Championship Game, Scoring summary
Fourth Quarter KSU (35–7) - Ted Sims 27-yard interception return (Rheem kick); 10:16


2003 Big 12 Championship Game, After the game
Despite the blowout defeat, the Sooners would only fall to #2 in the BCS rankings and go on to play in the 2004 Sugar Bowl (National Championship game), losing to the LSU Tigers, 21–14.


2003 Big 12 Championship Game, After the game
Kansas State went on to lose to the Ohio State Buckeyes in the 2004 Fiesta Bowl, 35–28.


2003 Big 12 Conference Baseball Tournament
The 2003 Big 12 Conference Baseball Tournament was once again held at AT&T Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City, OK (after a one-year hiatus) from May 21 through May 25. Texas won their second consecutive tournament and earned the Big 12 Conference's automatic bid to the 2003 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament. The tournament mirrored the format of the College World Series, with two 4-team double-elimination brackets and a final championship game.


2003 Big 12 Conference Softball Tournament
The 2003 Big 12 Conference Softball tournament was held at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, OK from May 1 through May 4, 2003. Texas won their third conference tournament and earned the Big 12 Conference's automatic bid to the 2003 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament.


2003 Big 12 Conference Softball Tournament
Texas, Oklahoma State, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas A&M and Nebraska received bids to the NCAA tournament. Texas and Oklahoma would go on to play in the 2003 Women's College World Series.


2003 Big 12 Conference Women's Basketball Tournament
The 2003 Big 12 Conference Women's Basketball Tournament was held March 11–15, 2003 at Reunion Arena in Dallas, TX.


2003 Big 12 Conference Women's Basketball Tournament
Number 1 seed Texas defeated number 3 seed Texas Tech 67–57 to win their first championship and receive the conference's automatic bid to the 2003 NCAA Tournament.


2003 Big 12 Conference Women's Basketball Tournament, Seeding
The Tournament consisted of a 12 team single-elimination tournament with the top 4 seeds receiving a bye.


2003 Big 12 Conference Women's Soccer Tournament
The 2003 Big 12 Conference Women's Soccer Tournament was the postseason women's soccer tournament for the Big 12 Conference held from November 6 to 9, 2003. The 7-match tournament was held at the Blossom Athletic Center in San Antonio, TX with a combined attendance of 4,293. The 8-team single-elimination tournament consisted of three rounds based on seeding from regular season conference play. The Oklahoma State Cowgirls defeated the Missouri Tigers in the championship match to win their 1st conference tournament.


2003 Big 12 Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2003 Big 12 Men's Basketball Tournament was played at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, making it the first time the tournament was ever played outside Kansas City.


2003 Big 12 Men's Basketball Tournament, Seeding
The Tournament consisted of a 12 team single-elimination tournament with the top 4 seeds receiving a bye.


2003 Big East Conference Baseball Tournament
The 2003 Big East Conference Baseball Tournament was held at Commerce Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater, NJ. This was the nineteenth annual Big East Conference Baseball Tournament. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish won their second tournament championship in a row and claimed the Big East Conference's automatic bid to the 2003 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament. Notre Dame would go on to win five championships in a row.


2003 Big East Conference Baseball Tournament, Format and seeding
The Big East baseball tournament was a 4 team double elimination tournament in 2003. The top four regular season finishers were seeded one through four based on conference winning percentage only.


2003 Big East Conference Baseball Tournament, Jack Kaiser Award
Javi Sanchez was the winner of the 2003 Jack Kaiser Award. Sanchez was a junior catcher for Notre Dame.


2003 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2003 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament, a part of the 2002–03 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, took place from March 12 – March 15, 2003 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Its winner will receive the Big East Conference's automatic bid to the 2003 NCAA Tournament. It was a single-elimination tournament with four rounds and the four highest seeds (two from each Big East division) receive byes in the first round.


2003 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament
The 6 Big East teams with the best conference records from both the East and West Divisions of the Big East Conference were invited to participate. Boston College, who had an identical 10–6 record as Connecticut, received the #1 seed from the East Division due to a tie breaker. Likewise, Syracuse, who had an identical 13–3 conference record to Pitt, received the #1 seed from West Division due to tiebreakers. Virginia Tech from the East Division and Rutgers from the West Division failed to make the tournament. Pittsburgh defeated Connecticut, 74–56, in the finals to earn its first Big East Tournament Championship.


2003 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament, Bracket
Note: By finishing in last place during the regular season in their respective divisions, Virginia Tech and Rutgers did not qualify for the tournament.


2003 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament, Championship Game
On March 15, Pittsburgh won their first-ever Big East Tournament, defeating Connecticut 74–56. They led by one at half-time, but quickly extended their lead in the second half. Jaron Brown led the Panthers with a career-high 19 points. Brown converted all six of his free throw attempts and was 6-of-9 from the field. He added ten rebounds to notch his fourth career double-double. Julius Page and Brandin Knight finished with 16 points apiece, and Chevon Troutman had 12. Page, a junior, averaged 13.3 points and 3.7 rebounds on 47.1 percent shooting (16-for-37) in the three tournament games. He won the Tournament MVP award. Knight averaged 12.0 points, 5.3 assists, 3.3 steals, and 3.3 rebounds in the tournament.


2003 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament, Championship Game
It was the third straight title game reached for Pittsburgh. Howland and the Panthers lost to Uconn in double overtime in 2002. It tied the largest margin of victory for a Panther team in the Big East Tournament. They also defeated Boston College by eighteen, winning 88–70 on March 8, 2000. The win was Pittsburgh's ninth in a row, tying their season high. They also won nine in a row to begin the season.


2003 Big League World Series
The 2003 Big League World Series took place from August 2–9 in Easley, South Carolina, United States. Host Easley, South Carolina defeated Thousand Oaks, California in the championship game.


2003 Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2003 Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Tournament was held March 8–12 at the Dee Events Center at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah.


2003 Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
Top-seeded Weber State defeated Eastern Washington in the championship game, 60–57, to win their seventh Big Sky men's basketball tournament title. It was EWU's third consecutive Big Sky championship game loss.


2003 Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
The Wildcats, in turn, received an automatic bid to the 2003 NCAA Tournament. No other Big Sky members were invited this year.


2003 Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, Format
No new teams were added to the Big Sky prior to the 2002–03 season, leaving total membership at eight. Despite joining the conference in 1996, this was Sacramento State's first appearance in a Big Sky tournament.


2003 Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, Format
No changes were made to the existing tournament format. Only the top six teams from the regular season conference standings were invited to the tournament. The two top teams were given byes into the semifinals while the third- through sixth-seeded teams were placed and paired into the preliminary quarterfinal round. Following the quarterfinals, the two victorious teams were re-seeded in the semifinal round, with the lowest-seeded remaining team paired with the tournament's highest seed and vis-versa for the other.


2003 Big South Conference Baseball Tournament
The 2003 Big South Conference Baseball Tournament  was the postseason baseball tournament for the Big South Conference, held from May 21–25, 2003 at Winthrop Ballpark, home field of Winthrop in Rock Hill, South Carolina. The top six finishers participated in the double-elimination tournament. The champion, Coastal Carolina, won the title for the sixth time, and third in a row, and earned an invitation to the 2003 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament.


2003 Big South Conference Baseball Tournament, Format
The top six finishers from the regular season qualified for the tournament. The teams were seeded one through six based on conference winning percentage and played a double-elimination tournament. Birmingham–Southern was not eligible for championships as they completed their transition from NCAA Division II.


2003 Big South Conference Baseball Tournament, All-Tournament Team, Most Valuable Player
Steven Carter was named Tournament Most Valuable Player. Carter was a pitcher for Coastal Carolina, and won the award for the first of two consecutive years. Through 2020, Carter is the only player to earn the award twice.


2003 Big South Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2003 Big South Conference Men's Basketball Tournament took place March 4–8, 2003 at campus sites. The tournament was won by the UNC Asheville Bulldogs, their first tournament championship, as well as first under head coach Eddie Biedenbach.


2003 Big South Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, Format
All eight teams participated in the tournament. Teams were seeded by conference winning percentage. For the quarterfinals, all games were hosted at campus sites, with home-field advantage going to the higher seed, while the semifinals and finals were played at the Vines Center in Lynchburg, Virginia, the home of Liberty University. This was the last year for Elon as a member of the Big South.


2003 Big South Conference football season
The 2003 Big South Conference football season was the second football season for the Big South Conference. The season began on Saturday, August 30, 2003 and concluded on November 22. The Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs won the conference's regular season championship, their second consecutive title.


2003 Big Ten Baseball Tournament
The 2003 Big Ten Conference Baseball Tournament was held at Siebert Field on the campus of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota from May 15 through 19. The top six teams from the regular season participated in the double-elimination tournament, the twenty second annual tournament sponsored by the Big Ten Conference to determine the league champion. Ohio State won their sixth tournament championship and earned the Big Ten Conference's automatic bid to the 2003 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament.


2003 Big Ten Baseball Tournament, Format and seeding
The 2003 tournament was a 6-team double-elimination tournament, with seeds determined by conference regular season winning percentage only. Using the same format from 2002, the top two seeds received a single bye, with the four lower seeds playing opening round games. The top seed played the lowest seeded winner from the opening round, with the second seed playing the higher seed. Teams that lost in the opening round played an elimination game.


2003 Big Ten Baseball Tournament, All-Tournament Team, Most Outstanding Player
Brett Garrard was named Most Outstanding Player. Garrard was a shortstop for Ohio State.


2003 Big Ten Conference football season
The 2003 Big Ten Conference football season was the 108th season for the Big Ten Conference.


2003 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2003 Big Ten Conference Men's Basketball Tournament was played between March 13 and March 16, 2003 at United Center in Chicago, Illinois. The championship was won by Illinois who defeated Ohio State in the championship game. As a result, Illinois received the Big Ten's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The win marked Illinois' first tournament championship following two prior championship game appearances.


2003 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament, Seeds
All Big Ten schools played in the tournament. Teams were seeded by conference record, with a tiebreaker system used to seed teams with identical conference records. Seeding for the tournament was determined at the close of the regular conference season. The top five teams received a first round bye.


2003 Big West Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2003 Big West Conference Men's Basketball Tournament was held March 13–15 at Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California.


2003 Big West Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
Utah State defeated Cal Poly in the championship game, 57–54, to obtain the fifth Big West Conference Men's Basketball Tournament championship in school history.


2003 Big West Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
The Aggies participated in the 2003 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament after earning the conference's automatic bid.


2003 Big West Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, Format
Eight of the ten teams in the conference participated, with UC Riverside and Long Beach State not qualifying. Teams were seeded based on regular season conference records.


2003 Billboard Music Awards
These are the winners of the 2003 Billboard Music Awards, an awards show based on chart performance, and number of downloads and total airplay. All winners are in bold. Beyoncé won 5 awards out of 6 nominations, while R Kelly and 50 Cent both won 4 awards out of 5 nominations.


2003 Bingöl earthquake
The 2003 Bingöl earthquake hit eastern Turkey with a moment magnitude of 6.4 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent) on 1 May at 03:27 local time. The epicenter of this strike-slip earthquake was in Bingöl Province, 15 km north of Bingöl. At least 177 people were killed, and 625 buildings collapsed or suffered heavy damage in the affected region. Eighty-Four of the fatalities occurred when a dormitory block collapsed in a boarding school in Celtiksuyu.


2003 Bingöl earthquake, Tectonic setting
Most of Turkey lies on the Anatolian Plate, which is being forced westwards by the collision between the Arabian Plate and the Eurasian Plate. This westward movement is accommodated by two large strike-slip fault zones, the west–east trending right lateral North Anatolian Fault in the north of the country and the SW-NE trending left lateral East Anatolian Fault towards the south-east. Movement on these two faults has been responsible for many large and damaging earthquakes historically.


2003 Bingöl earthquake, Earthquake
The earthquake occurred on May 1, 2003, with a depth of 15 km (9.3 mi). It was a strike-slip. it lasted about 17 seconds with a magnitude of 6.4. It occurred at 3:27 am local time.


2003 Bingöl earthquake, Damage
The earthquake damaged hundreds of buildings made of reinforced concrete and masonry. Many school buildings constructed within the last six years were heavily damaged. A total of 177 people were killed. 84 of the fatalities occurred when a dormitory block collapsed in a boarding school. A total 8,417 houses being damaged, of which 305 collapsed, 3,000 heavily damaged, 2,566 moderately damaged, and 2,546 slightly damaged. More than 90% of the schools in Bingöl were impacted, 4 schools collapsed, and 11 were lightly damaged. The school where the dormitory block collapsed was a 5-story building, which itself collapsed within seconds. Three hospitals in  Bingöl were damaged.


2003 Birthday Honours
The 2003 Queen's Birthday Honours were announced on 14 June 2003 for the United Kingdom and on 2 June 2003 for New Zealand.


2003 Birthday Honours
The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour.


2003 Birthday Honours (New Zealand)
The 2003 Queen's Birthday Honours in New Zealand, celebrating the official birthday of Queen Elizabeth II, were appointments made by the Queen in her right as Queen of New Zealand, on the advice of the New Zealand government, to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by New Zealanders. They were announced on 2 June 2003.


2003 Birthday Honours (New Zealand)
The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour.


2003 Blackpool Borough Council election
The 2003 Blackpool Borough Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of the Unitary Blackpool Borough Council in England. The Labour Party kept its overall majority and continued to run the council. Boundary changes had taken place since the last election in 2000 which reduced the number of seats by two. Overall turnout was 50.43%.


2003 Bob Jane T-Marts 1000
The 2003 Bob Jane T-Marts 1000 was a motor race for V8 Supercars held on 12 October 2003 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It was the seventh running of the Australia 1000 race, first held after the organisational split over the Bathurst 1000 that occurred in 1997. It was the 47th race that traces its lineage back to the 1960 Armstrong 500 held at Phillip Island. The race was the tenth round of the 2003 V8 Supercar Championship Series.


2003 Bob Jane T-Marts 1000
The race was won by Greg Murphy and Rick Kelly driving a K-Mart Racing Team run Holden Commodore (VY). It was the fifth consecutive victory for Holden, a new record. It was Murphy's third victory in the race and Kelly became the youngest driver to win the race, eclipsing the previous record set by Craig Lowndes in 1996.


2003 Bob Jane T-Marts 1000
On Saturday, Murphy also recorded what was then the fastest lap in the circuit's history to take pole position during the Top 10 Shootout. The time stood as the fastest ever in a V8 Supercar for 7 years until Craig Lowndes lapped barely a few hundredths faster in practice during the 2010 event, although neither are officially recognised as the lap record as only race laps contribute to lap records.


2003 Bob Jane T-Marts 1000, Qualifying, Top 10 Shootout
* Greg Murphy became the first New Zealand born driver to actually set pole position for the Bathurst 1000. Murphy and fellow Kiwi racers Jim Richards and Paul Radisich had previously been on pole position for the race, but on each of those occasions it was their Australian co-driver who had set the pole winning time. Murphy's time of 2:06.8594 was the first time a touring car had gone under 2:07.00 for a lap of the 6.213 km (3.861 mi) circuit and was unofficially dubbed the "Lap of the Gods". * Larry Perkins crashed the #11 Castrol Perkins Racing Holden Commodore (VY) during Practice 4, with the damage substantial enough to rule it out for the Top 10 Shootout.


2003 Bob Jane T-Marts 1000, Qualifying, Starting grid
The following table represents the final starting grid for the race on Sunday:


2003 Bofrost Cup on Ice
The 2003 Bofrost Cup on Ice was held at the Emscher-Lippe-Halle in Gelsenkirchen from November 7 and 9. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. It was part of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series from its inception until 2003, when it was replaced by Cup of China. The 2003 competition was the first when it was not part of the Grand Prix. The 2003 competition debuted a new form of competition. Instead of a short program, singles and pairs perform a jumping and required elements contest, followed then by the free skating. Ice dancers perform their original and free dances.


2003 Boise State Broncos football team
The 2003 Boise State Broncos football team represented Boise State University in the 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season. Boise State competed as a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), and played their home games at Bronco Stadium in Boise, Idaho. The Broncos were led by third-year head coach Dan Hawkins. The Broncos finished the season 13–1 and 8–0 in conference to win their second consecutive WAC title and played in the Fort Worth Bowl, where they defeated TCU, 34–31.


2003 Bolsover District Council election
The 2003 Bolsover District Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of Bolsover District Council in Derbyshire, England. The whole council was up for election after boundary changes and the Labour party stayed in overall control of the council.


2003 Bolsover District Council election, Election result
Labour won 31 of the 37 seats on the council to keep a 25-seat majority on the council. Of the other 6 seats, 4 were won by independents, while the remaining 2 seats were taken by the Whitwell Residents Association, which won both seats in Whitwell ward. Overall turnout at the election was about 30%, reaching a high of 42.4% in Elmton-with-Creswell.


2003 Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council election
Elections to Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council were held on 1 May 2003. One third of the council was up for election and the Labour party lost overall control of the council to no overall control, for the first time since 1980. The Labour party continued to run the council in a minority administration.


2003 Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council election
20 seats were contested in the election, with 7 being won by the Labour Party, 7 by the Conservatives and 6 by the Liberal Democrats.


2003 Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council election, Council Composition
Prior to the election the composition of the council was:


2003 Bonnaroo Music Festival
The festival ran June 13–15, and 80,000 attended. In 2003, The Bonnaroo organizers planned a festival called Bonnaroo Northeast to take place in Riverhead, Long Island, New York. This festival, as well as the Field Day Festival, another festival to take place at the same site, were cancelled, however, in the weeks leading up to the event due to concern about securing permits in time.


2003 Bonnaroo Music Festival, Superjam
Dr. John (grand Piano/hammond b-3 and vocals), Mike Gordon (bass) Luther Dickinson (guitar and vocals), Stanton Moore (drums)


2003 Borno State gubernatorial election
The 2003 Borno State gubernatorial election occurred on April 19, 2003. Incumbent Governor, ANPP's Ali Modu Sheriff won election for a second term, defeating AD's Mala Kachalla and three other candidates. Sheriff allegedly sought for Boko Haram's assistance to win the election.


2003 Borno State gubernatorial election
Ali Modu Sheriff emerged the ANPP candidate in the gubernatorial primary election. His running mate was Adamu Shettima Yuguda Dibal.


2003 Borno State gubernatorial election, Electoral system
The Governor of Borno State is elected using the plurality voting system.


2003 Borno State gubernatorial election, Results
A total of four candidates registered with the Independent National Electoral Commission to contest in the election. ANPP candidate, Ali Modu Sheriff, defeated the Incumbent Governor and three others to win the election.


2003 Borno State gubernatorial election, Results
The total number of registered voters in the state was 2,156,019. However, only 37.92% (i.e. 817,533) of registered voters participated in the exercise.


2003 Boston City Council election
Boston City Council elections were held on November 4, 2003. Nine seats (five representatives and four at-large members) were contested in the general election, as the incumbents for districts 2, 3, 5, and 7 ran unopposed. Six seats (the four at-large positions, plus districts 4 and 6) had also been contested in the preliminary election held on September 23, 2003.


2003 Boston City Council election, At-large
Councillors Michael F. Flaherty, Felix D. Arroyo, Maura Hennigan, and Stephen J. Murphy were re-elected. Patricia H. White, daughter of former Mayor of Boston Kevin White, was an unsuccessful candidate in this election.


2003 Boston College Eagles football team
The 2003 Boston College Eagles football team represented Boston College during the 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season. Boston College was a member of the Big East Conference. The Eagles played their home games at Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, which has been their home stadium since 1957.


2003 Boston Marathon
The 2003 Boston Marathon was the 107th running of the annual marathon race in Boston, United States and was held on April 21. The elite men's race was won by Kenya's Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot in a time of 2:10:11 hours and the women's race was won by Russia's Svetlana Zakharova in 2:25:20.


2003 Boston Red Sox season
The 2003 Boston Red Sox season was the 103rd season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox finished second in the American League East with a record of 95 wins and 67 losses, six games behind the New York Yankees, who went on to win the AL championship. The Red Sox qualified for the postseason as the AL wild card, and defeated the American League West champion Oakland Athletics in the ALDS. The Red Sox then lost to the Yankees in the ALCS.


2003 Boston Red Sox season
The Red Sox led the major leagues in nearly all offensive categories, including runs scored (961), batting average (.289), on-base percentage (.360), and perhaps most impressively, a .491 team slugging percentage, which set a new record previously held by the 1927 Yankees. They also had 649 extra-base hits, the most ever by one team in a single season.


2003 Boston Red Sox season
In May 2003, the Red Sox settled a lawsuit in federal court filed by seven men who claimed to have been sexually abused as boys by Red Sox clubhouse attendant Donald James Fitzpatrick at the team's spring training site in Winter Haven, Florida between 1971 and 1991. The lawsuit requested $3.15 million in damages but the terms of the settlement were not disclosed.


2003 Boston Red Sox season, Player stats, Batting, Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At Bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting Average; HR = Home Runs; RBI = Runs Batted In


2003 Boston Red Sox season, Player stats, Batting, Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At Bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting Average; HR = Home Runs; RBI = Runs Batted In


2003 Boston Red Sox season, Postseason, ALDS vs. Oakland Athletics
As the AL wild card, the Red Sox entered the first round of the playoffs against the Oakland Athletics. Despite losing the first two games in Oakland, Boston rebounded with two dramatic wins in the late innings at Fenway Park to even the series. When the series returned to Oakland, the Red Sox held off a late Oakland charge to win the series in five games. In doing so, they joined the 1995 Mariners and 1999 Red Sox in coming back from a two-game deficit to win a best-of-five ALDS.


2003 Boston Red Sox season, Postseason, ALCS vs. New York Yankees
The stage was set for a classic showdown with longtime division rival, the New York Yankees. The teams split the first two games in the Bronx before the real drama unfolded in Game 3 at Fenway Park. A highly anticipated matchup between Sox ace Pedro Martínez and former Sox' pitcher Roger Clemens turned ugly early on. Karim García was hit in the back by a Martínez fastball. Words were exchanged and Martínez threateningly gestured towards Yankee catcher Jorge Posada. When Garcia was forced out at second, he slid hard into Todd Walker.


2003 Boston Red Sox season, Postseason, ALCS vs. New York Yankees
The following inning, Manny Ramírez took exception to a high Clemens pitch and charged the mound. Both benches cleared, but the resulting brawl turned surreal when 72-year-old Yankee bench coach Don Zimmer charged Martínez. Martínez sidestepped and threw Zimmer to the ground. After a thirteen-minute delay, Clemens struck out Ramírez and proceeded to pitch effectively as the Yankees took a 2–1 series lead. The Red Sox won Game 4, but the Yankees won Game 5 to take the series' lead back to New York.


2003 Boston Red Sox season, Postseason, ALCS vs. New York Yankees
But Boston proved resilient, and their offense came alive for the first time in the series to the tune of nine runs on sixteen hits to force a seventh game. With a 4–0 lead early on and Martínez pitching, Boston appeared to be on the brink of winning the pennant. But more late-inning drama unfolded when the Yankees tied the game 5–5 with three eighth-inning runs off Martínez, sending the game on into the October night.


2003 Boston Red Sox season, Postseason, ALCS vs. New York Yankees
Yankee closer Mariano Rivera pitched three scoreless innings, and in the bottom of the eleventh, Aaron Boone turned on the first offering from Tim Wakefield and sent it into the frenzied bleachers of Yankee Stadium, sending the Yankees on to the World Series for the fifth time in six years. This game further cemented the legend many believed was The Curse of the Bambino.


2003 Boston Red Sox season, Farm system
The Portland Sea Dogs replaced the Trenton Thunder as the Red Sox' Double-A affiliate. The Red Sox fielded two teams in the Dominican Summer League, while not participating in the Venezuelan Summer League, following the Venezuelan general strike of 2002–03.


2003 Boumerdès earthquake
The 2003 Boumerdès earthquake occurred on May 21 at 19:44:21 local time in northern Algeria. The shock had a moment magnitude of 6.8 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme). The epicentre of the earthquake was located near the town of Thénia in Boumerdès Province, approximately 60 km east of the capital Algiers. The quake was the strongest to hit Algeria in more than twenty years – since 1980, when a magnitude 7.1 earthquake resulted in at least 2,633 deaths.


2003 Boumerdès earthquake, Tectonics
Northern Algeria is situated at the boundary between the African Plate and the Eurasian Plate, thus creating a zone of compression. This zone of compression manifests itself by several thrust and faults. Due to this location between two tectonic plates, many earthquakes occurred in the region. The mechanism of the earthquake on May 21 corresponds to a northeast-striking thrust fault named Zemmouri fault which was identified for the first time after this earthquake. According to the United States Geological Survey,


2003 Boumerdès earthquake, Tectonics
The earthquake occurred in the boundary region between the Eurasian plate and the African plate. Along this section of the plate boundary, the African plate is moving northwestward against the Eurasian plate with a velocity of about 6 mm per year. The relative plate motions create a compressional tectonic environment, in which earthquakes occur by thrust-faulting and strike-slip faulting. Analysis of seismic waves generated by this earthquake shows that it occurred as the result of thrust-faulting.


2003 Boumerdès earthquake, Damages and casualties
Approximately 2,266 people died, 10,261 injured, and 200,000 left homeless as a result of the earthquake. Reports indicate more than 1,243 buildings were completely or partially destroyed. Infrastructure was predictably damaged in Algiers, Boumerdès, Réghaïa and Thénia; roads in Algeria are generally of high quality, but many city streets and local roads were difficult to traverse because of debris from collapsed buildings. Bridges are constructed similarly to those in the US, with precast steel girders supporting a concrete deck. A few days after the earthquake, three major highway bridges were still closed. The last highway bridge to open was the Hussein Dey Bridge on July 5.


2003 Boumerdès earthquake, Damages and casualties
The quake generated a localized tsunami, which damaged boats off the coast of the Balearic Islands. The eastern side of Algiers was affected most; overall, the Boumerdès Province was the hardest-hit region. According to officials, roughly 400 people were killed in Algiers only. In the Boumerdès Province, several cities were heavily damaged, with Thénia, Zemmouri, and Boumerdès, being the worst affected. Many buildings built in the early twentieth century during the colonial rule suffered heavy damage in the Belcourt, Bab-El-Oued and El-Casbah areas in Algiers Province.


2003 Boumerdès earthquake, Damages and casualties
According to the Algerian Ministry of Housing, in the Algiers Province only approximately 554 schools suffered light damage, while nearly 330 schools received moderate damage and 11 were heavily damaged or completely destroyed. The University of Boumerdès was severely damaged, and many buildings in the area collapsed. Damage was also reported to the University of Science and Technology  in Bab Ezzouar, which has the largest university campus in Algeria.


2003 Boumerdès earthquake, Damages and casualties
A water treatment plant in Boudouaou, which provides more than 12% of the treated water to the Boumerdès and Algiers, suffered light damage to the clarifiers and clear water storage tanks. The water pipeline from the Keddara Dam to the water treatment plant was broken at a concrete junction structure at the dam, as well as at the treatment plant. The main power plant in Cap Djenet suffered minor to moderate damage. A high voltage switch yard located near Réghaïa had heavy damage.


2003 Boumerdès earthquake, Damages and casualties
Société Nationale des Transports Ferrovaires, Algeria's state-owned railway company, suffered track damage near the town of Thénia. Some tracks were also blocked by debris of destroyed buildings. Eighteen bridges in the affected region had minor to moderate damage. Cracks developed in some roads and highways. The port of Algiers, which at that time handled approximately 40% of the national cargo traffic, suffered light to moderate damage due to soil liquefaction and settlement caused by the earthquake. Port operations was reportedly reduced by 30% immediately after the quake. The minor ports in Zemmouri and Dellys received little damage. The airport control tower and terminal were moderately damaged.


2003 Boumerdès earthquake, Damages and casualties
The earthquake had significant effect on local communication. An 8,000 switch central office in the El Harrach area of Algiers completely destroyed and another 20,000 switch office was heavily damaged. Central offices in Boumerdes, Zemmouri and Tidjelabine were damaged. Submarine telecommunication cables also suffered damage. Two underwater fiber optic cables between Algeria and Spain received heavy damage due to undersea landslide caused by the quake.


2003 Boumerdès earthquake, Relief efforts
Many nations sent rescue teams to help in the search for earthquake survivors. International teams of relief workers went to the spot and became involved in rescuing people still trapped under rubble. International relief agencies engaged in supplies like shelter, food and water to the people who became homeless due to the quake. Sniffer dogs sent to Algeria to find survivors trapped under rubble. The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement co-ordinated the relief efforts. Medical and rescue teams were dispatched from European countries. The Red Cross of the People's Republic of China donated $50,000.


2003 Boumerdès earthquake, Relief efforts
Trucks were called into service to remove dead bodies from Algiers and surrounding towns and villages. Army units were deployed to assist the relief effort. Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia announced an aid of $7,000 for each victim. The government dispatched several ambulances, police personnel and electrical workers into the affected area. Tents, ambulances and engineering equipment were brought by the army. Water trucks were dispatched to the quake affected villages.


2003 Boumerdès earthquake, Relief efforts, Public anger
There was anger among the survivors over the fact that the local authorities did not provide them with temporary shelters. Government officials virtually did not take part in the relief efforts, but Islamic charities tried to provide quick assistance. The inability of the state to effectively respond to the disaster led to widespread criticism. The effects of the earthquake became worse because the construction industry in Algeria did not apply rigorous safety standards of earthquake engineering to build earthquake-proof buildings and several buildings lacked the architecture to withstand earthquakes.


2003 Boumerdès earthquake, Relief efforts, Public anger
New housing blocks constructed by the government and by individual builders were destroyed by the quake, but private building from the French period withstood the earthquake. This was another cause of public anger. Some people claimed that officials saved money by using below-standard material in construction projects. Many angry protesters threw debris when President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and Minister of State for the Interior and Local Authorities, Noureddine Yazid Zerhouni, tried to visit some affected regions. A crowd kicked and stoned the car of Bouteflika when he visited Boumerdès shouting "pouvoir assassin". Prime Minister Ouyahia expressed the view of possibility of corruption in the construction sector. A commission of inquiry was set up by the government to investigate the faulty construction of several buildings which collapsed in the quake.


2003 Bournemouth Borough Council election
Elections to Bournemouth Borough Council on the south coast of England were held on 1 May 2003. The whole council (a unitary authority) was up for election. The number of seats at this election was reduced from 57 to 54 (wards reduced from 19 to 18).


2003 Bowling Green Falcons football team
The 2003 Bowling Green Falcons football team represented Bowling Green State University in the 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Gregg Brandon and played their home games in Doyt Perry Stadium in Bowling Green, Ohio. It was the 85th season of play for the Falcons.


2003 Brabantse Pijl
The 2003 Brabantse Pijl was the 43rd edition of the Brabantse Pijl cycle race and was held on 30 March 2003. The race started in Zaventem and finished in Alsemberg. The race was won by Michael Boogerd.


2003 Bradford Bulls season
This article details the Bradford Bulls rugby league football club's 2003 season, the 8th season of the Super League era.


2003 Bradford Bulls season, Season review
The season started off well for the Bulls as they beat Warrington Wolves 38–12 in the 4th Round of the Challenge Cup. Bradford's start to the league campaign was shocking as they were hammered 46–22 by the 2002 champions St Helens R.F.C..


2003 Bradford Bulls season, Season review
Bradford continued their run in the Challenge Cup with an 82–0 victory over lower league Hunslet Hawks with Lesley Vainikolo grabbing a hat-trick. The Bulls got their 1st win of their league campaign with a hard fought 22–10 win against Wakefield Trinity Wildcats. Bradford progressed to the semi-finals of the Challenge Cup by beating Widnes Vikings 38–28 in the quarter-final. The Bulls got their first back to back wins of the season with an outstanding 62–22 victory against Halifax Blue Sox, both James Lowes and Robbie Paul both grabbed hat-tricks. Bradford finished the month off with a hard fought 26–18 win against Widnes Vikings.


2003 Bradford Bulls season, Season review
The Bulls continued their run of form by opening April with a comfortable 32–8 win over Warrington Wolves. Bradford progressed to the Challenge Cup Final as they beat Wigan Warriors 36–22 in the semi-final. The Bulls great league form continued with a 48–24 win over Hull FC. Bradford's month came to a spectacular end as they beat rivals Leeds Rhinos 22–20 to win the Challenge Cup. Tries from Robbie Paul, Jamie Peacock and Tevita Vaikona helped the Bulls win their 2nd Challenge Cup in the Super League era.


2003 Bradford Bulls season, Season review
The Bulls followed their Challenge Cup win with a hard fought 14–8 win against Wigan Warriors. The Bulls good form continued with a hard fought 30–10 win against Castleford Tigers which was made even harder when Leon Pryce was sent off. Bradford recorded a huge win as they beat Huddersfield Giants 52–6 with Robbie Paul scoring a hat-trick. The Bulls finished May with an impressive 48–22 win against arch rivals Leeds Rhinos.


2003 Bradford Bulls season, Season review
Bradford started June with an unfortunate 22–12 loss to London Broncos with Dennis Moran tearing the Bulls apart and scoring a hat-trick. The Bulls got back to winning ways as they edged out Hull F.C. to win the game 26–20. Bradford once again came away with the 2 points as they beat Warrington Wolves 24–20. The Bulls came crashing back to earth as Wigan Warriors beat them 35–22. Bradford then were demolished 35–0 by St Helens R.F.C. at the end of the month.


2003 Bradford Bulls season, Season review
The Bulls started July with a 30–18 win against Wakefield Trinity Wildcats to get the Bulls back to winning ways. Bradford backed this win up with a 60–12 victory over Halifax Blue Sox. The Bulls continued their fine form with a 40–8 win against Widnes Vikings. The streak continued with a 40–20 win over Castleford Tigers and then a 60–6 win against London Broncos where Leon Pryce scored 4 tries.


2003 Bradford Bulls season, Season review
Bradford continued their form into August as they beat Huddersfield Giants 30–16 and then followed this up by beating Leeds Rhinos 18–16 at Headingley Stadium. The Bulls also beat Hull F.C. 36–22 in the middle of the month before losing 26–12 to Wigan Warriors. Bradford bounced back and hammered London Broncos 54–12 with Paul Deacon becoming the highest point scorer for the Bulls in the Super League era as he booted over his 400th goal for the club.


2003 Bradford Bulls season, Season review
Bradford started September with a very narrow 22–21 win against arch rivals Leeds Rhinos, the Bulls won thanks to 2 drop goals from scum-half Paul Deacon. In the run up to the end of the season Bradford lost 28–14 to Castleford Tigers. The Bulls finished the regular rounds with a 22–18 win over St Helens R.F.C. which meant that Bradford finished top of the league ahead of Leeds Rhinos.


2003 Bradford Bulls season, Season review
The Bulls beat arch rivals Leeds Rhinos 30–14 in the Qualifying Semi-final to reach the 2003 Grand Final, in the process Paul Deacon became the first person to score 1,000 points for the Bradford Bulls in the Super League era.


2003 Bradford Bulls season, Season review
A couple of weeks later the Bulls would once again face Wigan Warriors in a Grand Final, the Bradford side won 25–12 after Shontayne Hape, Stuart Reardon and James Lowes (in his last game for the Bulls) all scored tries whilst Paul Deacon kicked 6 goals and a drop goal to make the Bulls Super League champions for a 3rd time.


2003 Bradford Bulls season, Table
Source: . Classification: 1st on competition points; 2nd on match points difference. Competition points: for win = 2; for draw = 1; for loss = 0.


2003 Bradford Bulls season, Table
^ a: St Helens deducted two points for salary cap breaches^ b: Hull F.C. deducted two points for salary cap breaches^ c: Halifax deducted two points for salary cap breaches


2003 Braintree District Council election
The 2003 Braintree District Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of Braintree District Council in England. This was on the same day as other local elections.


2003 Brantford municipal election
The 2003 Brantford municipal election was held on November 10, 2003, to elect a mayor, city councillors, and school trustees in the city of Brantford, Ontario.


2003 Brantford municipal election
Mike Hancock narrowly defeated incumbent Chris Friel in the mayoral contest, winning by only fifteen votes. Despite the close margin, Friel decided not to seek a recount.


2003 Brantford municipal election, Results
Source: Vincent Ball, "Council table shake up: Four new faces elected by Brantford voters wanting change," Brantford Expositor, 11 November 2003, A3.


2003 Brasil Open
The 2003 Brasil Open was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts in Costa do Sauipe resort, Mata de São João, in Brazil and was part of the International Series of the 2003 ATP Tour. It was the third edition of the tournament and ran from September 8 through September 14, 2003. Sjeng Schalken won the singles title.


2003 Brasil Open, Winners, Men's Doubles
Todd Perry /  Thomas Shimada defeated  Scott Humphries /  Mark Merklein 6–2, 6–4


2003 Brasil Open – Doubles
Scott Humphries and Mark Merklein were the defending champions but lost in the final 6–2, 6–4 against Todd Perry and Thomas Shimada.


2003 Brasil Open – Singles
Gustavo Kuerten was the defending champion but lost in the semifinals to Rainer Schüttler.


2003 Brasil Open – Singles
Sjeng Schalken won in the final 6–2, 6–4 against Rainer Schüttler.


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix
The 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 6 April 2003 at Autódromo José Carlos Pace (Interlagos). It was attended by 120,000 spectators. It was the third round of the 2003 Formula One World Championship, the 32nd Brazilian Grand Prix and the 700th Formula One World Championship race.


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix
The race was scheduled to run for 71 laps, but was stopped on lap 56 after two major crashes blocked the circuit. Due to confusion about the timing of the red flag, the win was initially awarded to Kimi Räikkönen of McLaren, with Giancarlo Fisichella of Jordan in second and Fernando Alonso of Renault in third. However, following a post-race appeal by the Jordan team, eventually heard in court, it was established that Fisichella was leading when the race results were declared, and he was awarded the win with Räikkönen demoted to second. Alonso remained in third place; he had missed the podium ceremony at the time as he was receiving medical attention.


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix
The race was Fisichella's first Grand Prix victory. It was also Jordan's fourth and final victory, and the team's 200th Grand Prix. This was the first victory for a Ford engine since the 1999 European Grand Prix, and the first victory for an Italian driver since Riccardo Patrese won the 1992 Japanese Grand Prix. As of 2020, this is the last victory for a Ford-powered car to date.


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Background
The 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix was the third of sixteen scheduled single seater motor races of the 2003 Formula One World Championship, the 32nd edition of the event and the 700th Formula One World Championship round. It took place at the 15-turn 4.309 km (2.677 mi) Autódromo José Carlos Pace in the Brazilian city of São Paulo on 6 April 2003. The bumpy track placed a large amount of strain and g-force onto a driver. To compensate for cars being driven over its bumpy surface, teams employed a computer programme fed into a chassis to reconstruct every movement under undulation. Under a Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA; Formula One's governing body) regulation mandating Formula One's two tyre suppliers Bridgestone and Michelin to bring a single wet-weather tyre compound to each race to lower operating costs: Michelin brought the full wets and Bridgestone the intermediates.


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Background
After winning the Malaysian Grand Prix two weeks earlier, McLaren driver Kimi Räikkönen led the World Drivers' Championship with 16 points, six ahead of his teammate David Coulthard in second. Juan Pablo Montoya of Williams, Ferrari driver Rubens Barrichello and Fernando Alonso for Renault tied for third with eight points each. In the World Constructors' Championship, McLaren led with 26 points; Ferrari and Renault were tied for second position with 16 points. Williams were a further two points behind in fourth and Sauber rounded out the top five with four points. Following the 2002 edition, race organisers invested $1.7 million in resurfacing 1 km (0.62 mi) of track surface in an attempt to reduce its bumpiness, rebuilt its drainage system and introduced run-off areas in the first seven turns.


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Background
In preparation for the race, the majority of teams conducted in-season test sessions at the Circuit de Catalunya (now called the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya) in Spain from 25 to 28 March 2003 and worked to alter the aerodynamic performance of their cars. Sauber and Williams evaluated revised chassis components and both teams assessed their selection of tyre compounds from the Malaysian Grand Prix, optimising the setup of their vehicles to better suit it. A lap of 1 minute and 17.288 seconds topped the time sheets for the Williams test driver Marc Gené on the first day.


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Background
Pedro de la Rosa, the McLaren test driver, set the second day's fastest time, a 1 minute and 15.506 seconds. Williams' Ralf Schumacher set the quickest lap on the third day, lowering the overall best time to a 1 minute and 15.352 seconds. On the final day (held in heavy rain in the morning and sunshine for most of the afternoon) Ralf Schumacher remained fastest overall with a lap of 1 minute and 17.591 seconds. Toyota test driver Ricardo Zonta drove a Toyota TF102B for three days at the Circuit Paul Ricard evaluating its tyres.


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Background
The defending World Drivers' Champion Michael Schumacher of Ferrari was criticised by the German and Italian press for a sub-par beginning to the season. Schumacher said he expected criticism and thought Ferrari would have an advantage on circuits that suited his team better than others, "The first two races are not too good. Still, we got eight points out of these not very good races for us and our time will come again."


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Background
Räikkönen, the Drivers Championship leader, said he would approach the race in the same method as he did in the preceding Malaysian Grand Prix, as Giancarlo Fisichella was eager to score for the Jordan team in its 200th Formula One race, "I trained and prepared hard for Sepang but unfortunately I did not get off the mark. So my target for the Brazilian Grand Prix is to take the chequered flag and bring points to the team and looking at the way the car ran strongly with Ralph in Malaysia, I know I can get both jobs done."


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Background
Two weeks before the Grand Prix, the FIA announced drivers would no longer be granted dispensation to compete in Formula One races without wearing a HANS device. It stated any competitor who could not wear a HANS device for medical reasons would be barred from driving in future events. This stance was ratified at a meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council in Paris on 2 April. Minardi driver Justin Wilson was passed fit by the FIA medical delegate Sid Watkins to take part in the event.


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Background
At the previous race, Wilson suffered from pain in his shoulders which was caused by a loose HANS device and seat belt, causing him to move about freely in his car's cockpit and pinching a nerve that paralysed both his arms. Wilson visited the team's headquarters in Faenza, Italy to test a twin seat belt system installed in his car to prevent a similar occurrence.


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Background
Barrichello, who had a minor hernia and received dispensation from the stewards not to wear a HANS device for medical reasons, was at risk of being dropped for the race in the event a solution to his discomfort was not found. He tested a new HANS device during free practice and reported no discomfort, leaving the services of the Ferrari reserve driver Felipe Massa unneeded.


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Background
A total of ten teams (each represented by a different constructor) entered two race drivers each for the race with no changes from the season entry list. Some teams made changes to their vehicles for the event. Williams installed a revised gearbox unit and rear suspension bracket designed specially for the FW25. The team also fitted a revised specification of front wing, modified a terminal section of the car's bodywork and rectified a rear wing issue.


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Background
The Ferrari and Renault teams introduced new specifications of rear wing: Ferrari's wing changes featured semi-circular holes in the outer part of its main profile to limit vortex and was used solely by Barrichello. Renault adopted a rear wing characterised by a sinuous shape of its profiles, which was stood up sharply in the bulkheads section.


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Private test session
On Friday morning, a two-hour test session took place for teams who opted for limited testing during the season. In variable weather conditions that saw rain fell 90 minutes in, Renault driver Jarno Trulli set the session's fastest lap, a 1 minute and 14.262 seconds. Antônio Pizzonia was second in a Jaguar and his teammate Mark Webber third. Alonso, Fisichella, Allan McNish, the Renault test driver, Minardi's Jos Verstappen, Ralph Firman for Jordan and Wilson made up positions four to nine.


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Private test session
During the session, Pizzonia drove the spare Jaguar after a mechanical fault stopped his race car at the Subida dos Boxes corner. With 36 minutes remaining, Firman abandoned his car in the pit lane with a drive shaft problem. Alonso subsequently spun on the Reta Oposta straight and was beached in a gravel trap at the Descida do Lago turn. His Renault was undamaged.


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Practice, qualifying and warm-up sessions
Three practice sessions were held before the Sunday race: one 60-minute session on Friday morning and two 45-minute sessions on Saturday morning. In the first practice session, held in torrential weather conditions and saw four drivers record no lap times, Michael Schumacher was quickest with a lap of 1 minute and 28.060 seconds, followed by Coulthard, British American Racing (BAR) driver Jenson Button, Trulli, Montoya, Barrichello, the Toyota pair of Olivier Panis and Cristiano da Matta, Fisichella and Heinz-Harald Frentzen of Sauber.


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Practice, qualifying and warm-up sessions
Seconds after Räikkönen exited the pit lane, he lost control of his vehicle into the Reta Oposta straight and spun onto some grass. He narrowly avoided a collision with a barrier to his left. With fifteen minutes to go, Pizzonia crashed heavily leaving the Curva do Sol turn and struck the barriers on both sides of the circuit on his first timed lap, temporarily stopping the session so that his Jaguar car could be removed from the track. After the session restarted, Alonso slid on the wet track and made minor contact against a wall at the Senna S chicane.


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Practice, qualifying and warm-up sessions
The torrential rain observed in the first session prompted several drivers to express concerns they would lose control of their vehicles and crash in those conditions. Around twenty minutes before the first qualifying session began, Coulthard, a senior member of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, Trulli and Michael Schumacher wrote a petition mandating the FIA cancel the session if there was no improvement in the track conditions.


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Practice, qualifying and warm-up sessions
The petition was signed by a majority of drivers; it was later disregarded after it was unable to be sent to everyone in time and race officials had deemed the circuit safe to drive on after the rain tapered off before qualifying commenced. Jacques Villeneuve of BAR said the petition was detrimental to Formula One, "What would it bring to Formula One for us not to go and qualify? People would think that we are just a bunch of sissies. We can't do that. We are paid a whole lot of money and it would be an insult to the fans."


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Practice, qualifying and warm-up sessions
Qualifying was split into two one-hour sessions; the first was held on Friday afternoon, and the second on Saturday afternoon. The first session's starting order was determined by the World Drivers' Championship order (first to last) and the second was run in reverse of the first session times (slowest to fastest). Each competitor was limited to one lap per session and the starting order was determined by the second session's fastest times. The level of standing water fluctuated during the session. Webber took provisional pole position on a drying track with a 1 minute and 23.249 seconds lap.


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Practice, qualifying and warm-up sessions
He was 0.138 seconds faster than Barrichello in second, who had pole until Webber's lap. Räikkönen, the first driver to set a lap, finished the session third and his teammate Coulthard was fourth after a driver error at Bico de Pato corner. Michael Schumacher aquaplaned shortly after he exited the pit lane and took fifth. Panis' Toyota was not setup for the wet-weather conditions and took sixth. Villeneuve was seventh; Pizzonia drove the spare Jaguar and took eighth notwithstanding him aquaplaning on the start/finish straight.


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Practice, qualifying and warm-up sessions
Alonso elected to be circumspect en route to ninth, as Frentzen in tenth reported an adequate car balance. An incorrect setup put Da Matta 11th. The wet-weather conditions restricted Trulli to 12th and an unbalanced car in corners taken at a slow speed left Ralf Schumacher in 13th. An oversteer and lack of grip restricted Fisichella to 14th as Verstappen extracted additional performance from his car to finish in 15th. Heidfeld was circumspect through the Arquibancdas turn en route to 16th.


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Practice, qualifying and warm-up sessions
Montoya in 17th lost control of the rear of his Williams under braking and went onto a concrete run-off area at Ferradura corner. Firman in 18th drove with the rear of Jordan's spare car attached to his race vehicle. Wilson avoided a spin on the start/finish straight and was 19th. Button was the only driver not to set a lap time: he had a sudden oversteer when he ran onto a damp white line denoting the track boundaries, and aquaplaned at almost 145 mph (233 km/h). Button went through two polystyrene boards, removed his car's rear wing and abandoned the attempt. The session was temporarily stopped to clear on-track debris.


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Practice, qualifying and warm-up sessions
The circuit was sodden for the beginning of the second practice session and dried as it progressed to provide every driver with dry track acclimatisation. Barrichello set the pace with a 1 minute and 14.071 seconds lap. Ralf Schumacher, Montoya, Michael Schumacher, Alonso, Räikkönen, Pizzonia, Webber, Coulthard and Heidfeld made up positions two to ten. In warm weather conditions, the final practice session was led by Panis who recorded a time of 1 minute and 13.457 seconds, ahead of Michael Schumacher, Trulli, Coulthard, Montoya, Räikkönen, Barrichello, Webber, Ralf Schumacher and Alonso.


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Practice, qualifying and warm-up sessions
Several competitors spun during the session; none sustained damage to their cars. Räikkönen paced a fifteen-minute warm-up session that took place before the second qualifying session with a lap of 1 minute and 13.886 seconds. Barrichello, Michael Schumacher, Coulthard, Montoya, Webber, Button, Ralf Schumacher, Villeneuve and Heidfeld were second to tenth.


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Practice, qualifying and warm-up sessions
The second qualifying session was held in warm and dry weather conditions. Barrichello had the lap time display on his steering wheel switched off so he could be focused. This earned him pole position, the first for a Brazilian driver at the track since Ayrton Senna in the 1994 event, his first since the 2002 Hungarian Grand Prix and the seventh of his career with a 1 minute and 13.807 seconds lap. Barrichello was joined on the grid's front row by Coulthard who was 0.11 seconds slower after McLaren changed his car's balance.


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Practice, qualifying and warm-up sessions
Webber was set to take pole position until a driver error at Pinheirinho demoted him to third. A driver error at the same turn and a loose car left Räikkönen in fourth as Trulli moved to fifth. Excessive oversteer and circumspect braking restricted Ralf Schumacher to sixth. Michael Schumacher made a minor error at the Senna S chicane and was seventh; he took his lowest grid position since he started ninth at the 1998 German Grand Prix. Fisichella qualified eighth, Montoya had an oversteer that put him ninth and Alonso was tenth.


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Practice, qualifying and warm-up sessions
Button set the 11th-fastest lap, with his teammate Villeneuve 13th after an intermittent loss of power in the Senna S chicane; Heidfeld in 12th separated the pair. Frentzen took 14th and Panis (who made a driver error) 15th. Firman changed his car's setup and qualified 16th due to a driver error, ahead of Pizzonia in 17th, who had brake problems and an unbalanced car. An tight handling car and an unsuccessful fix to the problems left Da Matta in 18th. The Minardi cars were equipped with a hard compound tyre and completed the starting order in 19th and 20th (Verstappen ahead of Wilson).


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race
On the morning of 6 April, McLaren sought permission from the FIA to change Räikkönen's engine after a crack in its casting was detected via telemetry. The FIA authorised the engine switch after it analysed data proving the engine was damaged. Telemetry from BAR also detected damage to Villeneuve's engine and were also allowed to change it. Rain was forecast for the race; at the start the track was flooded because of a torrential downpour that fell from at 11:00 Brasilia Time (UTC−02:00). 120,000 spectators attended the Grand Prix.


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race
It was due to commence at 14:00 local time, before the FIA race director Charlie Whiting delayed it for fifteen minutes, to enable standing water to be drained from the circuit. Event organisers permitted teams to alter the setup of their cars to run on a sodden track, specially the wings and ride heights. The standing water caused heavy spray and impaired visibility, and all vehicles used wet-weather tyre compounds. The track's deficient drainage caused a large amount of water to cascade from a slope onto the tarmac surface at the Curva do Sol corner and made it susceptible for cars to aquaplane.


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race
The race began behind the safety car, with no formation lap; notwithstanding the slow speed drivers struggled for grip on the flooded track surface. Some drivers (including Verstappen, Frentzen, Pizzonia, Panis, Fisichella and Firman) elected to make pit stops for fuel under safety car conditions in an attempt to avoid having to make a second pit stop later in the race. After the rain had stopped, the safety car drove into the pit lane at the end of lap eight, and cars were allowed to overtake.


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race
Barrichello bunched up the field on the approach to the start/finish line; the manoeuvre failed to work and Coulthard passed him for the lead under braking for the Senna S chicane. Barrichello was circumspect for the rest of the lap as Webber and Räikkönen pressured him. Further down the order, Montoya moved from ninth to fifth. Heidfeld became the Grand Prix's first retirement on lap nine when his engineers informed him over the radio of an oil feed problem that cut out his engine. He pulled off to the side of the track to ensure that no oil was deposited on the racing line.


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race
On lap ten, Räikkönen overtook Barrichello for second at the Senna S chicane and lost third when Montoya passed him later that lap. There were overtakes further down the field on that lap. Ralf Schumacher moved past Trulli for sixth and Pizzonia passed Verstappen for fifteenth. On the 11th lap, Räikkönen closed up to his teammate Coulthard and passed him to take the lead on the approach to the Senna S chicane. Not long after Montoya overtook Coulthard for third at the end of the Reta Oposta straight that leads to the Descida do Lago corner.


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race
That same lap, Ralf Schumacher and Trulli made contact, causing the former to spin. Webber then overtook Barrichello for fourth and Michael Schumacher did the same on his teammate soon after for fifth. Ralf Schumacher began to recover lost positions with an overtake on Villeneuve for tenth on the 12th lap. At the front of the field, Räikkönen had increased his lead over Montoya to five seconds by lap 14. On the same lap, Montoya reported a loss of rear tyre grip to his team over the radio and ran wide leaving Juncao turn. Coulthard overtook Montoya for second.


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race
As the circuit began to dry, except for turn three which continued to have water stream across it, Coulthard began to close up to his teammate Räikkönen, as Michael Schumacher overtook Webber on the inside for fourth on lap 15 leaving Arquibancdas turn. On the 16th lap, Michael Schumacher moved into third position with a pass on the slower Montoya around the outside at the Bico de Pato corner. Wilson drove through a river at the Curva do Sol turn and aquaplaned off another on the following lap. He retired after he was unable to restart his car.


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race
Coulthard drew close enough to his teammate Räikkönen by the 18th lap, just as Barrichello moved past Webber for fifth place. That same lap, Firman's right-front suspension system failed on the start/finish straight, causing him to lose control of his car and his flailing right-front wheel narrowly avoided striking its cockpit. He narrowly avoided a collision with his teammate Fisichella, struck the rear of Panis' car at almost 190 mph (310 km/h). Panis' rear wing was removed and the front of Firman's car sustained damage.


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race
The safety car was deployed for the second time for debris clearing. Several drivers took the opportunity to make pit stops for fuel and tyres. Montoya avoided a collision with Trulli and Alonso stopped twice since he had the incorrect tyres installed on his car. The safety car was withdrawn at the end of lap 22 and Räikkönen closed the field up to maintain the lead from Coulthard, Michael Schumacher and the yet-to-stop Da Matta.


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race
On the Reta Oposta straight, Barrichello overtook Da Matta for fourth on lap 23, as a driver error dropped Frentzen from eighth to sixteenth and Ralf Schumacher passed Verstappen for eleventh. Montoya overtook Da Matta for fifth and Ralf Schumacher moved past Button for ninth during lap 24. On the 25th lap, Montoya aquaplaned at the Curva do Sol and crashed into a right-hand side barrier. Pizzonia hit the water stream flowing across the circuit at the same corner and aquaplaned. He collided with the wall, ricocheted off it and struck Montoya's car. The accidents elevated Da Matta to fifth and Webber to sixth. By lap 26, Alonso had passed Villeneuve and Fisichella to move to tenth.


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race
Lap 27 saw the third safety car deployment: Michael Schumacher aquaplaned off the stream of water at the Curva do Sol turn and avoided hitting a recovery crane extricating Montoya and Pizzonia's vehicles from the side of the track. He stopped on a run-off area and failed to finish a race for the first time since the 2001 German Grand Prix. Räikkönen and Da Matta made their pit stops for fuel under safety car conditions. Coulthard took the lead and maintained it at the lap 30 restart.


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race
Räikkönen overtook Fisichella and Verstappen to return to seventh position and Da Matta passed Frentzen. On the 31st lap, Verstappen aquaplaned on the stream of water at the Curva do Sol corner and retired. The water caught out Button on lap 33: he lost control of his vehicle and crashed heavily against the barrier. Button was unhurt. The accident necessitated the safety car's fourth deployment. In the meantime, his teammate Villeneuve spun and fell behind Frentzen and Trulli. During the safety car period, Da Matta made a pit stop to correct a technical problem. At the lap 37 restart, Da Matta and Webber passed Villeneuve.


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race
Räikkönen overtook Alonso on the start/finish straight into the Senna S chicane for fourth on the 38th lap. Further round the lap, he passed Ralf Schumacher on the outside line going into the Descida do Lago corner. Frentzen in eighth was overtaken by Webber and Villeneuve re-passed Da Matta for tenth during the same lap. On lap 40, Alonso steered to the inside to extract additional grip and passed Ralf Schumacher at Mergulho turn for fourth position.


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race
As Barrichello gained on race leader Coulthard, the stewards informed Renault on the 42nd lap that Alonso had been issued a drive-through penalty because he was deemed to have overtaken Ralf Schumacher under yellow flag conditions. He took the penalty on the same lap and fell from fourth to ninth. On the 44th lap, Webber lost control of the rear of his car at the Curva do Sol corner and spun through 360 degrees. He avoided contact with the barrier and merged onto the track after Frentzen, Alonso and Villeneuve passed him.


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race
At the front of the field, Coulthard (on worn tyres) ran wide on the approach to the Senna S chicane and Barrichello used the driver error to pass him for first position on lap 45. Barrichello began to pull away from Coulthard, extending his lead to 4.2 seconds by lap 46's conclusion, who in turn, was 15 seconds ahead of his teammate Räikkönen. On lap 47, Barrichello pulled off at the side of the circuit to retire from the Brazilian Grand Prix for the ninth consecutive time.


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race
A fuel feed problem was suspected to have caused Barrichello's retirement until it was traced to a malfunctioning in-car computer calculating it had 12 l (2.6 imp gal; 3.2 US gal) more fuel than normal and an error with Ferrari's telemetry did not inform the team he had run out of fuel. Coulthard returned to the lead, eighteen seconds ahead of his teammate Räikkönen in second and Fisichella third. By the 48th lap, drivers became concerned over fuel. Ralf Schumacher made a pit stop and rejoined in ninth. Alonso and Frentzen overtook Trulli and demoted him to sixth during laps 49 and 50.


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race
On the 52nd lap, Coulthard made a pit stop for tyres after a minor loss of car control through Juncao corner and the start/finish straight. He rejoined the race in fourth position. Räikkönen retook the lead with the faster Fisichella second and Alonso third. On lap 54, a lack of tyre grip caused Räikkönen to understeer on the approach to the Mergulho turn and Fisichella passed him to claim the lead. Both drivers were borderline on fuel and it appeared Coulthard would return to the lead and win the event.


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race
At Arquibancadas corner, Webber attempted to prevent his tyres from overheating wherever possible and lost car grip on lap 54. He lost control of his car, and crashed heavily against the concrete barriers on each side of the circuit before the start/finish straight at 240 km/h (150 mph). Debris from Webber's car and three of its tyres were strewn across the track and causing the safety car's fifth deployment. Webber clambered from his car unhurt.


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race
Fisichella and Räikkönen negotiated their way through the debris and the latter entered the pit lane to stop for fuel. Alonso did not notice the waved yellow flags informing him of a hazard, because he was discussing whether to use dry or wet tyres with Renault over the radio. He hit one of Webber's detached rear wheels at around 270 km/h (170 mph) in an impact measured at 4.5 g0 (44 m/s2). Alonso veered left and struck a tyre wall at 35 g0 (340 m/s2) lateral and longitudinal. He was launched broadside across the circuit and into a concrete barrier at 60 g0 (590 m/s2). Alonso sustained a bruised left elbow, knee and thigh, a group of medical personnel placed him on a stretcher for transport by ambulance to the Saint Louis Hospital in São Paulo for observation.


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race
Because of a large amount of debris, personnel tending to Alonso, and 75 per cent of the race completed, its continuation behind the safety car was impossible. The race ended early with a red flag and all cars returned to the pit lane.


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race
Fisichella's car overheated because the safety car was slow and fire emerged from the engine bay as he stopped in parc fermé, Under Article 154 of the 2003 Formula One Sporting Regulations, the race was "deemed to have finished when the leading car crossed the line at the end of the lap two laps prior to that lap during which the signal to stop was given" in the event more than 75 percent of it was completed.


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race
The official timekeeping screens first showed that Fisichella had begun his 56th lap; then this status briefly disappeared and displayed it as on his 55th. The race stewards based their decision on the belief Fisichella was still on his 55th lap. Fisichella celebrated with the Jordan team in the belief he had won before they were informed Räikkönen had won; the latter was told of the decision as he was weighed. Alonso was third, Coulthard fourth, the non-stopping Frentzen fifth, Villeneuve sixth, Webber seventh (notwithstanding his crash) and Trulli eighth. Ralf Schumacher and Da Matta (who had oversteer) were the final provisional finishers.


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Post-race
Because Alonso was in hospital, Räikkönen and Fisichella appeared on the podium to collect their trophies and spoke to the media in a later press conference. Räikkönen stated his belief he was lucky to be awarded the victory: "I think that it came so quickly that we didn't make the decision quickly enough but in the end it was the right decision, so thanks to the team. It was a difficult race because the conditions were so bad and the safety car was out so often, but I'm pretty happy."


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Post-race
Fisichella said he was disappointed about the race's situation: "first of all for Fernando, I hope that he's alright and then also because I won the race but the rules say that when there is a red flag, the result is taken from one lap before (two laps in fact) so I am very sorry about that but I never thought I would finish in second position so it's a great day anyway."


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Post-race
Alonso received messages of well-being from the public and rally driver Carlos Sainz. He was discharged from hospital after 12 hours, and returned to Madrid on the morning of 8 April to begin physical therapy for the season's next race, the San Marino Grand Prix. Alonso commented on the accident: "I thought my race was going pretty well. But then I came round the final corner to find debris everywhere and I had nowhere to go. I think I hit a wheel, and the next thing I knew I was headed for the barriers."


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Post-race
He attributed the HANS device for preventing him from sustaining more serious injuries. Webber was not required to take a medical test and performed 60 push-ups to persuade his physiotherapist he had suffered no long-term complications from his crash. He called it "the biggest accident I've had in a Formula One car" and revealed his neck and knees took most of the force from the impact: "I haven't been in a race that crazy before and it's the most damage I've done to a Formula One car. I've knocked two corners off before but nothing like this."


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Post-race
The way in which Alonso and Michael Schumacher crashed put them at risk of sanctioning by the FIA. An FIA observer reported Schumacher and Alonso to the governing body; the stewards could not question Alonso in Brazil because he was hospitalised. Schumacher was interviewed by the race director Charlie Whiting at the San Marino Grand Prix pre-event drivers' meeting on 17 April. Two days later, Alonso and Schumacher had separate meetings with Whiting; he cautioned the two over their future driving standards and did not further reprimand them.


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Post-race
Villeneuve said he felt the drivers and not the track conditions contributed to the unsafe racing observed in the Grand Prix: "It is down to the drivers to be less crazy in those conditions and there was some crazy driving out there. Some drivers were overtaking under the yellow flags, halfway through the race I saw Alonso overtake under the flags. I think that is the kind of driving that leads to big accidents."


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Post-race
After his first race retirement since the 2001 German Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher stated he was not worried about the possibility of him winning his sixth World Drivers' Championship: "In terms of the championship, obviously it would have been better for us if Fisichella had won the race in Brazil instead of Raikkonen, especially as Giancarlo drove a good race anyway. But the gap to the championship leader is not so big, given there are still 13 races, so there is no need to be concerned about it." Barrichello said he would continue to strive for a win at the Brazilian Grand Prix and was frustrated to learn a fuel problem caused his retirement: "I feel an enormous disappointment but I am not losing hope. I will not stop racing until I win in this country."


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Post-race
Coulthard said he was annoyed with himself for making a pit stop before the red flags were shown because he believed he could have won the race had he not done so: "I am going away from here without a grand prix win that I worked hard for. I believe I have more claim on that victory than other people. I'd done my final stop of the race and I know the three guys in front of me all had to come in again if the race had not been stopped."


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Post-race
Frentzen lauded Sauber's decision to change its strategy that saw him start the event in the team's spare car: "At the end of the day it turned out to be the right decision. It was not easy to run with a full tank and I had a lot of aquaplaning which made me spin once. But we finished fifth and scored four points, so I am very happy about this result."


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Post-race
Paul Stoddart, the Minardi team owner, claimed they could have taken victory had both its cars been running: "Today saw possibly the first time ever that Minardi was potentially in a genuine, race-winning position. Many people may laugh, but only those of us within the team will ever know the truth. We had the strategy, but not the luck."


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Post-race, Timekeeping error
After he flew to London from Brazil on the morning of 8 April, Whiting launched an internal investigation into the result of the race because FIA officials were unhappy at the timesheets provided to the governing body by Formula One's timekeepers TAG Heuer. He was concerned about a possible timekeeping error and asked representatives from TAG Heuer and the three race stewards for the Brazilian Grand Prix, to attend a meeting at the FIA headquarters in Paris on the morning of 11 April as part of compliance with Article 179 (b) of the International Sporting Code.


2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, Post-race, Timekeeping error
Oral arguments and timing evidence were presented to a Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) court in Paris, which, on 11 April, awarded victory to Fisichella. McLaren declined to file an appeal. This was Fisichella's first Formula One win. It was the last Grand Prix win for a car with a Ford engine and for Jordan as a constructor. An unofficial ceremony was held during the next race weekend at Imola, where Räikkönen and Ron Dennis handed over the winning driver's and constructor's trophies to Fisichella and Eddie Jordan. The Jordan team's pseudo-successor Racing Point would take another victory over seventeen years later at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix.


2003 Breckland District Council election
The 2003 Breckland District Council election was part of the UK's 2003 local elections. All 54 seats were up for election. The Conservatives retained control of the council. This election was on new ward boundaries.


2003 Breil Milano Indoor
The 2003 Breil Milano Indoor was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts at the PalaLido in Milan in Italy and was part of the International Series of the 2003 ATP Tour. The tournament ran from 27 January through 2 February 2003. Martin Verkerk won the singles title.


2003 Breil Milano Indoor, Finals, Doubles
Petr Luxa /  Radek Štěpánek defeated  Tomáš Cibulec /  Pavel Vízner 6–4, 7–6(7–4)


2003 Breil Milano Indoor – Doubles
Karsten Braasch and Andrei Olhovskiy were the defending champions but did not compete that year.


2003 Breil Milano Indoor – Doubles
Petr Luxa and Radek Štěpánek won in the final 6–4, 7–6(7–4) against Tomáš Cibulec and Pavel Vízner.


2003 Breil Milano Indoor – Singles
Davide Sanguinetti was the defending champion but lost in the quarterfinals to Martin Verkerk.


2003 Breil Milano Indoor – Singles
Verkerk won in the final 6–4, 5–7, 7–5 against Yevgeny Kafelnikov.


2003 Breil Milano Indoor – Singles, Seeds
A champion seed is indicated in bold text while text in italics indicates the round in which that seed was eliminated.


2003 Bremen state election
The 2003 Bremen state election was held on 25 May 2003 to elect the members of the Bürgerschaft of Bremen, as well as the city councils of Bremen and Bremerhaven. The incumbent grand coalition of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and Christian Democratic Union (CDU) led by Mayor Henning Scherf retained its majority and continued in office.


2003 Bremen state election, Parties
The table below lists parties represented in the previous Bürgerschaft of Bremen.


2003 Brent East by-election
The Brent East by-election, 2003 was held in Brent East on 18 September 2003, following the death of Labour MP Paul Daisley on 18 June that year. It was won by the Liberal Democrat candidate Sarah Teather.


2003 Brent East by-election
The Liberal Democrats held on to the seat in the 2005 general election.


2003 Brent East by-election, Result
Turnout was 36.23%. Liberal Democrat candidate Sarah Teather won with 39.12% of the vote, which was a swing of 29% from Labour. This was the largest swing from Labour to a Liberal or Liberal Democrat candidate since the Bermondsey by-election in 1983. Commentators linked the result to anger from traditional voters over the Iraq War, as well as the private sector's involvement in public services.


2003 Brent East by-election, 2001 result
Labour held the seat with 63.2% of the vote at the 2001 general election. The Liberal Democrats had come third in the seat, with only 10.6% of the vote.


2003 Brentwood Borough Council election
Elections to Brentwood Borough Council were held on 1 May 2003. One third of the council was up for election, all seats last being elected in 2002 following boundary changes. Twelve years of Liberal Democrat control ended with the council passing into no overall control.


2003 Brentwood Borough Council election, Election result
The swing was 5.5% from the Liberal Democrats to the Conservatives.


2003 Brickyard 400
The 2003 Brickyard 400, the 10th running of the event, was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race held on August 3, 2003 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. Contested at 160 laps on the 2.5 mile (4.023 km) speedway, it was the twenty-first race of the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. Kevin Harvick of Richard Childress Racing won the race.


2003 Brickyard 400
Kevin Harvick became the first driver to win the race from the pole position.


2003 Brickyard 400
Failed to qualify: Brett Bodine (#11), Ken Schrader (#49), Billy Bigley (#79), Ted Musgrave (#07), Robert Pressley (#4), Jim Sauter (#71), Christian Fittipaldi (#43), David Reutimann (#04), Hermie Sadler (#02)


2003 Brickyard 400, Background
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, located in Speedway, Indiana, (an enclave suburb of Indianapolis) in the United States, is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400. It is located on the corner of 16th Street and Georgetown Road, approximately six miles (10 km) west of Downtown Indianapolis. It is a four-turn rectangular-oval track that is 2.5 miles (4.023 km) long. The track's turns are banked at 9 degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, has no banking. The back stretch, opposite of the front, also has a zero degree banking. The racetrack has seats for more than 250,000 spectators.


2003 Bridgeport Barrage season
The Bridgeport Barrage played their third season, as a charter member of the MLL, during the 2003 season of Major League Lacrosse. The 2003 season was the team's last season in Bridgeport, Connecticut before relocating to the Philadelphia suburb of Villanova for the 2004 season. The Barrage ended up in 3rd place in the American Division with a record of 1–11. The Barrage failed to qualify for the 2003 season MLL playoffs.


2003 Bridgeport Barrage season, Schedule
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2003 Bridgeport Barrage season, Schedule
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2003 Brighton and Hove City Council election
Elections to Brighton and Hove City Council on the south coast of England were held on 1 May 2003. The whole council (a unitary authority) was up for election and all 54 councillors were elected from 21 wards. Labour lost their majority on the council but continued to govern in a minority administration.


2003 Brighton and Hove City Council election
Following the election, the composition of the council was as follows:


2003 Brisbane Broncos season
The 2003 Brisbane Broncos season was the sixteenth in the history of the Brisbane Broncos. Coached by Wayne Bennett and captained by Gorden Tallis, they competed in the NRL's 2003 Telstra Premiership, finishing the regular season 8th (out of 15) and making the finals for the 12th consecutive year. The Broncos were then knocked out in the first match against eventual premiers, the Penrith Panthers.


2003 Brisbane Broncos season, Season summary
In the pre-season Bruno Cullen replaced Shane Edwards as Broncos Chief Executive Officer. The Brisbane Broncos had a strong start to the 2003 season, winning 11 of their first 14 games, but later breaking the club's longest losing streak record by losing their last 8 games straight. Brisbane still made it to the finals, finishing the regular season in 8th position, but lost the Qualifying Final to the Penrith Panthers 28-18. The 2003 season was the first in the Broncos' history in which they lost more games than they won.


2003 Brisbane Broncos season, Season summary
In the first half of the 2003 season, whilst still at ANZ Stadium, the Broncos were only beaten once (by the New Zealand Warriors in round five). However, upon returning to Suncorp Stadium in round 12, the Broncos only won a home match once (defeating the Sydney Roosters in round 16).


2003 Brisbane Broncos season, Season summary
A total of twelve Broncos players were selected to play in the mid-season 2003 State of Origin series, making them the most heavily represented club. Also in 2003 the Rugby Union World Cup was played in Australia. As a testament to the quality of the athletes produced at the Broncos, three of the club's former players would feature in two of the top three finishing teams of the rugby union world's peak competition, all of them having played together in the Broncos' 2000 premiership-winning side: Lote Tuquri with Wendell Sailor for The Wallabies and Brad Thorn for The All Blacks.


2003 Brisbane Broncos season, Season summary
The Broncos were once again in the upper echelons of the ladder before losing their last eight games and falling to eighth place, nearly missing the finals for the first time since 1991.


2003 Brisbane Broncos season, Season summary
Fullback Darren Lockyer was named the Broncos' player of the season.


2003 Brisbane Lions season
The Brisbane Lions' 2003 season was its seventh season in the Australian Football League (AFL). In it, the club won its third consecutive premiership, and third overall.


2003 Brisbane Sevens
The 2003 Brisbane Sevens, officially called the 2003 Brisbane International Sevens, was an international rugby sevens tournament that was part of the World Sevens Series in the 2002–03 season. It was the Australian Sevens leg of the series, held at Ballymore Stadium in Brisbane over the weekend of 2 and 3 January 2003.


2003 Brisbane Sevens
The competition was won by England who defeated Fiji 28-14 in the Cup final.


2003 Brisbane Sevens
The tournament was the third completed edition of the Australian Sevens. For the next three years there was no World Sevens tournament staged in Australia, until the event returned as the 2007 Adelaide Sevens.


2003 Brisbane Sevens, Format
The teams were drawn into four pools of four teams each. Each team played the other teams in their pool once, with 3 points awarded for a win, 2 points for a draw, and 1 point for a loss (no points awarded for a forfeit). The top two teams from each pool advanced to the Cup/Plate brackets. The bottom two teams from each group went on to the Bowl/Shield brackets.


2003 Brisbane Sevens, Pool Stage
Play on the first day of the tournament consisted of matches between teams in the same pool on a round robin basis. The following is a list of the recorded results.


2003 Brisbane Sevens, Knockout stage
Play on the second day of the tournament consisted of finals matches for the Shield, Bowl, Plate, and Cup competitions. The following is a list of the recorded results.


2003 Bristol City Council election
The 2003 Bristol City Council election took place on 1 May 2003, on the same day as other local elections in the UK. The Labour Party made a number of losses, mainly to the Liberal Democrats, and lost overall control of the council. Loses included Council leader Diane Bunyan, who lost her Windmill Hill seat to the Liberal Democrats. This year also saw elections contested by the new Bristolian Party, founded by the local 'scandal sheet' The Bristolian, though they failed to win any seats.


2003 Brit Awards
The 2003 Brit Awards were the 23rd edition of the biggest annual pop music awards in the United Kingdom. They are run by the British Phonographic Industry and took place on 20 February 2003 at Earls Court in London. British Newcomer and International Newcomer renamed the British Breakthrough Act and International Breakthrough Act. first present year in British Urban Act.


2003 British Academy Television Awards
The 2003 British Academy Television Awards were held on Sunday 13 April at The Dorchester in London. The ceremony was hosted by television presenter Anne Robinson.


2003 British Academy Television Craft Awards
The British Academy Television Craft Awards of 2003 are presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) and were held on 11 May 2003 at The Dorchester, Mayfair, the ceremony was hosted by Alistair McGowan.


2003 British Formula 3 International Series
The 2003 British Formula Three season was the 53rd British Formula Three Championship season. It commenced on 6 April, and ended on 28 September after twenty-four races.


2003 British Formula 3 International Series, Drivers and teams
The following teams and drivers were competitors in the 2003 British Formula Three Championship. The Scholarship class is for older Formula Three cars. Teams in the Invitation class are not series regulars, and do not compete for championship points.


2003 British Formula Ford Championship
The 2003 British Formula Ford Championship is the 28th edition of the British Formula Ford Championship. It commenced on 21 April at Mondello Park and end on 21 September at Oulton Park after 10 rounds and 21 races, all in support of the British Touring Car Championship and Champ Car when they visited Brands Hatch in May. This was the last year until 2013 that the series supported the British Touring Car Championship as they switched to supporting the British GT and British Formula Three Championship from 2004 to 2012.


2003 British Grand Prix
The 2003 British Grand Prix (formally the LVI Foster's British Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 20 July 2003 at the Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone, Northamptonshire, England. It was the eleventh round of the 2003 Formula One season. The 60-lap race was won by Rubens Barrichello driving for Ferrari after starting from pole position. Juan Pablo Montoya finished second in a Williams car, and Kimi Räikkönen third driving for McLaren.


2003 British Grand Prix
Jarno Trulli, driving for Renault, started alongside Barrichello on the front row and led the first eleven laps of the race, until a track invasion by a later-to-be-defrocked priest, who ran along Hangar straight, running opposite to the 280 km/h train of cars, wearing a saffron kilt and waving religious banners. As a result, the vast majority of cars pitted under safety car conditions, which led to the Toyota drivers Cristiano da Matta and Olivier Panis, who had elected not to pit, leading the field until Räikkönen assumed the lead on lap 30 when Da Matta pitted.