V8 Ute Racing Series
| Industry | Motorsport |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2001 |
| Founder | Ross Palmer, Ian McAlister, Craig Denyer |
| Fate | Succeeded by SuperUtes Series in 2018 |
Area served | Australia |
Key people | Bill West, Craig Denyer (management, SPHERIX) |
| Products | Motorsport racing series featuring utility vehicles |
| Website | www |
The V8 Ute Racing Series, initially known as the V8 BRute Utes, was an Australian motorsport competition featuring utility vehicles, evolving from the Australian Production Car Championship. The concept was developed in 2000 by PROCAR's Ross Palmer, along with patron Ian McAlister and employee Craig Denyer. The series officially commenced in March 2001 at the Clipsal 500 event held in Adelaide. It quickly became popular, driven by its intense racing style, reverse grid format, and engaging promotional efforts such as driver nicknames that appealed to fans.
Participation required acquiring one of 32 franchise licenses, split evenly between 16 Ford Falcon (Australia) XR8 Utes and 16 Holden Utes. Each event was staged as a support category to the Supercars Championship, Australia's leading motorsport competition.
The first championship was claimed by Holden driver Rod Wilson. Warren Luff achieved back-to-back titles in 2002 and 2003. Damien White secured the championship for Holden in 2004 before switching to Ford and narrowly winning again in 2005 ahead of Marcus Zukanovic. Ryal Harris stands out as the most decorated competitor with three championships by 2015, while both Luff and White earned two titles each.
The series consisted of eight rounds hosted throughout Australia, featuring a popular reverse grid racing format. Among the notable participants were former Australian NASCAR champion Kim Jane, actor George Elliot, country music artist Adam Brand, television presenter Grant Denyer, driving coach Gary Baxter, rugby players Ben Dunn and Jack Elsegood—with Elsegood winning the title in 2009—and ex-Supercar drivers Cameron McConville and Nathan Pretty.
Production of the Ford Falcon utility concluded in 2016—the series' peak year—followed by the end of Holden Ute manufacturing in 2017. As a result, the series gradually wound down after 2016. It was succeeded by the SuperUtes Series in 2018, which features turbo diesel dual-cab utility vehicles.
Management of the V8 Ute Racing Series was handled professionally by SPHERIX, a category management partnership formed by Bill West and Craig Denyer.
Series winners
- V8 Ute Racing Series
| Year | Winner | Vehicle |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Rod Wilson | Holden SS Ute |
| 2002 | Warren Luff | Ford Falcon Ute |
| 2003 | Warren Luff | Ford Falcon Ute |
| 2004 | Damien White | Holden SS Ute |
| 2005 | Damien White | Ford Falcon Ute |
| 2006 | Marcus Zukanovic | Ford Falcon Ute |
| 2007 | Grant Johnson | Holden SS Ute |
| 2008 | Layton Crambrook | Ford Falcon Ute |
| 2009 | Jack Elsegood | Ford Falcon Ute |
| 2010 | Grant Johnson | Holden SS Ute |
| 2011 | Chris Pither | Holden SS Ute |
| 2012 | Ryal Harris | Ford Falcon Ute |
| 2013 | Ryal Harris | Ford Falcon Ute |
| 2014 | Kris Walton | Ford Falcon Ute |
| 2015 | Ryal Harris | Ford Falcon Ute |
| 2016 | David Sieders | Holden SS Ute |
| 2017 | Kim Jane | Holden SS Ute |
- Summer Series
| Year | Winner | Vehicle |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Grant Denyer | Ford Falcon Ute |
Competitors
| Number of Victories | Racer | Seasons |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Template:Country data AUSTemplate:Namespace detect showall Ryal Harris | 2012–2013, 2015 |
| 2 | Template:Country data AUSTemplate:Namespace detect showall Grant Johnson | 2007, 2010 |
| 2 | Template:Country data AUSTemplate:Namespace detect showall Warren Luff | 2002–2003 |
| 2 | Template:Country data AUSTemplate:Namespace detect showall Damien White | 2004–2005 |
Automakers
| Championships Won | Brand | Years Active |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | Ford | |
| 7 | Holden |