The 2003 German 500 was the fifth round of the 2003 CART season, held on May 11, 2003 on the oval track at EuroSpeedway Lausitz in Klettwitz, Brandenburg, Germany.

[1][2] With 13 laps remaining in the 2001 American Memorial CART race at EuroSpeedway Lausitz, Alex Zanardi spun on the warm up lane after a pit stop.

Quick work by the medical team saved his life and by 2002 he was walking on artificial legs of his own design.

In an effort to reduce freight costs, CART mandated teams run the same aero package for both the Brands Hatch and German rounds.

After Tracy lost a gearbox at Brands Hatch, the two cars were unable to draft effectively and fought poor handling.