Old school action at Winton
It’s 50 years since the first race meeting was staged at Winton Motor Raceway. And the popular track that lies next to Benella in the north of Victoria, about two and a half hours from Melbourne, has seen some great touring car action over those years. Who could forget Tony Longhurst trying to thump Paul Morris following a clash in 1994, for starters?
Winton remains immensely popular with fans; one of V8 Supercars’ few trips into country Australia and one of the few were fans can still camp at the track. And Winton gives fans some great vantage points to enjoy the action, while also producing close racing as the V8s are forced to barge their way through each other given the tight and twisty nature of the track.
XXXX Gold ambassador Jamie Whincup heads to country Victoria with a comfortable 142 point Championship lead over teammate Craig Lowndes following his victory at Barbagallo Raceway. After his setback in Hamilton, New Zealand, where he clouted the pit exit wall, Perth was about rebounding. As Whincup wrote in his ‘In the Driver’s Seat’ update, “We gave ourselves a bit of a kick up the bum and were proud of our efforts in Perth.”
Fellow XXXX Gold Ambassador Garth Tander has jumped up into third place in the title race and will be one to watch at Winton, the home test track for Holden Racing Team, while the endurance drivers will make their first official appearance at a V8 Supercar weekend with some mileage in Friday’s practice sessions. Also in attendance supporting the V8 Supercars will be the GT Sports Cars, Formula Ford, Aussie Racing Cars and Formula 3.
Pic: Murphs looking to turn up the heat!
The drivers will do their bit in the local community with two autograph sessions at 5pm Thursday May 19, with half of the V8 grid appearing at the Plaza Shopping Centre, Baker Street, Wangaratta and the other half at the Benalla Town Hall, Benalla. Then head to Winton and watch the drivers do their thing on track, pitch a tent and camp for the weekend, crack open a XXXX Gold and enjoy some old school racing.
