Winton Motor Raceway
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| Location | Winton, Victoria |
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| Coordinates | 36°31′6″S 146°5′15″E / 36.51833°S 146.08750°ECoordinates: 36°31′6″S 146°5′15″E / 36.51833°S 146.08750°E |
| Owner | Benalla Auto Club |
| Opened | November 1961 |
| Major events | V8 Supercars, Shannons Nationals |
| Winton National Circuit | |
| Length | 3.0 km (1.864 mi) |
| Turns | 12 |
| Lap record | 1:14.3401 (Christopher Anthony, Gilmore racing Motorsport formula 3 2.0 litre, 2016, formula 3) |
| Winton Club Circuit | |
| Length | 2.03 km (1.261 mi) |
| Turns | 11 |
| Lap record | 0:52.9900 (Mark Larkham, Reynard 90D Holden, 1992, Formula Brabham) |
Winton Motor Raceway is a motor racing track in Winton, near Benalla, Victoria, Australia.
The Benalla Auto Club began planning for a permanent racing track around 1958, as a replacement for their existing track at Barjarg. In 1960 it was decided to build the track at Winton Recreation Reserve and the track was completed in twelve months. The circuit hosted its first race meeting on 26 November 1961. The circuit was immediately popular - a March 1965 meeting featuring the Neptune touring car and the Victorian Formula Two championship drew a crowd of approximately 10,000 spectators. The circuit length was extended prior to the 1997 round of the V8 Supercar championship and the upgrade included a new pit complex.
Racing at Winton Motor Raceway is always exciting and close because the circuit has a combination of long fast straights and twisty and tight bends. It is also known as "Australia's Action Track".Dick Johnson once described the circuit being 'like running a marathon around your clothes-line'.
The original circuit (now called the Winton Club Circuit) is 2.03 km in length and comprises 11 turns. The circuit was lengthened to 3.0 km with the cars turning left prior to the esses and a series of right hand turns added before the extension rejoins the original track at the esses. The long circuit is called the Winton National Circuit.
National Circuit
Club Circuit
The track is currently used as a round in the V8 Supercar series, hosting the Winton Super Sprint. The track is one of the more popular tracks in the series with spectators, especially those who live in the area. Easy access to the track and the fantastic viewing from one of the many areas around the track makes it very popular. It attracts some of the biggest crowds of any of the permanent race tracks in the series.
Although the circuit held various rounds of national championships such as the Australian Drivers' Championship and the Australian Sports Car Championship, Winton was not awarded a round of the Australian Touring Car Championship until the start of the Group A era in Australia in 1985. The first ATCC race was won by then triple-Bathurst 1000 winner Jim Richards in his JPS Team BMW 635 CSi. That race holds its place in ATCC/V8 Supercar history as not only the first all-Group A race in Australia, but the first ATCC win by BMW and the only race in history in which there were no Holdens on the grid.
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