Winton Motor Raceway

The Benalla Auto Club began planning for a permanent racing track around 1958, as a replacement for their existing track at Barjarg.[1] 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.[2] 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.[1] The circuit length was extended prior to the 1997 round of the V8 Supercar championship and the upgrade included a new pit complex.

Winton Motor Raceway has a combination of long fast straights and twisty and tight bends. It is also known as "Australia's Action Track".[3] 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 2.028 km (1.260 mi) in length and comprises 10 turns. The circuit was lengthened to 3.000 km (1.864 mi) 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.

The track was used as a round in the V8 Supercar series, hosting the Winton SuperSprint. The track was one of the more popular tracks in the series with spectators, especially those who live in the area. Easy access to the track and viewing areas made 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.

Richards holds the record for most ATCC round wins at Winton with four, having won in 1985 and 1986 for BMW, while winning in 1990 and 1991 for Nissan.

Winton has played host to 19 rounds of the Australian Drivers' Championship since 1980.

Year	Driver	Car	Entrant
Australian Formula 1
1980	Alfredo Costanzo	Lola T430	Porsche Distributors
1982	Alfredo Costanzo	Tiga FA81	Porsche Cars Australia
1983	Alfredo Costanzo	Tiga FA81	Porsche Cars Australia
Formula Mondial
1984	John Bowe	Ralt RT4	Chris Leach Racing
1986	Ken Smith	Ralt RT4	Watson Motor Racing Pty Ltd
Formula Holden
1989*	Rohan Onslow	Ralt RT20	R.J.Macarthur Onslow
1989*	John Briggs	Ralt RT21	John Briggs
1990	John Briggs	Ralt RT21	John Briggs
Formula Brabham
1992	Mark Larkham	Reynard 90D	Larkham Motor Sport
1994	Paul Stokell	Reynard 90D	Birrana Racing
Formula Holden
1997	Jason Bargwanna	Reynard 92D	SH Racing
1999	Simon Wills	Reynard 94D	SH Racing
2000	Tim Leahey	Reynard 92D	Greg Murphy Racing
2001	Paul Stokell	Reynard 94D	Birrana Racing
2002	Will Power	Reynard 94D	Ralt Australia
2003	Paul Trengove	Reynard 95D	CPA Australia
2004	Rob Nguyen	Reynard 97D	Hocking Motorsport
Australian Formula 3
2009**	Tim Macrow Joey Foster	Dallara F307	Scud Racing Team BRM
2011	James Winslow	Dallara F304	R-Tek Motorsport

* The 1989 Australian Drivers' Championship was contested over ten rounds at five race meetings at five different tracks. Although the races were held on the same day both Rohan Onslow and John Briggs are credited with separate round wins.
**The 2009 round saw two heats. Tim Macrow and Joey Foster each won a heat while also finished second on the other heat giving the pair equal points (35) on the day.

Winton played host to a round of the Australian Sports Car Championship on 7 occasions between 1978 and 1985.

Year	Driver	Car	Entrant
1978	Ross Mathiesen	Porsche Carrera	Ross Mathiesen
1979	Ross Mathiesen	Porsche Carrera	Ross Mathiesen
1980	Allan Moffat	Porsche 930 Turbo	Porsche Distributors
1981	John Latham	Porsche 930 Turbo	John Latham
1983	Bap Romano	Kaditcha K583 Cosworth	Kaditcha Factory Racing Team
1984	Bap Romano	Romano WE84 Cosworth	Bap Romano Racing
1985	Terry Hook	Lola T610	Terry Hook

1980, 1981, 1997, 1998 and 2003 were run for Sports Sedans. 1982–1985 were run for GT style cars.

Year	Driver	Car	Entrant
1980	Jim Richards	Ford XC Falcon Hardtop	Jim Richards
1981	Tony Edmondson	Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV Chevrolet	Donald Elliott
1982	Alan Jones	Porsche 935/80	Porsche Cars Australia
1983	Tony Edmondson	Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV Chevrolet	Donald Elliott
1984	Allan Grice	Chevrolet Monza	Re-Car Racing
1985	Kevin Bartlett	De Tomaso Pantera	Paul Halstead / The Toy Shop
1997	Wayne Park	Mazda RX-7	Wayne Park
1998	Tony Ricciardello	Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV Chevrolet	Basil Ricciardello
2003	Darren Hossack	Saab 9-3 Aero Chevrolet	Darren Hossack

Winton Raceway is one of the most prominent Superbike races on the Australian Superbike Championship racing calendar. Winton Raceway has seen riders such as Mick Doohan, Kevin Magee and Mat Mladin ride regularly at the venue.

Year	Rider	Bike
2007	Jamie Stauffer	Yamaha YZF-R1
2006	Jamie Stauffer	Yamaha YZF-R1

Formula X-treme Motorcycle Championship

Year	Rider	Bike
2009	Craig Coxhell	Honda CBR1000RR
2010	Kevin Curtain	Yamaha YZF-R1

Winton Raceway is one of Australia's most popular Drift circuits. It hosts Australia largest drift event Drift Attack. Drift Attack is promoted by the Victorian Drift Club and offers the largest Prize Pool in Australian Drifting and is contested by Australia's 32 best Drifters in the Pro class and 32 Drivers in the street class.

As of June 2023, the official race lap records at Winton Motor Raceway are listed as:[4][5]

Class	Driver	Vehicle	Time	Date
National Circuit: 3.000 km (1997–present)
Formula 3	John Magro	Dallara F311	1:14.3058[6]	10 March 2019
Formula Holden	Christian Murchison	Reynard 95D	1:14.5697[4]	16 July 2000
S5000	Joey Mawson	Ligier JS F3-S5000	1:18.1659[7]	11 June 2023
Sports Sedan	Jordan Caruso	Audi A4	1:18.8794	21 May 2022
Superbike	Troy Herfoss	Honda CBR1000RR	1:19.274[8]	14 March 2021
Supercars Championship	Fabian Coulthard	Ford FG X Falcon	1:19.7092[4]	21 May 2016
GT3	Jake Fouracre	Audi R8 LMS GT3	1:20.4298[9][4]	10 June 2017
Formula 4	Jayden Ojeda	Mygale M14-F4	1:20.6106[10]	2 September 2018
Porsche Carrera Cup	Callum Hedge	Porsche 911 (992) GT3 Cup	1:20.7969[11]	21 May 2022
Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge	Simon Fallon	Porsche 911 (991) GT3 Cup	1:21.6518	2 September 2018
Supersport	Tom Edwards	Yamaha YZF-R6	1:21.872[8]	14 March 2021
V8 Touring Car National Series	Taz Douglas	Holden VE Commodore	1:23.3446[4]	22 May 2016
Super2 Series	Steve Owen	Ford FG Falcon	1:23.7669	5 April 2014
Nations Cup	Paul Stokell	Lamborghini Diablo GTR	1:23.8403	21 September 2003
TCR Touring Car	Will Brown	Hyundai i30 N TCR	1:24.372[12]	1 September 2019
Trans-Am Australia	Brett Holdsworth	Chevrolet Camaro	1:24.5162[13]	10 June 2023
Formula Ford (Duratec)	James Piszcyk	Mygale SJ13	1:24.7731	22 May 2022
Super Touring	Jim Richards	Volvo S40	1:25.3181[14][4]	9 August 1998
Formula Ford (Kent)	Jamie Whincup	Van Diemen RF01	1:26.2188[15][4]	18 August 2002
Touring Car Masters	John Bowe	Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000	1:28.0049[4]	22 May 2016
Sidecar	Corey Turner/ Danyon Turner	Suzuki LCR	1:29.112[8]	13 March 2021
Supersport 300	Carter Thompson	Yamaha YZF-R3	1:30.604[8]	13 March 2021
Aussie Racing Cars	Tom Hayman	Mustang-Yamaha	1:31.2640	21 May 2022
Moto3	Dylan Whiteside	Honda NSF250R	1:32.543[8]	2 October 2016
Formula Vee	Blaine Grills	Sabre 02	1:32.6485[4]	4 September 2016
GT Performance	Bob Pearson	Mazda RX-7 Series 8	1:32.6533[4]	21 September 2003
F2 Sidecar	Terry Goldie/ Jamie Crass	LCR - Honda CBR600RR	1:33.757	30 April 2017
Porsche 944	Cameron Beller	Porsche 944	1:33.9462	2 September 2018
SuperUtes (V8)	David Sieders	Mitsubishi Triton	1:34.4853	22 May 2022
V8 Ute Racing Series	Kim Jane	Holden VE SS Ute	1:35.2253	21 May 2016
Motor Events	John Bermingham	BMW E36 328	1:38.9840	15 May 2021
24 Hours of Lemons	John Bermingham	BMW E36 328	1:40.4680	27 April 2019
SuperUtes (Diesel)	Tom Alexander	Holden Colorado	1:42.9017	20 May 2018
Original Club Circuit: 2.028 km (1961–present)
Formula Brabham	Mark Larkham	Reynard 90D	0.52.99	4 April 1992
Formula Mondial	John Bowe	Ralt RT4	0.53.80	12 August 1984
Formula X1 Hyper Racer	Dean Crooke	Hyper Racer X1	0.54.91	10 July 2022
Formula 5000	Alfredo Costanzo	Lola T430	0.55.80	October 1979
Formula 2	Arthur Abrahams	Cheetah Mk 8	0.56.96	December 1988
Group A Sports Cars (Under 3-Litre)	Bap Romano	Kaditcha K583 Cosworth	0.57.10	14 August 1983
Group A Sports Cars (Over 3-Litre)	Peter Hopwood	Kaditcha Chevrolet	0.57.40	14 August 1983
Sports Sedan	Tony Edmondson	Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV	0.58.80	12 August 1984
Group 5	Alan Jones	Porsche 935/80	0.59.00	16 May 1982
Clubman	Grant Taylor	Galloway	0.59.60	December 1987
Group 3A Touring Car	Glenn Seton	Ford EB Falcon	0.59.65	16 May 1993
Superbikes	Kirk McCarthy	Honda RVF750 RC45	1:00.7655	May 1995
Super Touring	Geoff Brabham	BMW 318is	1:00.972[16]	25 August 1996
Formula Ford	John Blanchard	Swift SC92F	1:01.18	5 April 1992
Group A	Mark Skaife	Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R	1:01.56	5 April 1992
GT Production	Peter Fitzgerald	Porsche 911 RSCS	1:02.3751	25 August 1996
Porsche 944	Chris Lewis-Williams	Porsche 944	1:05.0137	4 December 2016
Formula Vee	Adrian Wilkinson	Elfin 76	1:07.01	March 1996
Group 3E Series Production Cars	Terry Bosnjak	Holden VP Commodore	1:09.42	16 May 1993

• Official raceway website
• Map and circuit history at RacingCircuits.info