Winton lost to bikes?
Victoria’s longest continually-operating race circuit, Winton Motor Raceway, near Benalla, which held its first race meeting for cars on 26th November, 1961, will not stage motorcycle meetings for the foreseeable future. The first motorcycle race meeting
The track’s owner and operator, the Benalla
Auto Club (BAC), has been in discussions with Motorcycling Australia (MA) for several years regarding modifications required to maintain the circuit’s licence for motorcycle racing. This basically involved moving back the safety fence at what was the final corner, in front of the pits, on the original 1.2 mile circuit layout. This had been the scene for numerous motorcycle accidents in recent years, and MA claimed it had received assurances from BAC that the work would be undertaken.
For the past two years the track received dispensation to allow Historic motorcycles to compete at the annual 2+4 meeting in July, which is also Australia’s longest running all-Historic event, having been first held in 1973. However despite the assurances regarding the work, nothing was done and the circuit’s MA licence lapsed on 31st December, 2023.
A spokesman for MA said that the organisation had attempted to contact BAC in recent weeks, but during February, some discussions had been held with a view to scheduling a track inspection. “However MA’s requirements for safety improvements have not changed, and BAC would need to commit to a works program.” This means the annual all-Historic meeting (Australia’s longest continually-run Historic race meeting) will be a carsonly event for 2024, and presumably, beyond.
In 1997, a new loop and pit area was added to the layout, adding almost one kilometre to the lap (although the original circuit could still be used), and the entire track resurfaced. The start/finish area was moved to the new section on what is called the Winton National Circuit, while the original layout is called the Winton Club Circuit.
During its existence for motorcycle racing, Winton hosted many major meetings, including the Victorian Grand Prix, the Victorian TT, the Tom Phillis Memorial Trophy, the Western Underwriters Superbike Series, the Denso 500, the Australian Superbike Championship, and in 1987, the Australian Grand Prix. ■