Quick laps

Barjarg 1958-1961

A1.4km oil-bonded circuit that lay in the shadow of the Strathbogie Range, run for a few short years by the Benalla Auto Club ahead of developing Winton as its principal track. Among the challenges facing drivers was a rocky outcrop in the middle of the main straight.

Benalla 1936

A4km triangular circuit of existing roads on the northern outskirts of Benalla was used for a one-off race held as part of the town’s centenary celebrations. Once the chequered ag ew on the 40-lap race, the Benalla road circuit was never used again.

Bright 1959-1961

The Bright Car Club built an oil-bonded one-mile track near a footy oval on the town’s eastern outskirts, a track where competitors headed atout towards a cliff face before turning at the last moment onto the start- nish straight. The track closed when CAMS would no longer license unsealed tracks.

Hume Weir 1959-1979

The Albury District Car Club’s baby, the Hume Weir circuit was crammed into a quarry next to a dam wall and hosted the stars of local racing through the 1960s until the mid ‘70s. Its story was told in a dedicated Sacred Sites feature in AMC #84.

Undera 1960-mid 1960s

The Goulburn Valley Car Club opened a 1.9km oil-bonded dirt circuit in May 1960 in the tiny town that’s 25km north-west of Shepparton. Healthy crowds and entries rocked up initially, but the proliferation of tracks in the region took its toll on numbers and the circuit closed. Later a motocross facility and speedway oval were built on the site.

Winton 1961 to present

Winton today is the quintessential humble country circuit, but is now part of an organisation that’s arguably the biggest car club and motor racing circuit operation in Australia. The story of the little circuit that could is told in AMC #101.

Wangaratta 1953-1956

Who needs Wimbledon Common when you have Wangaratta Common, with its gravel/ dirt airstrip where competitors raced up and down the runway. Later variants had a tee-section or L-section at one end. Drainage was a problem, with a low-section of the strip regularly pooling water.