2+4 Historics Return to Winton
The 47th Historic Winton blasts into Benalla this weekend, and with it, a return to classic 2+4 competition on the rural venue’s short circuit.
Once again, the Austin 7 Club, with assistance from the Historic Motorcycle Racing Association of Victoria, is promoting the meet, which features nonstop on-track action and the usual array of sideshows and displays.
Click here for the full entry list | Click here for the weekend schedule
A highlight of the car section of the program will be the Cortina Challenge, with a full field of classic Blue Oval badged pocket rockets set to turn on the thrills.
Outside of the Cortinas, there will be all of the family favourites from the Group N ranks, from Tony Hubbard’s Chev Camaro to the FJ Holden, Ford Mustang and the Minis, which will no doubt terrorise the larger cars on the tight layout.
Group S will be well represented across all sub-classes, with the best of British taking on the likes of Porsche 911s, the Corvette Stingray, De Tomaso Pantera and even a Ferrari Dino – which will be worth the price of admission alone.
Forever a mainstay at Winton, Formula Ford will be well represented.
Expect Malcolm Oastler, Nick Bennett, Trevor Sheumack and Lyndon Arnel to be in the mix.
The Groups J/K & Lb Sports & Racing are bringing a large and eclectic field to the festival.
From Rob Harcourt’s 1927 Lancia Meadows Special through to racing specials from the early 1960s, the field is a showcase of true old-school iron.
Offering a more contemporary array of machinery, the M & O Sports & Racing & Formula Vee features some rather smart pieces from manufacturers such as Brabham, Elfin, and more.
The race within a race from the Vees will no doubt be a blockbuster if the Phillip Island Classic from the start of the year is anything to go by.
Smaller capacity machines dominate the Q & R Sports & Racing entry roll, with the more modern wings and slicks set to be at home at Winton.
There will also be three fields of regularities taking to the track.
From the motorcycle set, a total of five classes will rotate through the program.
Included in this mix are vintage bikes, sidecars, P3, P4 and P5 solos up to unlimited, plus a Harley Vs Indian Hand Shift Battle.
One piece of late-breaking drama from the motorcycles is that their unofficial Friday practice has been scrubbed due to a lack of permit.
Festivities kick off with the Benalla Historic Vehicle Tour on Friday, and a surefire highlight of the event will be the Sunday grand parade, where a collection of the weird and wonderful take to the track.
For fans who can’t get to Winton, Blend Line TV will broadcast the racing live for $8 on its website, www.blendline.tv.
Mark Walker (administrator)
A vastly experienced Motorsport Public Relations operator, journalist, commentator and photographer, Mark brings his unique angle to The Race Torque in both words and imagery. As well as serving as our key photographer on the ground at major events around Australia (and overseas), Walker will often chime in with his unique and pin-point sharp viewpoint of the racing world via the keyboard too.
