While Winton Motor Raceway continues to be one of the longest-serving permanent circuits in the nation, the area’s first car race was a true pioneer. In 1936, a triangular street course on the outskirts of Benalla hosted the first official car race ever contested on the public roads of mainland Victoria. Organised by the Benalla Centenary Celebrations Committee and the Victorian Sporting Car Club (VSCC), the event was very much run against the odds, with the government of the time dead against motorsport on public roads. Timeline of a Pioneering Event 28th February 1936 The concept of motorsport as a

Back in 2004/5, The Race Torque was fortunate to be invited to inspect the private Harris Racing Museum in Brisbane - a special collection for lovers of Blue Oval Touring Car Racing. Collated by motoring and motorsport identities John and Craig Harris, the assorted machinery featured many significant ties to their own racing endeavours. The Eagle Farm warehouse doubled as the family race car workshop, from which their V8 Supercars Development Series team operated. Impressively, many of the old Group C cars were at the forefront of the category's revival around two decades ago, setting the scene for the class's

Following our recent feature on 28 planned circuits for Australia, another motorsport project has come out of the woodwork, namely the Albany Motorsport Park in Western Australia. The initial concept calls for a 3.5km, 12m wide race circuit, a drift training area, a Motorcycling Australia-spec 2.4km long, 10m wide motocross track, a junior motorcycle track, clubhouse and amenities, a 4WD/ATV training area, plus parking areas and other facilities. It is envisioned that the race circuit will be able to split into separate sections depending on the user base, while the construction also calls for the revegetation of the central wetland

In the coming months, The Race Torque will be taking a deep dive into the history of Queensland Raceway, which is celebrating its 25th birthday in 2024. To set the scene, we are first exploring the rich motorsport heritage in Ipswich, which led to the ultimate formation of the city’s motorsport precinct. For over a century, the pioneering of the sport in the area has provided many disciplines with places to race, and some surprisingly close to the modern Willowbank hub. Here is a selection of motoring and motorsport moments we have managed to track down in the lead-up to