By Matthew Agius
The 2006 V8 Supercar Championship Series heads to country Victoria for the fourth round of the hotly contested Ford versus Holden battle at Winton Raceway.
After a one year hiatus, Winton Raceway, located a few kilometres north of Benalla in central Victoria, returns to the championship calendar replacing the defunct Shanghai round. However despite is relatively small layout, Winton has been branded as one of the most boring tracks in Australian motorsport. Encompassing twelve turns into three kilometres of tarmac, Winton boasts a mere three real passing opportunities, however it is these slim gaps that have often landed many drivers in hot water or have almost ended championship chances. It is a good track for sprint racing and many of the Holden teams test here, however it will be very interesting to see how the second race of the weekend, a reverse grid, will play out considering the three realistic spots for passing.
Indeed, Winton’s last staging back in 2004 was a three hundred kilometre race that was held in slippery and wet conditions. It was a spectacular weekend and one which greeted the field with several milestones. It was the site for Team Kiwi Racing’s first pole position since debuting in the series in 2000, and was also the first round win for Cameron McConville who made a daring pass on the second-to-last corner to snatch victory from Rick Kelly. A memorable moment also occurred when Marcos Ambrose became bogged in the infield and deflated his tyre pressure to slowly but surely remove himself from sodden grass and salvage vital points from the weekend.
In its long history as a part of the V8 Supercar Championship and Australian Touring Car Championship, Winton has often had its racing format changed around ranging from sprint to ‘single-driver enduro’ status, however it has generally produced a good contest and lots of action for spectators to feast their eyes on.
