Preview: Winton Raceway.

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.

As a test track for the majority of Holden teams in the championship (barring the Queensland based Team Sirromet Wines and Team Kiwi Racing), Winton has unsurprisingly favoured Commodore outfits over the years. Typically this is a place of Holden Racing Team domination - with Mark Skaife and Jason Bright winning in 2001 and 2002 respectively, before a brief period of Blue during Marcos Ambrose's 2003 dominance, before McConville won the last event in 2004.

It certainly appears like a good chance for a Holden Racing Team podium heading into this fourth championship round. Mark Skaife sits atop the points ladder on adjusted scores, and as he has won at Winton previously in addition to testing here, the Pukekohe round winner appears set for a strong showing - should he win here, Skaife will eclipse the all time winning record held by ATCC legend Peter Brock.

"I've probably done more laps of that track than just about anywhere else so I'm hoping that stands us in good stead," said Skaife.

"Having said that, it's all about what happens on the day and how well you put your strategy together, as we saw in Perth.

"We know we will roll a good car out of the truck, so we just have to make sure we manage the weekend well and stay on top of variables such as the weather and Safety Cars. Todd's (teammate Todd Kelly) experience in Perth reinforces that simply having a fast car isn't enough."

Kelly is looking to recover what has been a disastrous turn in his championship campaign. After finishing on the podium at Adelaide, Kelly has endured two rounds where he finished outside of the top twenty and will hope his fortunes turn around in country Victoria.

"It makes life difficult for all of the team when you know you can't afford another bad result, but being the underdog is also something I enjoy," said Kelly.

"My natural instinct is to be an attacking driver and in the past when I've gone into preservation mode and driven conservatively, that's when I run into trouble.

"We aren't quite at the 'nothing to lose' point, but we can definitely afford to go out there at Winton and Darwin and have a fair-dinkum crack at winning. Winton is our test track and I've won the past two years at Darwin, so it's a good chance for us to have a go."

Fans will watch out for a good performance from the resurgent Prodrive-backed outfit Ford Performance Racing this weekend. FPR has posted considerably encouraging results in the previous two rounds and with new driver Mark Winterbottom sitting second on adjusted points - are looking good for a strong finish at their home testing venue.

I'm glad that Winton is back on the calendar as it is one of the most technical circuits in the series. The relatively short circuit length hides some 16 turns that you can gain or lose time with and I enjoy this challenge," said Winterbottom.

"We have also improved our pace during each of our three test days there this season. Winton is also a special circuit for me personally as I had my first drive of a race car there in a Formula Ford and I won the Development Series round there in a Falcon in 2003.

Looking at our form this season, I believe that my best Winton experience is yet to come."

'Frosty's' veteran teammate Jason Bright is a former round winner at Winton and is a highly regarded hard-charger in the V8 Supercar Championship, and after being overshadowed by his younger partner's stunning performances of late, Bright will be aiming to reclaim the top perch at Broadmeadows.

" I enjoy racing at Winton - this is one of those circuits that when you have set up your car to work well there, it can be really good fun behind the wheel," said Bright.

"I have had some great races there and if there is any circuit where we can make the most of our advantage it is Winton - as this is our home circuit. This won't make the racing much easier though, as we share the circuit as a testing venue with so many good teams.

"As we have shown this season, the team is more than capable of racing to the podium - so we head there aiming to win it."

The Toll HSV Dealer Team and Supercheap Auto Racing boast two drivers that could contend for victory this weekend. Both Holden outfits test at Winton and Rick Kelly almost won for the Toll HSVDT (then Kmart Racing) in 2004, before Supercheap's McConville stole the limelight at the final turn for Garry Rogers Motorsport. In addition to employing the defending Winton king, SAR also engineered the car which helped Jason Bright to the podium that same day.

"If there was a track to go back to as defending round champion - other than Bathurst, of course - for me it could not be more fitting than Winton," McConville said.

"Not only did I win my first V8 Supercar round there, it is also the track where my career began, racing Formula Vees in the late 1980s and I have also been a member of the Benalla Auto Club since I was 15.

"A lot has changed in the two years since we last raced at Winton and it's just not possible to predict with any confidence that you're going to win, the bar has been raised and the competition has become too tough.

"It's not going to be easy and I certainly don't expect anyone to leave the door wide open for me with just two corners to go again - that sort of opportunity rarely comes along, if at all in one's life!"

Despite being aggravated about his race loss just two corners from this finish in 2004, Kelly is hoping to have his vengeance this weekend.

"We had the car to win it last time, but I let Cameron through a few corners from the end, which is probably a silly way to lose the race," said Kelly.

"But you learn from these things. And the fact that both our cars ran in the top three just shows how strong we are at Winton. Our test session at Winton was great - we learned a lot of good things and changed a few things.

"Even though the track grip wasn't there at some stages of the day, we still had a reasonable package and did some good times."

Whilst the Holden contingent are firm favourites to deliver 'The General' a third consecutive round win, the likes of Russell Ingall, Craig Lowndes, Jamie Whincup and the two aforementioned Ford Performance Racing drivers will do their utmost to square the ledger at the fourth V8 Supercar round. However all eyes will be watching to see if Mark Skaife can secure a record thirty-eight Australian Touring Car wins. 1.5 hours of practice will be offered on Friday before Qualifying and the first race on Saturday play curtain-raiser to the final two heats of the weekend on Sunday.

2004 Winton Raceway 300 - Outright Results
Pole: Craig Baird Team Kiwi Racing, VY Commodore
1st: Cameron McConville Team Repco Valvoline Cummins, VY Commodore
2nd: Rick Kelly Kmart Racing, VY Commodore
3rd: Jason Bright PWR Racing, VY Commodore

Fastest Lap: Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team, VY Commodore 1m:24.7913secs