Touring Car celebration coming to Winton
The 2025 running of the Victorian Historic Racing Register’s Winton Festival of Speed is rapidly approaching and momentum is building.
The event that celebrates racing from all eras will return on August 1-3 and is set to be as big as ever with all the usual favourties.
More than 300 cars are anticipated with 230 already locked in.
A focus of the event for 2025 will be a celebration of the 40th anniversary of the first Australian Touring Car Championship round held at Winton back in 1985. Winton has a rich history of being a fan favourite and producing action-packed racing.
To mark the occasion, more favourites from the much-loved days of ATCC and V8 Supercars over the last 40 years will be on show.
There are already some iconic favourites from bygone eras locked in.
A car that will excite Holden and motorsport fans is the original HDT Group A VK Commodore raced by Peter Brock. This car made its first appearance as the UDC sponsored 05 car in New Zealand in late 1984 early 1985. Brock first raced this car on Australian soil in Mobil-HDT colours at round 2 of the ATCC at Sandown, after missing the first round at Winton. Brock took the win, his first Group A victory. He then went on to compete in a further six ATCC rounds in the car during 1985. Later in the year the car was raced by John Harvey, Larry Perkins and David Parsons in the endurance series.
Another car that will resonate with many is the Dick Johnson Greens-Tuf XE Falcon. Following Dick’s massive ‘Hardies Hero’s qualifying crash into the trees at Forest Elbow, this car was purchased from another competitor and the team worked all night to score a backup car and start the 1983 Great Race.
The familiar Craven Mild colours of Allan Grice’s 1979 Holden A9X Torana will be roaring around Winton, as will the JPS BMWs from the eighties, plus much more.
Event director Ian Ross hinted some Project Blueprint cars are already locked in with the help of PremiAir’s owner, with the category set to be one of the big highlights of the big event.
“We have a lot of the later model V8 Supercars that the public really connect with up to the end of Project Blueprint,” he told Auto Action.
“We have people like Peter Xiberras bringing some cars. We have a whole lot of famous cars coming. We are up to about 230 cars all up.
“We have 20 historic sports sedans and hope to have around 25 Group C and A cars.
“It is already shaping up to be a great weekend.”
For further information on this event visit vhrr.com.au/winton/fos
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