Snapshot

Winton Motor Raceway has been ever-present on the Australian Touring Cars/V8 Supercars calendar since 1985, and this weekend’s Winton SuperSprint marks the 30th anniversary since the category’s first visit.

The tight and twisty rural layout features a range of slow corners, which combine to make Winton the slowest circuit on the V8 Supercars calendar; with the lowest top speed, it is the only track where you don’t use sixth gear. Six of the 12 corners are taken in second gear and less than 40 per cent of the lap is spent at full throttle.

With so many slow corners, the race is still very demanding and having a car that is kind to its rear tyres is crucial, particularly in Sunday’s longer 200-kilometre race. Tyre management will again be something to consider, with the surface at Winton fairly abrasive, although it certainly won’t be to the extent we saw in Perth.

The likelihood we will see a Safety Car this weekend is high and something that our engineers need to factor into their calculations. The last time the SC wasn't deployed at any stage during a round at Winton was back in 1999, with 24 of the last 41 races featuring at least one SC period.

Although most label it as tough, Lee Holdsworth has a stunning record around the country Victorian circuit and last year came through to give his former team their first ever V8 Supercars race victory.
 

Schedule 

Stats and Facts
Circuit Characteristics

Car Performance
 

Words of Wisdom

Lee Holdsworth, #18 Holden VF Commodore:
“Winton's a challenging little circuit but very rewarding when you get on top of the setup and nail the lap. It mostly consists of 90 degree corners so it is important to have a car that has an aggressive front end on entry. However, the big challenge is to also have a good balance on the three 180 degree corners, typically known as the 'tits'! Generally you can't have both so it requires a compromise to get the best overall result.
“One of the best characteristics of the track is the number of passing zones. There are 4 or 5 passing opportunities per lap which makes it, in my opinion, one of the best tracks in the country as far as racing goes.

“Winton's been good to me in the past. I've been lucky enough to stand on all 3 steps of the podium. It holds some fantastic memories for me, the best one being the emotional race win last year with my previous team. It would be fantastic to get back up there this weekend!”

Alex Somerset, Race Engineer:
“Winton has a pretty poor surface which like Perth, means tyre management will be key.  The circuit has an almost equal demands in left and right-handers so you can’t bias the car too much one way, you need good change of direction and good drive, particularly for the ‘boobs’ and the sweeper. You have to maintain good rear lateral grip without compromising drive, and get the balance right to ensure you have a car that will look after its tyres.

“It’s also quite a dangerous track, turn four and the sweeper demands attention and you have to be really mindful if you make a mistake or an edgy car can pretty much write you off.

“We’ve done a lot of testing there as it’s been the test venue for all the Melbourne teams, and we’ve cut more laps there than anywhere else other than probably Bathurst. So we know the track well, although the circuit is known to change quite a lot during the day, and then also change day to day.

“The format of the races will dictate our strategy, using two sets of tyres Saturday and then looking at how we manage the soft tyres on Sunday. This weekend is quite important for us as we have found a few things that are going to help the car in qualifying and with the extra set of tyres in Friday practice, it will give us a better understanding of green-tyre performance.”