Winton Raceway is throwing open the gates for spectators to attend this weekend’s Shannons Australian Motor Racing Nationals free of charge, and there’s every chance they could witness a special piece of history at the nation’s action track.
The outright lap record at Winton, a 1:14.5697, was set by Christian Murchison in a Formula Holden back in the year 2000.
However, Winton’s new track surface has resulted in lap-time improvements of more than two seconds for series that have raced at the circuit in 2016, and the current lap record for Formula 3 – one of the categories on this weekend’s program – is within two seconds of Murchison’s mark, setting up the very real possibility it could be broken.
Of the drivers who could claim a new benchmark time for the 3.0km circuit, the favourite will be two-time F3 Champion Tim Macrow, who currently leads the 2016 standings after winning the opening two rounds at Sandown and Phillip Island.
The Shannons Nationals meeting will also feature a smorgasbord of other exciting categories including the Australian GT Trophy Series, home to exotic sports cars from manufacturers such as Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Audi.
It will be the first time GT cars have raced at Winton since 2012, and the mouth-watering machinery will contest a pair of 50-minute races, each with a compulsory pit stop. Points leader Greg Taylor will be the man to beat in his Audi R8 Ultra GT3, while other notable entries include the Lamborghini Gallardo LP560 of Matthew Turnbull and Dodge Viper of Garth Rainsbury.
A big field of 23 cars will contest the second round of the Kerrick Sports Sedans, Holden Racing Team Supercar endurance driver Jack Perkins entering the weekend with the points lead after dominating the opening round at Sandown in the John Gourlay-owned Audi A4.
Perkins holds a 13 point lead over nine-time Champion Tony Ricciardello, who is back for another season in his famous Alfa GTV, while other challengers include Daniel Tamasi (Holden Calibra) and his son Steven Tamasi (Nissan 300ZX).
Making his Sports Sedan debut this weekend will be last year’s Formula 3 Champion Ricky Capo, who slots into the Dean Randle-owned Saab 9-3 and should be immediately on the pace.
One of the closest battles of the weekend could well take place in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge series, which is open to a range of Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars. The two title protagonists, Jaxon Evans and Hamish Hardeman, are separated by just eight points after a couple of thrilling battles, including a blockbuster contest in the previous round of the series at Sydney Motorsport Park.
The final category on the program is the Australian Sports Racer Series, which features prototype racing cars powered by motorcycle engines. With their abundant downforce, the Sports Racers achieve extremely high corner speeds and will be among the fastest cars in action across the weekend.
After a consistent performance in the Sandown season-opener with three second-place finishes, Josh Townsend enters the weekend just ahead of Jason Makris in the standings; regular front-runner Roger I’Anson and reigning Champion Mark Laucke both scored DNFs at Sandown and will be highly-motivated to score big results this weekend.
On-track action starts at 9:00am on Saturday, 11 June and Sunday, 12 June, with spectator admission free on both days.
