Historic Winton

24 and 25 May 2025

Photos by Robyn Mackay. Report by Rees Mackay.

Winton was good, as always, but different due to lack of bikes or outfits.

Apparently Winton was not inclined to carry out track works to maintain their bike licence for one use a year. No bikes meant altered program, with an additional event for everyone on Sunday.

Despite heavy rain on the way south, it was dry after Tarcutta, and the weather was good all weekend, with a fair bit of sun. The floods in northern NSW and Queensland meant some could not make the meeting.

There were 36 enrtries in Regularity 1 for Pre-war cars, with Austins (of course), almost as many MG’s with singleton Bentley, Bugatti, Lancia, Vauxhall etc and not one but two GNs, plus Brendan Dillon’s confection of GN style chassis and 6.2litre V twin engine which finished an event in triumph.

Members competing

Members competing were reduced to Max Stephenson in his 1933 Aston Martin only after Tim Shellshear had to withdraw at the last minute due to COVID. Mark Burns again ran in his evergreen Alvis 12/50.

In spite of 12 entries in pre-war JK racing, they were again combined with pre-1960 racing cars to create a large and very mixed field. Ironically, the George Reed Monoskate in Group K produced the fastest lap. Graeme Raper has developed the motor to a very high degree and he drives it very hard.

Most of the pre-war cars were American engine specials, Rob Harcourt with the Lancia Meadows could not go round the floods so did not appear, and the Sulman Singer got too tired for the last races. It was good to see an MG P type, although it only completed practice, but Neill Murdoch’s MG TB Special ran very well for the entire meeting. An Allard J2 was an interesting car and would have been difficult to drive through the twisty bits but still did very good times.

Club members competing were Matt Snape in the Willys Special and Team Rees Mackay, which comprised 2 Rileys, son Stirling also driving, and Robyn, Jess, Jemima and Hugh. In the slowest car, Stirling outfoxed the handicappers, coming first and also winning the Lou Molina Trophy, with Rees following in 4th.

Grant Cowie, a frequent visitor to VSCCA events, came 2 nd in his Cooper Mk9 followed by another Cooper.

Members present

Helpers to those competing included John Lackey, Rob Phillips and Rob Jardine, and other members seen included John Murn, John Hurst, Dermer and Maggie Bennett, Neil Hamilton, Kent Patrick, Rob Kemmis, Rod Rossi, Colin Barrs, Peter Sewell and Samantha Sewell.

~ Rees Mackay