Winton Festival of Speed 2026 Delivers a Weekend to Remember
Wurth Pit Lane
The 2026 Race Fuels Winton Festival of Speed brought Winton Motor Raceway to life across July 24 to 26, delivering a spectacular weekend of historic racing, regional hospitality, passionate car culture and community celebration. With hundreds of historic race cars, packed paddocks, dedicated competitors and a strong crowd of motorsport enthusiasts, the event once again proved why the Festival of Speed continues to hold such a special place on the Australian historic motorsport calendar.
This year’s event showcased more than 300 historic race cars, with racing categories spanning Group N Historic Touring Cars, Heritage Touring Cars, Group S Sports Cars, Formula Ford, MG and Invited British, Porsche 944 Challenge, BMW E30 Racing, Touring Car Tributes, Touring Car Legends and the newly introduced Porsche Fitzy Cup. The Victorian Historic Racing Register also promoted the event as a celebration of historic motorsport featuring more than 300 race cars and over 500 club display vehicles, creating a full weekend experience both on and off the circuit.
Across the weekend, competitors took to Winton’s technical and much-loved layout for a huge program of racing, sprint and qualifying sessions. V8 Sleuth reported that the 2026 event featured a blockbuster 68 sessions across 11 categories, with the on-track mix including Touring Car Legends, Heritage Touring Cars from the Group C and Group A eras, Historic Group N Touring Cars, Touring Car Tributes, Formula Ford, Group S Sports Cars, MG and Invited British Sports Cars, Porsche 944 Challenge and BMW E30 Racing.
The weekend was also captured for fans at home, with Saturday and Sunday’s racing broadcast live and free through Blend Line TV. V8 Sleuth promoted the live stream as the way for fans who could not attend in person to still enjoy the action, with separate coverage across both race days. The Blend Line TV Sunday broadcast alone drew tens of thousands of views, helping share the Winton Festival of Speed atmosphere well beyond the circuit gates.
One of the most exciting additions to the 2026 event was the Brown Brothers Trackside Lounge n’ Lawn, which brought a premium hospitality experience to the Festival of Speed weekend. Brown Brothers was confirmed as the official alcoholic beverage partner of the 2026 Winton Festival of Speed, as well as the naming rights partner of the new premium trackside hospitality area. The lounge offered guests a relaxed and elevated vantage point to take in the racing, complemented by a selection of wines from one of the region’s most recognised wineries.
The addition of Brown Brothers helped strengthen the event’s connection to the surrounding High Country region, pairing iconic motorsport with a premium local hospitality offering. In announcing the partnership, Winton Motor Raceway highlighted the importance of combining historic racing with regional produce, entertainment and memorable spectator experiences. The Trackside Lounge n’ Lawn was a fantastic step forward for the event, giving spectators another way to enjoy the festival atmosphere in comfort while celebrating one of the region’s most respected local brands.
The weekend also provided an opportunity to recognise and thank the event’s valued partners and supporters, including Wurth, whose involvement helped contribute to the professional presentation and overall success of the 2026 Festival of Speed. Partnerships like these are vital to the continued growth of major events at Winton Motor Raceway, supporting not only the competitors and spectators on the weekend, but also the broader motorsport community that comes together to make events of this scale possible.
Off track, the atmosphere was every bit as impressive as the racing. Car club displays, open paddock access, camping, spectator viewing areas and the ability to get close to the cars and drivers created the welcoming, hands-on experience that the Winton Festival of Speed is known for. The Humanitix event listing described the weekend as a chance for spectators to walk through the garages, speak with drivers, experience the sights and sounds of the paddock and enjoy the unique character of Winton Motor Raceway.
A major feature of this year’s program was the celebration of Peter Fitzgerald through the new Porsche Fitzy Cup, a Porsche-focused category created to recognise Fitzgerald’s remarkable contribution to Australian motorsport. The category invited Peter Fitzgerald built-and-raced Porsches from 1990 to 2010, as well as other race-spec Porsches from the same era, creating a special on-track tribute as part of the 2026 festival. The VHRR also promoted Sunday’s Porsche parade in honour of Peter Fitzgerald, adding another memorable moment to the weekend’s celebrations.
Race results from the weekend were published through Natsoft, with the Race Fuels Winton Festival of Speed 2026 listed under Winton Motor Raceway results for July 26, 2026. The official results reflect the size and depth of the program, with competitors across a broad mix of historic and classic categories taking part in practice, qualifying, sprint and race sessions across the three-day event.
The 2026 Race Fuels Winton Festival of Speed was a true celebration of everything that makes historic motorsport so special: passionate people, beautifully prepared cars, competitive racing, regional pride and a strong sense of community. From the roar of classic touring cars to the relaxed hospitality of the Brown Brothers Trackside Lounge n’ Lawn, the weekend offered something for every motorsport fan.