21 Dec 2015 Wangaratta Chronicle, Wangaratta VIC (General News) by Caitun Sartori WANGARATTA and surrounding district business operators are set to benefit from a $3.35 million full track resurface at Winton Motor Raceway. Jaclyn Symes (MLC, Northern Victoria), on behalf of Minister for Regional Development Jaala Pulford, announced the State Government will commit $1 million and the Benalla Auto Club $2.35 million to the project on Friday, as work got underway at the circuit. The upgrade is critical to helping secure ongoing V8 Supercar series events, together with other race events worth tens of millions of dollars to local economies. Works includes safety upgrades to international and Australian standards by respective governing bodies Federation Internationale De LAutomobile (FIA) and Confederation of Australian Motorsports (CAMS). Rural City of Wangaratta administrator, Irene Grant, was present at the announcement and said council was keen to work with Winton and the Rural City of Benalla to maximise the use of the facility. One of the things we all know is that the use of Winton impacts on Wangaratta and surrounding towns, she said. Were very keen to ensure the facility is used to its full potential and that the benefits are felt by both Wangaratta and Benalla rural cities. Events based tourism is a strong attraction to the region, the benefits are enormous and theres opportunities to showcase what we have on offer. From the administrators perspective, we see value in having conversations with Benalla (council) in regards to events at Winton. Continued page 2 Winton upgrade to keep tourism motoring along From page 1 Winton Motor Raceway expects patronage to rise by up to 40 per cent within five years, resulting in a $10 million per annum increase in tourism for the region. Rural city enonomic development and tourism manager, Gary Warrener, hopes more people visiting the circuit will see more view the North East and Wangaratta as a future holiday destination, noting visitors spend on average, more than $240 per day. The circuit is so busy with nearly an event on every weekend of the year, he said on Friday. Its a natural capture for usI think there would be people out here who would welcome the works and businesses which will look at capturing their share of the market too. Ms Symes said during her visit to the track for the V8 Supercars in May she was told of the urgent need to upgrade the track and how it could put the V8 Supercars event at risk. I thought at the time, losing the event could not only have a detrimental effect on race meets here but what does that mean for the local towns too, she said. Benalla Auto Club group chief executive officer, Chris Lewis-Williams, said the $1 million in State Government funding was finally some recognition for the facility. Theres a lot of competition for motorsport events and we have to deliver a facility that people want to come to, he said. Our job here is to get people here and experience it and thats why Wangaratta, Benalla, Euroa, Albury/ Wodonga all benefit from this track being here. It is expected 26 new jobs will be created during the resurfacing and safety upgrades and a further 59 jobs as a result of the expected increased patronage. The first event scheduled to be held in 2016 on the new surface is February 7 before a round of the Winton Sprints series on Sunday, February 21 followed by a V8 Supercar test day on February 22. Caption Text: STEP FORWARD FOR CIRCUIT: Benalla Auto Club group chief executive officer Chris Lewis-Williams and Jaclyn Symes (MLC, Northern Victoria) were on hand to announce a $3.35 million full track resurface at Winton Motor Raceway on Friday. PHOTO: Caitlin Sartori