Winton, Australia has "saved its place" on the Supercars calendar for '17 after "fears the event could be lost due to costs," according to Rebecca Williams of the HERALD SUN. The Benalla Auto Club, which owns the Winton Motor Raceway and promotes the event, was last month "forced to lobby the Victorian government for financial assistance to help keep the race meeting in country Victoria alive after struggling to raise the capital for Supercars’ appearance fee." But "financial wrangling" has secured the event’s place in the championship for next year with an agreement also in place for '18 and '19, subject to funding. The government has come to the aid of the event with support via its tourism arm, while the club and Supercars were able to reach a "compromise that works for both of us." Benalla Auto Club CEO Chris Lewis-Williams said, "We are definite for 2017 and we've got an agreement for 2018 and 2019, but we've got to do some work on funding." The result for Winton means Victoria "looks set to keep its full quota of events on the calendar for next year" with Supercars also close to finalizing a new deal at Sandown (HERALD SUN, 9/10).
