06 Oct 2017 Border Mail, Albury-Wodonga (General News) by David Johnston THE V8 Supercars have been locked in for Winton Raceway for a further two years with the Victorian government coming to the party with $600,000 to help secure the lucrative event. Wintons 2018 round has been confirmed for May 1820 with Benalla Auto Club planning to use the government funding to boost crowd numbers and promote North-East Victoria. The Andrews government provided $200,000 through Tourism Victoria this year with competition to host rounds of the series from other circuits in Australia and overseas becomingly increasingly intense. BAC chief executive Chris Lewis-Williams said the funding was critical. Our core Supercar customers will always come, but what takes it from a good event to a great event is more people through the gate, he said. Were aiming to make it more of an experience. Weve increased our corporate for 2017 over 2016, but we want to increase it once again. We want to offer businesses in the North East a Supercar experience that doesnt cost Australian Grand Prix money. We will keep pushing the camping option. The Winton round attracted 60,000 people this year. Poor weather on the Friday contributed to a slight attendance dip compared to 2016, but corporate and camping revenue were both up. Supercars had granted Winton rounds in 2018 and 2019, but the additional funding from government was the missing piece in the puzzle. North East Labor MP Jaclyn Symes said her government was firmly behind Winton and keeping the V8 round. Events at Winton are not only fantastic for racegoers, but bring in millions of important tourism dollars for the North-East region, she said. The Labor government assisted the Benalla Auto Club with funding of $1 million to resurface their track in 2015 and I am very pleased through my advocacy that additional tourism funding has been secured. North-East Victoria has something for everyone including motoring enthusiasts, food and wine buffs, arts and culture lovers, and outdoor adventurers. Caption Text: WINTON WINNER: The Andrews government has committed $600,000 to keep the V8 Supercars round at Winton for the next two years. The 2018 round will be held on May 18-20. Licensed by Copyright Agency. You may only copy or communicate this work with a licence.