Winton Porsche festival postponed

The inaugural Stutt’Fest, a festival for all things Porsche to be held at Winton, has been postponed.

Stutt’Fest was to have been held on January 14-16, 2022, but is now likely to take place in May or September, pending finalisation of Supercars, Porsche Motorsport Australia, and other calendars.

Multiple reasons have been given for the postponement, particularly a change in management at Winton Motor Raceway, but also supplier shortages and border restrictions.

“While we are extremely disappointed to make this decision, ultimately we had to do what was best for the event moving forward,” said Stutt’Fest director, Sven Burchartz.

“Changes to the current management and event delivery team at Winton Motor Raceway, who have been a critical part of the event planning and execution, mean that we needed to push pause and look further forward.

“This will allow for more lead time so the Stutt’Fest team and our Winton Partners can deliver the exceptional event that we have planned.

“Launching an event in these times is difficult and we want the first year of Stutt’Fest to set the benchmark for years to come.

“We have no intention of putting on a sub-par event, so delaying for a brief period until later in 2022 is the most responsible decision for the Event, for Winton Motor Raceway and for our competitors and partners.”

While not run by the German manufacturer or its local management team, the Stutt’Fest concept is based on the Porsche Rennsport events which have been held in the past.

The end of the Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia and Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia seasons have also been affected by border restrictions, with a round of each at The Bend this weekend dropped when South Australia tightened travel rules.

At Benalla Auto Club, which owns Winton Motor Raceway, current CEO Chris Lewis-Williams will leave in early-2022.