Mustangs Charge at Winton
May 2-3, 2026
Pics by a very soggy Phil Wisewould
Qualifying
If Sandown opened the season with a heavyweight Camaro-versus-Mustang slugfest, Winton immediately shifted the balance toward Ford territory.
Round 3 of the Victorian Trophy Tour arrived at the tight, technical layout of Winton Motor Raceway, where rhythm matters more than raw horsepower and drivers spend as much time balancing the car on corner exit as they do charging down straights. And in qualifying, the Mustangs absolutely came alive.
Darren Collins continued his strong 2026 form by putting his Ford Mustang on pole with a sharp 1:36.1499, the quickest lap of the session and the only car into the low 1:36 bracket. The ’68 Mustang looked beautifully settled through Winton’s flowing infield — minimal drama, clean exits, and plenty of confidence under brakes. Collins found the lap on his sixth tour and never looked seriously threatened afterwards.
The closest challenger? Unsurprisingly, Scott Pierce. The Pierce Plumbing Mustang continued its season-long pace, stopping the clocks at 1:36.5243, just 0.3744 seconds shy of pole. Pierce looked especially quick through the tighter middle sector, the big Mustang rotating neatly through corners where momentum is everything. Another front-row lockout for Ford. Another Collins-versus-Pierce showdown brewing.
Third place went to Ben Wilkinson, making it three Mustangs inside the top three with a 1:37.3922.
Wilkinson’s pace looked smooth and controlled rather than spectacular — exactly the kind of approach that often pays off over race distance at Winton.
Fourth fastest was Peter Meuleman in the unmistakable NB Mustang, posting 1:38.4640. Then came the ever-entertaining Glenn Miles in the Valiant Charger, who kept Mopar fans smiling and once again proved the Charger belongs firmly in the fight. The sight of the big Chrysler muscling through Winton’s tight layout remains one of the category’s highlights.
After starring earlier in the season, the Camaro brigade found Winton a tougher challenge.
Geoff Munday was the quickest Chevrolet runner, placing sixth in the Camaro with a 1:39.9133.
The Camaro’s brute force remained obvious down the straights, but Winton’s stop-start rhythm rewarded nimble rotation and patience on throttle.
Seventh went to Darren Jones in the Mustang Coupe, stopping the clock at 1:41.1431 after a productive 10-lap session. The midfield remains one of the category’s strengths — plenty of different driving styles, similar lap times, and very little margin for error.
Rounding out the field was John Clarke in another Mustang, recording 1:55.2700. A sizeable gap to the front-runners on paper, but simply banking laps at Winton’s demanding layout is valuable mileage — especially in a class where confidence builds session by session.
Race 1
If qualifying belonged to Darren Collins, Race 1 belonged to survival, patience… and Ben Wilkinson. Winton has a habit of doing that. The tight Victorian circuit doesn’t always reward the fastest car — it rewards the driver who stays calm when traffic builds, tyres fade and races begin to unravel. Saturday afternoon’s 18-minute opener delivered exactly that kind of contest. And when the dust settled, it was Wilkinson standing on the top step.
Starting from the second row, Ben Wilkinson drove a measured and intelligent race in his Ford Mustang, steadily moving forward as the race developed before taking control late. His 10 laps wasn’t built on outright domination — it was built on consistency. Wilkinson never looked flustered, kept the Mustang tidy through Winton’s demanding infield, and avoided the drama that unfolded around him.
Behind Wilkinson came another strong performance from Scott Pierce in the Mustang. Pierce looked fast all race long and set the outright fastest lap of the race — 1:37.3330 on Lap 7, showing just how much speed remained in the car late in the contest. But a five-second penalty ultimately hurt his chances of challenging for victory, leaving him second in 20:22.5346. Still — another podium, more strong points, and continued championship momentum.
Third place went to Peter Meuleman, crossing the line in 20:33.0465 after a clean and disciplined drive. Meuleman’s Mustang looked particularly stable over race distance, and his consistency kept him firmly inside the lead battle all afternoon. Just behind Meuleman came the fan-favourite Valiant Charger of Glenn Miles.
Miles drove aggressively but cleanly, muscling the Charger to fourth in 20:33.8226, only fractions behind Meuleman after nearly twenty-one minutes of racing. The Charger’s 1:38.8937 best lap was another reminder that the Mopar package remains genuinely competitive — not just spectacular to watch.
Fifth went to Geoff Munday in the Camaro, finishing in 20:55.1903. The Camaro still had straight-line presence, but Winton’s stop-start rhythm again appeared to favour the more nimble Mustangs. Munday kept the Chevrolet in contention, but the gap to the lead quartet told the story.
Sixth place went to John Clarke (96) in another Mustang, completing nine laps in 22:07.5632. While not quite on the pace of the front-running group yet, Clarke kept circulating consistently and gained valuable race mileage around one of the trickiest circuits on the calendar.
The biggest disappointment of the race belonged to pole sitter Darren Collins. After dominating qualifying and showing strong pace early, the Mustang retired after seven laps. His 1:37.8253 confirmed he still had winning speed, but Winton can punish even small issues brutally. A frustrating result for one of the championship favourites.
Darren Jones retired after 7 laps. He’d looked solid through the opening stages before his race ended prematurely, continuing a difficult run of luck in 2026 so far.
Fastest Lap Scott Pierce — 1:37.3330
Race 2
Sunday morning at Winton looked nothing like Saturday. Grey skies rolled in overnight. The track darkened. Grip disappeared. And suddenly the second Historic Touring Cars race of the weekend became less about outright pace — and much more about patience, throttle control and survival. The lap times told the story immediately.
Cars that had comfortably run in the 1:36s and 1:37s the day before were now circulating deep into the 1:50 bracket. The circuit was slippery, unpredictable and constantly evolving. And in those conditions, one car looked completely at home. Glenn Miles delivered one of the drives of the weekend, muscling his Valiant Charger to victory in atrocious conditions. The Charger looked stable where others struggled — particularly under braking — and Miles judged the race beautifully, keeping momentum without overdriving the car. His winning time of 21:09.2318 across nine laps was backed up by the outright fastest lap of the race: 1:52.4218.
In the wet, experience and smoothness matter. Miles had both. And seeing the big Mopar thunder through the spray at the front of the field felt absolutely right.
Second place went to the ever-consistent Ben Wilkinson in the Mustang. Wilkinson may not have had the raw pace of Miles in the conditions, but he stayed calm while others searched for grip, bringing the car home in 21:17.1870.
Third place belonged to Peter Meuleman and the unmistakable Mustang, crossing the line in 21:20.2060 after another measured drive. Meuleman has quietly become one of the most dependable drivers in the field — always near the front, always clean, and increasingly difficult to ignore in the championship conversation.
After a frustrating Saturday retirement, Darren Jones responded with one of his strongest runs of the season so far. The Mustang Coupe handled the slippery conditions well, and Jones kept it tidy to secure fourth in 21:28.0990. A confidence-building drive at exactly the right time.
Fifth place went to Scott Pierce in the ’69 Mustang. Pierce again showed strong pace — his 1:55.3835 proving the car remained quick despite the conditions — but another five-second penalty hurt his final result. Without it, the Mustang would have been right in the fight for fourth. Still, Pierce remains one of the category’s outright benchmark drivers.
Sixth place went to Geoff Munday in the Camaro, who wrestled the big Chevrolet through the difficult conditions for a solid finish in 21:30.7317. Then came Darren Collins in seventh — a frustrating result after his qualifying heroics and Race 1 heartbreak. Collins remained quick, posting a 1:55.3146 best lap, but never quite looked comfortable in the wet conditions. The Mustang still has pace. The results just haven’t fully followed yet at Winton.
Rounding out the field was John Clarke, completing eight laps in his Mustang. Winton in the wet is no easy place to build confidence, but Clarke kept circulating and gained valuable race mileage in some of the toughest conditions the field has faced all season.
Race 3
By Sunday afternoon, Winton had turned into a survival contest. The weather remained unsettled, the circuit never fully came back to the drivers, and after two races already shaped by changing grip levels, the final Historic Touring Cars race of the weekend became one last test of patience and control. Then came the red flag. The race was ultimately declared at six laps — but not before another dramatic twist in what had already become one of the most unpredictable weekends of the 2026 season. And once again, Ben Wilkinson was right in the middle of it.
After winning Saturday’s opening race and backing it up with another podium in the wet Sunday morning encounter, Ben Wilkinson closed the weekend perfectly with victory in Race 3. The Mustang looked composed from the moment the lights went out. Wilkinson avoided mistakes, stayed smooth in the greasy conditions, and gradually built enough margin to control the shortened race. His winning time of 14:59.6776 may not fully reflect how difficult conditions remained, but the calmness of the drive certainly did. This wasn’t about spectacular heroics. It was about discipline. And at Winton, that mattered more than outright aggression.
Fresh from his wet-weather masterclass earlier in the day, Glenn Miles very nearly backed it up with another victory for the mighty Valiant Charger. Miles finished second in 15:08.2776, but importantly set the outright fastest lap of the race – 1:55.3170 – proving the Charger remained exceptionally strong in the difficult conditions. The sight of the big Mopar carving through spray and standing water was one of the visual highlights of the weekend. And by Sunday afternoon, the Charger had become one of the stories of the meeting.
Third place went to Darren Jones in the Mustang Coupe. After retiring in Race 1, Jones bounced back beautifully across Sunday’s races, bringing the car home cleanly in 15:19.0547 after another measured drive. A solid recovery result after a rough start to the weekend.
Fourth place went to Geoff Munday in the Camaro, finishing in 15:32.5414. The Chevrolet still looked like a handful in the ever-changing grip levels, but Munday kept the car circulating and avoided the errors that caught others out throughout the weekend. Sometimes at Winton, that’s exactly what you need to do.
The championship heavyweights endured another difficult race. Scott Pierce finished fifth in 15:32.8947, narrowly ahead of Darren Collins in sixth. Both drivers clearly still had pace – Collins clocked a 1:58.9810, Pierce a 1:59.9167 – but neither ever quite looked comfortable in the changing conditions compared to earlier in the weekend. For two drivers who arrived at Winton as favourites, Sunday became more about damage limitation than domination.
Rounding out the finishers was Peter Meuleman. Seventh place may not sound spectacular on paper, but another finish in difficult conditions continued Meuleman’s quietly impressive weekend – consistently near the front, consistently collecting points, and avoiding major mistakes. Championships are often built on exactly those kinds of days.
If Sandown opened the season with raw pace and manufacturer rivalry, Winton added another layer to the championship.