Location Launceston, Tasmania Owner Motorsports Tasmania Turns 7 Opened March 1960 Major event Supercars Championship | Time zone GMT +10 Major events V8 Supercars Length 2,410 m Phone +61 447 315 114 | |
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Lap record 0:50.16 (Alfredo Costanzo, Lola T430 Chevrolet, 1980, Formula 5000) Address 14872 Midland Hwy, Perth TAS 7300, Australia Similar Woolmers Estate, Budget Rent‑A‑Car (Launcest, Northern Midlands Council, Natsoft ‑ National Software, Brickendon | ||
Symmons Plains Raceway is a motor racing circuit in Australia, located about 30 kilometres (18.64 mi) south of Launceston, Tasmania. Since the closure of the Longford circuit in the 1960s it has been Tasmania's premier motor racing facility. The circuit is one of the longest serving circuits of the combined history of the Australian Touring Car Championship and the V8 Supercar Championship Series. Since 2005 it has hosted the Falken Tasmania Challenge for V8 Supercars.
Contents
In 2004, the facility received a A$3 million upgrade which included some modifications to the layout of the track, including moving the start/finish line back to a more conventional location opposite the pits. It had previously been on a curve (which is now located just after the first corner), unusual for a road course. Symmons Plains is also known for its extremely tight hairpin bend, known as Brambles Hairpin, at the end of the old front straight.
A lap of symmons plains raceway
The circuit
Symmons Plains Raceway is 2.41 kilometres (1.50 mi) long and is very hard on brakes. The banking at the hairpin is a unique opportunity to overtake. The other overtaking opportunity is the left hander at the end of the back straight.
The outright lap record at Symmons Plains was set in 1980. Driving a Lola T430 Chevrolet Formula 5000, Alfredo Costanzo set a time of 50.16 seconds. The closest anyone has come since 1980 was British driver James Winslow who set a time of 50.5036 seconds on 1 April, 2012 while driving a Formula 3 Dallara F307 Mercedes-Benz.
Australian Touring Car Championship
The circuit has hosted rounds of the Australian Touring Car Championship and V8 Supercars Championship since 1969. The circuit was left off the V8 Supercar calendar in 2000 before returning in 2004 after the upgrades were completed.