Symmons Plains Raceway is a

motor racing An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gene ...

circuit in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, located about south of

Launceston, Tasmania Launceston () is a city in the north of Tasmania, Australia, at the confluence of the North Esk River, North Esk and South Esk River, South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River, Tasmania, Tamar River (kanamaluka). As of 2021, the Launc ...

. 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 The Australian Touring Car Championship (ATCC) is a touring car racing award held in Australia since 1960. The series itself is no longer contested, but the title lives on, with the winner of the Repco Supercars Championship awarded the troph ...

and the

Supercars Championship The Supercars Championship, also known as the Repco Supercars Championship under sponsorship and historically as V8 Supercars, is a touring car racing category in Australia and New Zealand, running as an International Series under Fédération I ...

. Since 2004 it has hosted the Tasmania Super 440 for

. 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 A hairpin or hair pin is a long device used to hold a person's hair in place. It may be used simply to secure long hair out of the way for convenience or as part of an elaborate hairstyle or coiffure. The earliest evidence for dressing the h ...

, known as Brambles Hairpin, at the end of the old front straight.

The circuit

Symmons Plains Raceway is 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.

Supercars Championship

The circuit has hosted rounds of the

and

since 1969. The circuit was left off the Supercars Championship calendar in 2000 before returning in 2004 after the upgrades were completed.

Events

* March:

Australian National Trans-Am Series The Australian National Trans-Am Series (also known as the Trico Trans-Am Series after the series sponsor) is a national motor sport series based on the American Trans-Am series. It is a spec series featuring featuring TA2-class cars, and runs ...

''Hi-Tec Oils Race Tasmania'',

Australian Prototype Series The Australian Prototype Series is an Australian motor racing series for competitors smaller-engined (under 3.0 litres of engine capacity) Sports car racing, prototype sports cars. Originally known as ''Sports Racer Series'', eligibility is somet ...

* May:

'' Tasmania Super 440'',

SuperUtes Series The SuperUtes Series (promoted as the V8 SuperUte Series) is an Australian pickup truck racing competition that was launched in 2018 as a successor to the V8 Ute Racing Series. The series' events are held as a support category to Supercars Champ ...

Aussie Racing Cars Aussie Racing Cars (ARC), currently known as the Battery World Aussie Racing Cars under sponsorship, is an Australian motor racing category. ARC is a motorcycle powered silhouette racing car class created by former touring car racing driver P ...

Touring Car Masters Touring Car Masters is an Australian motor racing series open to modified touring cars manufactured between 1 January 1963 and 31 December 1980. It evolved out of a previous series for CAMS Group N Touring Cars but with a greater degree of mo ...

Super2 Series The Dunlop Super2 Series (formerly known as Dunlop Series, Fujitsu V8 Supercars Series, HPDC V8 Supercars Series, Konica Minolta V8 Supercars Series and Konica V8 Supercars/Lites Series) is an Australian touring car racing competition, specifical ...

; Former: *

Australian Drivers' Championship The Australian Drivers' Championship is a motor racing championship contested annually since 1957 by drivers of cars complying with Australia's premier open-wheeler racing category. This category was determined by the Confederation of Australia ...

(1966–1967, 1969–1972, 1980, 1987, 1992–1993, 2006–2008, 2010–2013) *

Australian Formula 2 Championship Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

(1971–1975, 1979, 1986–1987) * Australian Formula 3 Championship (2002–2003, 2006–2008, 2010–2013) *

Australian Formula 4 Championship Formula 4 Australian Championship Certified by FIA (from 2025, the AU4 Australian Championship) is an Australian motor racing series for open-wheel cars complying with FIA Formula 4 regulations. The inaugural championship, known as the CAMS Jay ...

(2016, 2018) *

Australian Formula Ford Championship The Australian Formula Ford Championship is an Australian motor racing competition for drivers of Formula Ford racing cars, held annually since 1970. From 1970 until 1992 it was a national series and from 1993 until 2013 the series was sanctione ...

(1990–1993, 1995, 2006–2013, 2023–2024) *

Australian GT Championship The GT World Challenge Australia, formerly known as the Australian GT Championship, is a Motorsport Australia-sanctioned national title for drivers of GT cars, held annually from 1960 to 1963, from 1982 to 1985 and from 2005. Each championship ...

(1982, 2007) *

Australian GT Production Car Championship The Australian GT Production Car Championship was a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title, organised by Procar Australia Pty Ltd, for drivers of Group 3E Series Production Cars. PROCAR had first promoted a national series for production b ...

(2002) * Australian Improved Production Nationals (2001) *

Australian Mini Challenge The Australian Mini Challenge was a touring car racing category in Australia. First held in 2008, the Mini Challenge supported both the V8 Supercar Championship Series and the V8 Supercar Development Series.2008 V8 Supercars Eastern Creek round o ...

(2008–2009) *

Australian Nations Cup Championship The Australian Nations Cup Championship was a motor racing title sanctioned by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) from 2000 to 2004. History In the absence of the Australian GT Championship (which had not been run since 1985 Austr ...

(2002–2003) * Australian Performance Car Championship (2002–2003, 2005–2007) *

Australian Production Car Championship The Australian Production Car Championship is an Australian motor racing title for production car racing, production cars. The championship was first contested in 1987 and from 2008 to 2015 the title was awarded to the most successful driver in th ...

(1988–1992, 1995, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2010) *

Australian Super Touring Championship The Australian Super Touring Championship (formerly known as the Australian 2.0 Litre Touring Car Championship) was a Confederation of Australian Motor Sport, CAMS-sanctioned national motor racing title for Super Touring Cars. History Super Touri ...

(1993, 1995, 2000) *

Australian Superbike Championship The Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) is a national motorcycle racing championship in Australia, organized by Motorcycling Australia. History The story of the Australian Superbike Championship begins in 1980, at a time in motorcycle spo ...

(1991–1994, 1996, 1998, 2006–2011, 2013, 2015) *

National Sports Sedan Series The National Sports Sedans Series, formerly the Australian Sports Sedan Championship, is a Motorsport Australia-sanctioned national motor racing title for drivers of cars complying with Australian Sports Sedan regulations. This class, essential ...

(1976–1981, 1992, 2024) *

Porsche Sprint Challenge Australia The Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Australia is a sports car racing series open to drivers of Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars. The series was first held in 2008 to fill the void between club racing and the Australian Carrera Cup Championship and Australian ...

(2008, 2010, 2019, 2023–2024) *

S5000 Australian Drivers' Championship The VHT S5000 Australian Drivers' Championship (known originally as the Australian S5000 Championship, or simply S5000) was an open-wheel road racing series in Australia. The series was created by a merger between two proposed series, Formula Th ...

(2021–2023) *

Stadium Super Trucks The Stadium Super Trucks (SST), formerly known as Speed Energy Formula Off-Road, also known as the Boost Mobile Super Trucks in Australia, is an American short course off-road racing series created by off-road racer and former IndyCar and NASCAR d ...

(2021) * Tasmanian Super Prix (2006–2008, 2010) *

TCR Australia Touring Car Series The TCR Australia Touring Car Series is a touring car racing series based in Australia. The series is run as part of the Shannons Nationals series. Background The TCR Touring Car formula, introduced in 2014, is based on four or five door fron ...

(2021–2024) *

V8 Ute Racing Series The V8 Ute Racing Series, known originally as the V8 BRute Utes was an Australian motor racing series for Coupé utility, utilities, derived from the Australian Production Car Championship. It was conceived in 2000 by Procar Australia, PROCAR chie ...

(2002–2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2016)

Lap records

From 1980 to 2021,

Alfredo Costanzo Alfredo Costanzo (born 3 January 1943, in Soveria Mannelli, Calabria, Italy) is a retired Italian born Australian racing driver. From 1980 to 1983 Costanzo won four Australian Drivers' Championships in a row, equalling the record set by Bib S ...

held the outright race lap record by setting a time of 0:50.16 seconds with

Lola T430 The Lola T430 is an open-wheel formula race car, designed, developed and built by British manufacturer and constructor Lola Cars, for Formula 5000 Formula 5000 (or F5000) was an Open-wheel car, open wheel, single seater auto-racing formula tha ...

Formula 5000 Formula 5000 (or F5000) was an Open-wheel car, open wheel, single seater auto-racing formula that ran in different series in various regions around the world from 1968 to 1982. It was originally intended as a low-cost series aimed at open-wheel ...

. The closest anyone had come since 1980 was British driver

James Winslow James Winslow (born 16 April 1983) is a British professional car racing driver who races at Le Mans 24 Hours. A ten-time Motorsport champion member of the British Racing Drivers' Club, he competes in Europe, Australia & Asia in Le Mans LMP & ...

who set a time of 0:50.5036 seconds on 1 April 2012 while driving a

Dallara F307 The Dallara F3 cars are open-wheel formula racing car, designed, developed and built by Italian manufacturer Dallara, for Formula Three categories. F305 The Dallara F305 was built in 2005. It became upgradable with aero kits, and its evolutions b ...

. Then, that outright lap record was broken in 2021 by driver

Joey Mawson Joseph Terry Mawson (born 27 March 1996 in Sydney) is an Australian racing driver of Peruvian descent. He is the current double champion of the Australian S5000 Championship. Career Mawson started his career in karting Kart racing or kart ...

. Driving a Ligier JS F3-S5000, the Australian driver set a time of 0:49.7242 seconds. In 2022, the record was improved again by himself, by setting a time of 0:48.5598 seconds. The 'Tassie Tin Tops' category included below is a combined closed car category not built to any specific set of regulations, it usually runs at major national meetings bringing together a collection of vehicles that usually compete in specific categories at Tasmanian State Championship race meetings, it usually includes Sports Sedans, Improved Production and Sports GT category vehicles. As of May 2025, the fastest official race lap records at Symmons Plains Raceway are listed as:Natsoft Race Results
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Notes

References

External links

Symmons Plains at MotorsportTAS.com.au
{{S5000 circuits Motorsport venues in Tasmania Sports venues in Tasmania Supercars Championship circuits Motorsport in Tasmania