Tasmania SuperSprint
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The Tasmania Super 440 is the current name for the annual
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 ...
event for
Supercars A supercar, also known as an exotic car, is a street-legal sports car with race track-like power, speed, and handling, plus a certain subjective ''cachet'' linked to pedigree and/or exclusivity. The term 'supercar' is frequently used for th ...
, held at
Symmons Plains Raceway Symmons Plains Raceway is a motor racing circuit in Australia, located about 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 th ...
in Launceston,
Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
. The event has been a regular part of the Supercars Championship—and its previous incarnations, 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 ...
,
Shell Championship Series 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 ...
and V8 Supercars Championship—since
1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...
. Behind
Sandown Raceway Sandown International Raceway is a motor racing circuit in the suburb of Springvale in Melbourne, Victoria, approximately south east of the city centre. Sandown is considered a power circuit with its " drag strip" front and back straights b ...
, which has most commonly hosted the
Sandown 500 The Sandown 500 (commercially titled Penrite, Penrite Oil Sandown 500) is an annual endurance racing (motorsport), endurance Auto racing, motor race which is staged at the Sandown Raceway, near Melbourne, Victoria, Australia from 1964. The even ...
and
Sandown SuperSprint The Sandown SuperSprint was a Supercars motor racing event held at Sandown Raceway in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The event was a semi-regular part of the Supercars Championship—and its previous incarnations, the Australian Touring Car Cha ...
, Symmons Plains has hosted the most events in championship history with 52 as of 2025. Prior to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, the only hiatus for the event was between 2000 and 2003 during which the circuit received a A$3 million upgrade. The event is seen as one of Tasmania's largest sporting events, providing a variety of benefits to the local economy.


Format

The event is staged over a three-day weekend, from Friday to Sunday. Two thirty-minute practice sessions are held on Friday. On Saturday, two two-part qualifying sessions are held which decides the grid positions for the following two 120 kilometre race. A further two-part qualifying is held on Sunday, followed by a top ten shootout to determine the grid for the following 190 km race.


History

When the Australian Touring Car Championship (ATCC) was first held over a series of races in
1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...
, Symmons Plains was included on the calendar as the final race of the series. The race would decide the championship that year, as Alan Hamilton could take the title from
Ian Geoghegan Ian Anthony "Pete" Geoghegan, (26 April 1939 – 15 November 2003) was an Australian race car driver, known for a quick wit and natural driving skills. Sometimes referred to as "Pete" Geoghegan, he was one of the iconic characters of the 1 ...
if he won the race and Geoghegan failed to score. Geoghegan's car failed to start at the one-minute signal and his pit crew push started the car. This was not allowed under the regulations of the time and Geoghegan was disqualified. Hamilton ended up finishing the race in second place behind
Norm Beechey Norman Edward Beechey (born 9 July 1932) is a retired Australian race car driver, who was given the nickname ''"Stormin Norman"'' by his fans. To some, he was the closest thing Holden had to a star racing driver, before Peter Brock. Beechey com ...
, losing the title to Geoghegan by a single point. After again hosting the final round in
1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...
, Symmons Plains became the home of the opening round, hosting the first event of the ATCC every year from
1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...
to
1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...
.
Allan Moffat Allan George Moffat, Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 10 November 1939 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada) is a Canadian-born Australian racing driver known for his four championships in the Australian Touring Car Championship, six wins ...
and
Peter Brock Peter Geoffrey Brock (26 February 1945 – 8 September 2006), known as "Peter Perfect", "The King of the Mountain", or simply "Brocky", was an Australian motor racing driver. Brock was most often associated with Holden for almost 40 years, al ...
were the most successful drivers at the event in this period, taking seven of the eleven possible victories between them.
John Harvey John Harvey may refer to: People Academics *John Harvey (astrologer) (1564–1592), English astrologer and physician *John Harvey (architectural historian) (1911–1997), British architectural historian, who wrote on English Gothic architecture a ...
also scored his only two ATCC victories at the event, winning in 1976 and 1979. In 1985,
Robbie Francevic Robert James Francevic (born Franičević on 18 September 1941 in Auckland, New Zealand) is a retired racing driver who featured prominently in New Zealand and Australia during the 1970s and 1980s. His biggest wins were the inaugural Wellington 5 ...
won his and
Volvo The Volvo Group (; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distribution and sale of truck ...
's first round victory, winning again in 1986. Between 1988 and 1990, Dick Johnson joined Moffat as the only two drivers to win three consecutive rounds at the circuit. In 1993,
1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...
Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
World Champion Alan Jones won his first ATCC round, despite clashes with
Mark Skaife Mark Stephen Skaife (born 3 April 1967) is an Australian former racing driver. Skaife is a five-time champion of the Supercars Championship, V8 Supercar Championship Series, including its predecessor, the Australian Touring Car Championship, a ...
, which led to a confrontation after the race, and
Wayne Gardner Wayne Michael Gardner (born 11 October 1959) is an Australian former professional motorcycle and touring car racer. He competed in the Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championships from to , most prominently as a member of the Honda factor ...
. In the late 1990s,
Holden Racing Team Walkinshaw Andretti United is an Australian motor racing team based in the Melbourne suburb of Clayton. The team, initially branded as the Holden Racing Team, used to field Holden Commodores in the Supercars Championship before making the swit ...
dominated the event with four consecutive round wins from 1996 to 1999. During this period, the Symmons Plains event remained in the early part of the ATCC calendar until
1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...
, when it was moved to August. The
Government of Tasmania The Tasmanian Government is the executive branch of the Australian state of Tasmania. The leader of the party or coalition with the Confidence and supply, confidence of the Tasmanian House of Assembly, House of Assembly, the lower house of the ...
didn't renew the event's contract after 1999 and the race dropped off the calendar in 2000. Following the completion of a circuit upgrade in 2004, which included the construction of permanent pit lane facilities and a resurfacing of the track, a new deal was struck to bring the event back onto the calendar in November of the same year. Tasmanian driver
Marcos Ambrose Marcos Ross Ambrose (born 1 September 1976) is an Australian former racing driver and current Garry Rogers Motorsport competition director. He won the Australian V8 Supercar series' championship in 2003 V8 Supercar Championship Series, 2003 and ...
went into the 2004 event attempting to seal a back-to-back championship victory, until an engine failure in the third and final race of the weekend delayed his coronation as champion.
David Besnard David John Besnard (born 21 January 1977 in Sydney, Australia) is a retired professional racing driver. Career history Starting in karts in 1991, he quickly proceeded into Formula Ford in 1995. After initial success, he had a major accident at ...
and three other drivers benefited from a fortuitous late-race safety car to jump to the front of the field, before the four drivers were then demoted to the back of the field at a subsequent safety car due to confusion regarding the standings. Several days later, Besnard was credited with the win, the only win for
WPS Racing WPS Racing was an Australian motor racing team that competed in Australian V8 Supercar racing between 2004 and 2007. It was owned by Queensland businessman Craig Gore and sponsored by his Wright Patton Shakespeare company. History In 2003, ...
. Initially on its return, the event was generally held towards the end of the season, often as the penultimate event, until a move to the early stages of the championship calendar in 2012. Between 2007 and 2015,
Jamie Whincup Jamie David Whincup (born 6 February 1983) is an Australian professional racing driver competing in the Supercars Championship. He currently is team principal for Triple Eight Race Engineering. He has driven the No. 88 Holden Commodore (ZB), Ho ...
and
Triple Eight Race Engineering Triple Eight Race Engineering, branded as Red Bull Ampol Racing in Supercars, is an Australian motor racing team competing in the Supercars Championship. The team has been the only Brisbane-based V8 Supercar team since its formation, originall ...
dominated the event with six wins. This has seen Whincup surpass Brock as the most successful driver in the event's history. In 2013,
Fabian Coulthard Fabian "Fabs" Coulthard (born 28 July 1982) is a New Zealand professional race car driver, currently competing in the Supercars Championship, Repco Supercars Championship, who will drive as an endurance co-driver for Nick Percat with Walkinshaw ...
won
Brad Jones Racing Brad Jones Racing is an Australian motor racing team owned by Brad Jones based in Albury. The team competes in the Supercars Championship and the Super2 Series. Recently they have also returned to Australian Formula Ford where Brad and Kim be ...
their first championship round, winning two races with team-mate
Jason Bright Jason Paul Bright (born 7 March 1973) is a retired Australian racing driver who competed in the Supercars Championship, Virgin Australia Supercars Championship. He drove the No. 56 Ford Falcon (FG X), Ford FG X Falcon for Britek Motorsport, a ...
winning the other. In 2017, the Saturday race was suspended after two laps due to a twelve car pile-up in wet conditions. While the race later briefly restarted under safety car, no championship points were awarded due to the short distance completed, however
Shane van Gisbergen Shane Robert van Gisbergen (born 9 May 1989), also known by his initials SVG, is a New Zealand professional auto racing, racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro (sixth generation)#ZL1, C ...
was still credited with a race victory. In 2018, a three-stage knockout qualifying system was introduced to the championship at Symmons Plains to reduce the risks of traffic. Craig Lowndes won the round, his last round win as a solo driver, and his first at the circuit since 1998. The 2020 event was postponed until November due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, before later being cancelled altogether.


Winners


Multiple winners


By driver


By team


By manufacturer

; Notes * – DJR Team Penske was known as Dick Johnson Racing from 1980 to 2014, hence their statistics are combined. * – Tickford Racing was known as Ford Performance Racing from 2003 to 2014, hence their statistics are combined.


Event names and sponsors

* 1969–85, 1987–99, 2004: Symmons Plains * 1986: A.N.L. Cup * 2005–06:
Ferodo Ferodo is a British brake company based in Chapel-en-le-Frith in High Peak, Derbyshire. History Ferodo was founded in 1897 by Herbert Frood (1864–1931), with manufacturing starting in Gorton in 1901 and moving to Chapel-en-le-Frith in 1902. ...
Triple Challenge * 2006: Ferodo Tasmania Challenge * 2007–12: Falken Tasmania Challenge * 2013: Tasmania
Microsoft Office 365 Microsoft 365 (previously called Office 365) is a product family of productivity software, collaboration and cloud-based services owned by Microsoft. It encompasses online services such as Outlook.com, OneDrive, Microsoft Teams, programs formerl ...
* 2014: Tyrepower Tasmania 400 * 2015–19: Tyrepower Tasmania SuperSprint * 2021:
Beaurepaires Beaurepaires is an Australian and New Zealand tyre retail and repair chain started in 1922 by Frank Beaurepaire, a former Olympic swimmer for Australia and Australasia, with money he received for rescuing a shark attack victim from the water ...
Tasmania SuperSprint * 2022–24: NED Whisky Tasmania SuperSprint * 2025: Snowy River Caravans Tasmania Super 440


See also

*
List of Australian Touring Car Championship races The list of Australian Touring Car Championship Races is a list of all the races or rounds which have been held in the combined 63-year history of the Australian Touring Car Championship, V8 Supercars Championship, and Supercars Championship. As ...


References


External links


2015 event page
{{V8 Supercar Teams Supercars Championship races Motorsport in Tasmania