Symmons Plains Raceway
Symmons Plains Raceway is a motor racing circuit in Australia, located about 30 km (19 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.
![]() Layout of the Symmons Plains Raceway | |
Location | Launceston, Tasmania |
---|---|
Time zone | UTC+10:00 |
Coordinates | 41°39′34″S 147°15′10″E |
FIA Grade | 3 |
Owner | Motorsports Tasmania |
Opened | March 1960[1] |
Major events | Current: Supercars Championship Tasmania SuperSprint (1969–1999, 2004–2019, 2021–present) TCR Australia (2021–present) Former: S5000 (2021–2023) Stadium Super Trucks (2021) Australian GT (1982, 2007) |
Full Circuit (1960–present) | |
Length | 2.411 km (1.498 miles) |
Turns | 7 |
Race lap record | 0:48.5598 (![]() |
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.
The circuit
Symmons Plains Raceway is 2.411 km (1.498 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.[2]
Supercars Championship
The circuit has hosted rounds of the Australian Touring Car Championship and Supercars Championship since 1969. The circuit was left off the V8 Supercar calendar in 2000 before returning in 2004 after the upgrades were completed.
Lap records
From 1980 to 2021, Alfredo Costanzo held the outright race lap record by setting a time of 50.16 seconds with Lola T430 Formula 5000. The closest anyone had come since 1980 was British driver James Winslow who set a time of 50.5036 seconds on 1 April 2012 while driving a Dallara F307.
Then, that outright lap record was broken in 2021 by driver Joey Mawson. 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.[3]
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 March 2024, the fastest official race lap records at Symmons Plains Raceway are listed as:[4]
Class | Driver | Vehicle | Time | Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
Permanent Circuit: 2.412 km (1960–present) | ||||
S5000 | ![]() |
Ligier JS F3-S5000 | 0:48.5598[3] | 12 February 2022 |
Formula 5000 | ![]() |
Lola T430 | 0:50.16 | 23 March 1980 |
Formula 3 | ![]() |
Dallara F307 | 0:50.3278 | 6 April 2013 |
Sports Sedans | ![]() |
Nissan Skyline R32 | 0:50.6025 | 19 November 2022 |
Supercars Championship | ![]() |
Holden ZB Commodore | 0:51.2276[5] | 7 April 2019 |
GT3 | ![]() |
Lamborghini Gallardo | 0:52.5247 | 2 September 2007 |
Porsche Carrera Cup | ![]() |
Porsche 911 (991 II) GT3 Cup | 0:52.6193 | 21 May 2023 |
Super2 Series | ![]() |
Holden VF Commodore | 0:52.7091 | 8 April 2018 |
Tassie Tin Tops | ![]() |
Nissan Skyline R32 | 0:52.9743 | 25 February 2023 |
Superbike | ![]() |
Suzuki GSX-R1000 | 0:53.387[6] | 13 November 2011 |
Trans-Am Australia | ![]() |
Ford Mustang | 0:53.9755[7] | 12 February 2022 |
Sports GT | ![]() |
Mitsubishi Evo | 0:53.9882 | 7 April 2019 |
Australian Formula 2 | ![]() |
Cheetah Mk8 | 0:54.73 | 9 March 1986 |
Formula Ford | ![]() |
Mygale SJ09 | 0:55.3004[8] | 31 May 2009 |
N-GT | ![]() |
Ferrari 360 N-GT | 0:55.3797 | 27 April 2003 |
Supersport | ![]() |
Yamaha YZF-R6 | 0:55.493[6] | 10 September 2006 |
TCR Touring Car | ![]() |
Audi RS 3 LMS TCR (2021) | 0:55.7811[9] | 12 February 2022 |
Formula 4 | ![]() |
Mygale M14-F4 | 0:55.8236 | 8 April 2018 |
Group A | ![]() |
Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R | 0:55.97 | 10 March 1991 |
Improved Production | ![]() |
Ford Falcon | 0:56.1942 | 30 March 2014 |
Touring Car Masters | ![]() |
Ford Mustang TransAm | 0:55.9563[10] | 25 February 2023 |
Super Touring | ![]() |
BMW 318i | 0:58.2963[11] | 7 May 1995 |
Group C (Australia) | ![]() |
Holden VH Commodore SS | 0:58.51 | 11 March 1984 |
125cc Grand Prix | ![]() |
Aprilia RSW 125 | 1:00.681[6] | 4 April 2009 |
Aussie Racing Cars | ![]() |
Ford Mustang (S197) | 1:00.8755 | 18 April 2021 |
Group Nc | ![]() |
Holden HQ Monaro | 1:01.5586 | 10 November 2013 |
V8 Ute Racing Series | ![]() |
Ford FG Falcon Ute | 1:01.7761 | 3 April 2016 |
V8 Superute Series | ![]() |
Toyota Hilux | 1:01.8467 | 26 March 2022 |
Moto3 | ![]() |
Honda NSF250R | 1:02.716[6] | 6 September 2015 |
Improved Production - U2L | ![]() |
Ford Escort Cosworth | 1:03:9122 | 3 October 2004 |
Group Nb | ![]() |
EH Holden | 1:07.7233 | 25 October 2020 |
Supersport 300 | ![]() |
Kawasaki Ninja 300 | 1:09.166[6] | 6 September 2015 |
Excel Cup | ![]() |
Hyundai Excel | 1:10.5749 | 17 March 2024 |
HQ Holden | ![]() |
HQ Holden | 1:11.6103 | 25 October 2020 |
Boost Mobile Super Trucks | ![]() |
Stadium Super Truck | 1:12.2884 | 18 April 2021 |
250cc Production | ![]() |
Kawasaki Ninja 250R | 1:13.693[6] | 5 September 2015 |
Notes
References
- Terry Walker, Fast Tracks, 1995, p. 156
- "Falken Tasmania Challenge". v8supercars.com.au. n.d. Archived from the original on 20 February 2010. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
- "S5000 Series 2022 John McCormack Cup Statistics". 12 February 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
- Natsoft Race Results
- "2019 Supercars Symmons Plains Race 2 Statistics". 7 April 2019. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
- "Symmons Plains Raceway Motorcycle Lap Records" (PDF). Retrieved 12 December 2022.
- "2022 Trans-Am Australia AWC Race Tasmania Race 1 Results". 12 February 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
- "Australian Formula Ford Lap Records". Retrieved 29 November 2022.
- "2022 TCR Australia AWC Race Tasmania Race 1 Results". 12 February 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
- "2023 Touring Car Masters AWC Race Tasmania Race 1 Results". Retrieved 8 April 2023.
- "ASTC 1995 » Symmons Plains Raceway Round 6 Results". Retrieved 7 May 2022.