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.

Symmons Plains
Layout of the Symmons Plains Raceway
LocationLaunceston, Tasmania
Time zoneUTC+10:00
Coordinates41°39′34″S 147°15′10″E
FIA Grade3
OwnerMotorsports Tasmania
OpenedMarch 1960 (1960-03)[1]
Major eventsCurrent:
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)
Length2.411 km (1.498 miles)
Turns7
Race lap record0:48.5598 (Australia Joey Mawson, Ligier JS F3-S5000, 2022, S5000)

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
Main article: Tasmania SuperSprint

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 Australia Joey Mawson Ligier JS F3-S5000 0:48.5598[3] 12 February 2022
Formula 5000 Australia Alfredo Costanzo Lola T430 0:50.16 23 March 1980
Formula 3 Australia Tim Macrow Dallara F307 0:50.3278 6 April 2013
Sports Sedans Australia Bradley Sherriff Nissan Skyline R32 0:50.6025 19 November 2022
Supercars Championship Australia Mark Winterbottom Holden ZB Commodore 0:51.2276[5] 7 April 2019
GT3 Australia Bryce Washington Lamborghini Gallardo 0:52.5247 2 September 2007
Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Hamish Fitzsimmons Porsche 911 (991 II) GT3 Cup 0:52.6193 21 May 2023
Super2 Series New Zealand Chris Pither Holden VF Commodore 0:52.7091 8 April 2018
Tassie Tin Tops Australia Liam Hooper Nissan Skyline R32 0:52.9743 25 February 2023
Superbike Australia Josh Waters Suzuki GSX-R1000 0:53.387[6] 13 November 2011
Trans-Am Australia Australia Kyle Gurton Ford Mustang 0:53.9755[7] 12 February 2022
Sports GT Australia Tony Warren Mitsubishi Evo 0:53.9882 7 April 2019
Australian Formula 2 Australia Jon Crooke Cheetah Mk8 0:54.73 9 March 1986
Formula Ford New Zealand Richie Stanaway Mygale SJ09 0:55.3004[8] 31 May 2009
N-GT Australia John Bowe Ferrari 360 N-GT 0:55.3797 27 April 2003
Supersport Australia Jason O'Halloran Yamaha YZF-R6 0:55.493[6] 10 September 2006
TCR Touring Car Australia Jay Hanson Audi RS 3 LMS TCR (2021) 0:55.7811[9] 12 February 2022
Formula 4 Australia Cameron Shields Mygale M14-F4 0:55.8236 8 April 2018
Group A New Zealand Jim Richards Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R 0:55.97 10 March 1991
Improved Production Australia Ray Hislop Ford Falcon 0:56.1942 30 March 2014
Touring Car Masters Australia Steven Johnson Ford Mustang TransAm 0:55.9563[10] 25 February 2023
Super Touring Australia Geoff Brabham BMW 318i 0:58.2963[11] 7 May 1995
Group C (Australia) Australia Peter Brock Holden VH Commodore SS 0:58.51 11 March 1984
125cc Grand Prix Australia Blake Leigh-Smith Aprilia RSW 125 1:00.681[6] 4 April 2009
Aussie Racing Cars Australia Kody Garland Ford Mustang (S197) 1:00.8755 18 April 2021
Group Nc Australia Leon Bell Holden HQ Monaro 1:01.5586 10 November 2013
V8 Ute Racing Series Australia Ryan Hansford Ford FG Falcon Ute 1:01.7761 3 April 2016
V8 Superute Series Australia Ben Walsh Toyota Hilux 1:01.8467 26 March 2022
Moto3 Australia Tom Bramich Honda NSF250R 1:02.716[6] 6 September 2015
Improved Production - U2L Australia Anthony McKenzie Ford Escort Cosworth 1:03:9122 3 October 2004
Group Nb Australia Phillip Shepherd EH Holden 1:07.7233 25 October 2020
Supersport 300 Australia Justin Hall Kawasaki Ninja 300 1:09.166[6] 6 September 2015
Excel Cup Australia Oliver Wickham Hyundai Excel 1:10.5749 17 March 2024
HQ Holden Australia Phil Ashlin HQ Holden 1:11.6103 25 October 2020
Boost Mobile Super Trucks Australia Paul Morris Stadium Super Truck 1:12.2884 18 April 2021
250cc Production Australia Lachlan Keogh Kawasaki Ninja 250R 1:13.693[6] 5 September 2015

Notes

    References
    1. Terry Walker, Fast Tracks, 1995, p. 156
    2. "Falken Tasmania Challenge". v8supercars.com.au. n.d. Archived from the original on 20 February 2010. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
    3. "S5000 Series 2022 John McCormack Cup Statistics". 12 February 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
    4. Natsoft Race Results
    5. "2019 Supercars Symmons Plains Race 2 Statistics". 7 April 2019. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
    6. "Symmons Plains Raceway Motorcycle Lap Records" (PDF). Retrieved 12 December 2022.
    7. "2022 Trans-Am Australia AWC Race Tasmania Race 1 Results". 12 February 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
    8. "Australian Formula Ford Lap Records". Retrieved 29 November 2022.
    9. "2022 TCR Australia AWC Race Tasmania Race 1 Results". 12 February 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
    10. "2023 Touring Car Masters AWC Race Tasmania Race 1 Results". Retrieved 8 April 2023.
    11. "ASTC 1995 » Symmons Plains Raceway Round 6 Results". Retrieved 7 May 2022.
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