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 |
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Time zone | UTC+10:00 |
Coordinates | 41°39′34″S 147°15′10″E |
FIA Grade | 3[N 1] |
Owner | Motorsports Tasmania |
Opened | March 1960[1] |
Major events | Current: Supercars Championship Tasmania SuperSprint (1969–1999, 2004–2019, 2021-present) S5000 (2021–present) Former: Stadium Super Trucks (2021) |
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.
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]
The previous outright lap record at Symmons Plains was set in 1980 and held for over 40 years. Driving a Lola T430 Formula 5000, Alfredo Costanzo set a time of 50.16 seconds. 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 Formula 3 Dallara F307. The current outright lap record was set 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 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.
Class | Driver | Vehicle | Time | Date |
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Outright | ||||
![]() |
Ligier JS F3-S5000 | 0:48.5598[3] | 12 February 2022 | |
Racing Cars | ||||
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 |
Formula 2 | ![]() |
Cheetah Mk8 | 0:54.73 | 9 March 1986 |
Formula Ford | ![]() |
Mygale SJ09 | 0:55.3004 | 31 May 2009 |
Formula 4 | ![]() |
Mygale M14-F4 | 0:55.8236 | 8 April 2018 |
Formula Vee 1600 | ![]() |
Gerbert | 1:06.3500 | |
Formula Vee 1200 | ![]() |
Elfn Crusader | 1:08.6425 | |
Sports Cars | ||||
GT3 | ![]() |
Lamborghini Gallardo | 0:52.5247 | 2 September 2007 |
N-GT | ![]() |
Ferrari 360 N-GT | 0:55.3797 | 27 April 2003 |
Aussie Racing Cars | ![]() |
Ford Mustang (S197) | 1:00.8755 | 18 April 2021 |
Touring Cars | ||||
Supercars Championship | ![]() |
Holden ZB Commodore | 0:51.2276[5] | 7 April 2019 |
Super2 Series | ![]() |
Holden VF Commodore | 0:52.7091 | 8 April 2018 |
Trans-Am Australia | ![]() |
Ford Mustang | 0:53.9755[6] | 12 February 2022 |
TCR | ![]() |
Audi RS 3 LMS TCR (2021) | 0:55.7811[7] | 12 February 2022 |
Group A | ![]() |
Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R | 0:55.97 | 10 March 1991 |
Group C | ![]() |
Holden VH Commodore SS | 0:58.51 | 11 March 1984 |
Super Touring | ![]() |
BMW 318i | 0:58.2963[8] | 7 May 1995 |
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 |
Excel Cup | ![]() |
Hyundai Excel | 1:11.0849 | 12 February 2022 |
Improved Production | ![]() |
Ford Falcon | 0:56.1942 | 30 March 2014 |
Improved Production - U2L | ![]() |
Ford Escort Cosworth | 1:03:9122 | |
HQ Holden | ![]() |
HQ Holden | 1:11.6103 | 25 October 2020 |
Sports Sedans | ![]() |
Nissan Skyline R32 | 0:50.6225 | 13 August 2022 |
Sports GT | ![]() |
Mitsubishi Evo | 0:53.9882 | 17 April 2019 |
Historic Touring Cars | ||||
Touring Car Masters | ![]() |
Ford Mustang Trans-Am | 0:56.2339 | 7 April 2018 |
Group Nc | ![]() |
Holden HQ Monaro | 1:02.3269 | |
Group Nb | ![]() |
EH Holden | 1:07.7233 | 25 October 2020 |
Motorcycles | ||||
Australian Superbikes | ![]() |
Suzuki GSX-R1000 | 0:53.3870 | 13 November 2011 |
600cc Supersport | ![]() |
Yamaha YZF-R6 | 0:55.493 | 10 September 2006 |
Trucks | ||||
Boost Mobile Super Trucks | ![]() |
Stadium Super Truck | 1:12.2884 | 18 April 2021 |
ATCC / Supercars Championship circuits (1960–present) | |||||
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Current (2022) |
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Returning (2023) |
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Former |
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Australian Superbike Championship circuits | |
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Current (2022) |
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Former |
Circuits of S5000 Australian Drivers' Championship (2019, 2021–present) | |
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Current (2022) | |
Former |
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Tracks of the Stadium Super Trucks (2013–present) | |
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Current (2022) | |
Former |
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