Potter details $1.2 million Symmons Plains upgrade for Supercars
Symmons Plains has been upgraded with $1.2 million in capital works ahead of this weekend's supercars Tasmania Super440, with fresh blacktop, underground cabling and safety work already in place. The circuit is hosting its 100th ATCC/Supercars Championship race, and the work sits inside a three-year deal to keep the event from 2025.
Donald Potter on the Symmons Plains works
Donald Potter said the upgrade was built around a wish list for the new contract, and that the changes were aimed at both operations and presentation. “Supercars had a wishlist of what they wanted to do for this three-year contract,” he said.
He laid out the practical jobs that had to be finished: “They wanted power in the ground for the trucks, a drain for the water to get away and of course fixing the potholes that were here.” The paddock now has freshly laid blacktop and 2km of underground cabling, while a new lift beside the pit building will soon be up and running.
Turn 3 and the hairpin
The circuit work also reached the areas that had the most obvious wear and risk. “We’ve done a couple of new armco fences where old tyre walls were and the hairpin has new, FIA-approved tyre bundles,” Potter said.
He also pointed to the section under the bridge at Turn 3, where the tyre barrier was extended after a big TCM accident last year. That work, along with the paddock toilet block and septic system updates, shows the government money was spent on more than surface repairs.
Fifth of January to 2pm
Motorsports Tasmania started ripping up the circuit on the fifth of January, and Potter said the schedule has been relentless. “If we’d had another month I reckon we would have had a lot more done. It’s been full-on since we started ripping things up on the fifth of January,” he said.
He added that the organisation has already spent the full government allocation and is using its own money to finish the job: “We’ve spent everything the government has given us for the job, so we’re actually spending bank money now to finish it off.” Today, the Tasmania Super440 begins with opening Supercars practice scheduled for 2pm local time, and the upgraded paddock and pit-area facilities will be in use as the circuit reaches its 100th championship race.
