Symmons Plains Marks 100th Race After $1.2 Million V8 Supercars Upgrade
Symmons Plains reaches its 100th v8 supercars Championship race this weekend at the Tasmania Super440 after $1.2 million in government capital works changed the circuit layout behind the scenes. The venue’s paddock and safety areas have been refreshed ahead of opening Supercars practice at 2pm local time.
Donald Potter on the works
Donald Potter said the upgrade list came from what Supercars wanted under its three-year contract from 2025. “Supercars had a wishlist of what they wanted to do for this three-year contract,” he said. “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, and the new asphalt accounts for around half of the total spend so far. Potter said the government understood the event needed to keep returning each year: “We had all these things we needed to do for safety and the nicety of the event. The government understood that we’re trying to keep the circus coming each year.”
Symmons Plains safety changes
Motorsports Tasmania operates both Symmons Plains and Baskerville, and Potter said the circuit also replaced old tyre walls with new armco fences in some areas. The hairpin now has FIA-approved tyre bundles, while the tyre barrier under the bridge at Turn 3 was extended after a big TCM accident last year.
Other work has reached the paddock toilet block and septic system, and a new lift beside the pit building will soon be running. Potter said more still needs to be finished. “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.”
Potter and the unfinished list
The circuit has asked Supercars not to place any portable buildings on the new paddock asphalt this year, preserving the fresh surface as the weekend unfolds. Potter also said some planned jobs remain open, including a new flag point, kerbing, repainting and improvements to the public address system. “We’ve spent everything the government has given us for the job, so we’re actually spending bank money now to finish it off,” he said. “There’s a lot of things we haven’t finished, but while we’re on a roll, we want to get them finished.”
