_track_map.svg) | |
| Race Information | |
| Venue | Symmons Plains Raceway |
| Number of times held | 51 |
| First held | 1969 |
| Race Format | |
| Race 1 | |
| Laps | 50 |
| Distance | 120 km |
| Race 2 | |
| Laps | 50 |
| Distance | 120 km |
| Race 3 | |
| Laps | 84 |
| Distance | 200 km |
| Last Event (2024) | |
| Overall Winner | |
 Cameron Waters | Tickford Racing |
| Race Winners | |
| Nick Percat | Matt Stone Racing |
| Cameron Waters | Tickford Racing |
TheTasmania Super 440 is the current name for the annualmotor racing event forSupercars, held atSymmons Plains Raceway inLaunceston,Tasmania. The event has been a regular part of the Supercars Championship—and its previous incarnations, theAustralian Touring Car Championship,Shell Championship Series and V8 Supercars Championship—since1969.
BehindSandown Raceway, which has most commonly hosted theSandown 500 andSandown SuperSprint, Symmons Plains has hosted the most events in championship history with 49 as of 2022.[1] Prior to theCOVID-19 pandemic, the only hiatus for the event was between 2000 and 2003 during which the circuit received aA$3 million upgrade.[2] The event is seen as one of Tasmania's largest sporting events, providing a variety of benefits to the local economy.[2]
The event is staged over a two-day weekend, from Saturday to Sunday. Two thirty-minute practice sessions are held on Saturday, then a three-part qualifying session is held which decides the grid positions for the following 100 kilometre race. Two separated fifteen-minute qualifying sessions are held on Sunday, which decide the grid for the following 100 km races.[3]
When the Australian Touring Car Championship (ATCC) was first held over a series of races in1969, Symmons Plains was included on the calendar as the final race of the series. The race would decide the championship that year, as Alan Hamilton could take the title fromIan Geoghegan if he won the race and Geoghegan failed to score. Geoghegan's car failed to start at the one-minute signal and his pit crew push started the car. This was not allowed under the regulations of the time and Geoghegan was disqualified. Hamilton ended up finishing the race in second place behindNorm Beechey, losing the title to Geoghegan by a single point.[4] After again hosting the final round in1970, Symmons Plains became the home of the opening round, hosting the first event of the ATCC every year from1971 to1981.Allan Moffat andPeter Brock were the most successful drivers at the event in this period, taking seven of the eleven possible victories between them.John Harvey also scored his only two ATCC victories at the event, winning in 1976 and 1979.[5]
In 1985,Robbie Francevic won his andVolvo's first round victory, winning again in 1986.[6] Between 1988 and 1990,Dick Johnson joined Moffat as the only two drivers to win three consecutive rounds at the circuit. In 1993,1980Formula One World ChampionAlan Jones won his first ATCC round, despite clashes withMark Skaife, which led to a confrontation after the race, andWayne Gardner.[7] In the late 1990s,Holden Racing Team dominated the event with four consecutive round wins from 1996 to 1999. During this period, the Symmons Plains event remained in the early part of the ATCC calendar until1999, when it was moved to August. TheGovernment of Tasmania didn't renew the event's contract after 1999 and the race dropped off the calendar in 2000.[2]
Following the completion of a circuit upgrade in 2004, which included the construction of permanent pit lane facilities and a resurfacing of the track, a new deal was struck to bring the event back onto the calendar in November of the same year.[8] Tasmanian driverMarcos Ambrose went into the 2004 event attempting to seal a back-to-back championship victory, until an engine failure in the third and final race of the weekend delayed his coronation as champion.David Besnard and three other drivers benefited from a fortuitous late-race safety car to jump to the front of the field, before the four drivers were then demoted to the back of the field at a subsequent safety car due to confusion regarding the standings. Several days later, Besnard was credited with the win, the only win forWPS Racing.[9] Initially on its return, the event was generally held towards the end of the season, often as the penultimate event, until a move to the early stages of the championship calendar in 2012.
Between 2007 and 2015,Jamie Whincup andTriple Eight Race Engineering dominated the event with six wins. This has seen Whincup surpass Brock as the most successful driver in the event's history. In 2013,Fabian Coulthard wonBrad Jones Racing their first championship round, winning two races with team-mateJason Bright winning the other. In 2017, the Saturday race was suspended after two laps due to a twelve car pile-up in wet conditions. While the race later briefly restarted under safety car, no championship points were awarded due to the short distance completed, howeverShane van Gisbergen was still credited with a race victory.[10] In 2018, a three-stage knockout qualifying system was introduced to the championship at Symmons Plains to reduce the risks of traffic.[11] Craig Lowndes won the round, his last round win as a solo driver, and his first at the circuit since 1998.[12]
The 2020 event was postponed until November to theCOVID-19 pandemic, before later being cancelled altogether.[13][14][15][16]
| Wins | Driver | Years |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | Jamie Whincup | 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2021 |
| 5 | Peter Brock | 1974, 1978, 1980, 1982, 1984 |
| 4 |  Allan Moffat | 1971, 1972, 1973, 1977 |
| Dick Johnson | 1981, 1988, 1989, 1990 | |
| 3 | Craig Lowndes | 1996, 1998, 2018 |
| 2 | John Harvey | 1976, 1979 |
 Robbie Francevic | 1985, 1986 | |
| Mark Skaife | 1994, 1999 | |
| Garth Tander | 2005, 2006 | |
| Will Davison | 2009, 2016 | |
| Fabian Coulthard | 2013, 2017 | |
| Shane van Gisbergen | 2019, 2022 |
| Wins | Team |
|---|---|
| 10 | Triple Eight Race Engineering |
| 7 | Holden Dealer Team |
| 6 | DJR Team Penske1 |
| 5 | Holden Racing Team |
| 3 | Allan Moffat Racing |
| Gibson Motorsport | |
| 2 | Glenn Seton Racing |
| HSV Dealer Team | |
| Tickford Racing2 |
| Wins | Manufacturer |
|---|---|
| 28 | Holden |
| 17 | Ford |
| 2 | Volvo |
| Nissan |
