Old Bike Australasia – July 21, 2019

54 :OLD BIKE AUSTRALASIA

TRACKS IN TIMESYMMONS PLAINS

not only competitors but fire tenders,

ambulances, fuel tenders, breakdown

vehicles and workshops.

One week prior to the official opening

meeting at Symmons Plains on 13th

March 1960, many of Australia’s star riders

• including Isle of Man TT winner Ken
  Kavanagh – were at the Australian Grand
  Prix at Longford, and many remained on
  the Apple Isle for the races on the follow-
  ing weekend. Eric Hinton had been the
  star at Longford, winning the Junior and
  Senior GPs on his Nortons. The 125cc and
  250cc races were combined, so Kavanagh
  elected to ride his 125cc Ducati and
  handed his 223cc Ducati to Hinton, who
  won the 250 GP while Kavanagh ran
  away with the smaller class.
  Although not listed in the programme,
  Kavanagh appeared at Symmons Plains,
  this time riding the larger Ducati in the
  combined 125/250 race with Hinton on
  the smaller bike. It was a packed
  program of events, with five car races
  and four motorcycle races which
  included two with combined classes. Car
  events were conducted by the Light Car
  Club of Tasmania while the Tasmania
  Motor Cycle Club looked after the bikes.
  The very first race held on the circuit
  was the combined 125/250 event, with
  Kavanagh winning the larger class on
  the works-suppled 223cc Ducati, with
  Hinton second on the 125 Ducati and
  winner of the 125 section. It was again a
  field day for Eric Hinton, winning the
  350cc, 500cc and Unlimited races on his
  Nortons and setting up the Outright
  track record at 1 minute 08 seconds. By
  comparison, the fastest lap by a car was
  Alec Mildren’s Cooper Maserati, one
  second slower. 15,000 spectators
  witnessed the meeting. In May the

onto a slightly downhill straight which

finished in a daunting downhill hairpin

which was slightly banked and originally

known as Borgward Bend. Following the

hairpin it was a flat out blast through a

long right hand sweeper, before

anchoring up for a tight left hander

followed by a short straight and another

left corner. A further left turn brought

competitors back to the start/finish line.

The pits were originally located inside

the track at the northern end. There was

excellent viewing for spectators from the

hillside overlooking the starting line. On

the inside of the track adjacent to the

starting line sat the control tower, a two-

storey building giving views of both sides

of the circuit. The pit area accommodated

Allan Osborne

on the Egan

Velocette

in 1960.

Ken Kavanagh on the works Ducati

at the opening meeting.

Alec Corner drives his Vincent out of the

hairpin ahead of Orrie Salter in 1965.