Old Bike Australasia – July 21, 2019

OLD BIKE AUSTRALASIA: 55

TRACKS IN TIMESYMMONS PLAINS

same year, a second combined
car/motorcycle meeting was held before
the circuit closed for the winter. This
featured the first event for sidecars, won
by local Keith Bingham on a HRD.
As in the previous year, the annual
Longford meeting for 1961 was followed
by Symmons Plains, where international
Jack Ahearn staged some entertaining
battles with local star Laurie O’Shea. At
the end of 1961, Kel Carruthers brought
his 250 4 cylinder Honda from Sydney
and cleaned up the meeting (with the
exception of the 125 class won by Ian
Tilley), winning the 250, 350, 500 and
Unlimited races.
The 1962 season dawned with a
triple-header, beginning with Baskerville,
followed by Longford and Symmons
Plains. The latter was to be a combined
car/bike show, but when the cars pulled
out it became the first all-motorcycle
meeting on the circuit, with the Tasman-
ian government putting up £850 in prize
money – the richest motorcycle race
meeting on the Australian calendar. Fresh
from his success at Longford, reigning
125cc World Champion Tom Phillis pock-
eted the lion’s share of the purse, with
trophies presented by the Tasmanian
Premier Eric Reece. Alan Osborne took out
the 125 race on his Honda while the
Sidecar event went to Lindsay Urquhart
and Jack Craig on a 500 Norton.
Symmons Plains continued to play a
double act with Longford each year, and
in 1963 the star attraction was World
Champion Jim Redman, who brought
with him a pair of well-worn Honda
production racers. Not unexpectedly,
he won the 125, 250 and 350 races, but
fell off in the 500 race without serious
injury. In winning the 500 and Unlimited

races, Jack Ahearn finally equalled Eric

Hinton’s lap record which had stood

since the opening meeting in 1960.

It took until 1966 for the record to be

broken, going to Alan Osborne on the

works-supplied RD56 Yamaha 250 with

a lap of 1.07. That proved to be the final

year for bikes at Longford, and there-

after the Symmons Plains meeting

became the premier outing for two

and three wheelers in the state.

Following a fatality at the circuit in

1966, safety concerns became a major

issue and organisers, faced with

declining crowds, struggled to keep

abreast of costs. Still, the annual influx

of ‘mainland’ stars continued, with Bill

Horsman, Dick Reid, veteran Ahearn and

Alan Osborne as regular starters. The

closure of Longford in 1968 further

added to the decline of motor sport in

the state, but both Baskerville and

Symmons Plains soldiered on. Ken Blake

with the Jesser Triumph became a

regular winner at the track, while Laurie

O’Shea and Lyell Williamson showed that

the locals could still hold their own.

For 1971, Symmons Plains hosted the

Australian TT, which was still the official

national title, allocated to a different

state year by year. However coming just

before the big Bathurst meeting, with its

much-improved prize money, many big

names gave the Tasmanian event a

miss. In an attempt to lure top talent,

the club hosted the Tasmania TT at the

same track on the previous weekend,

where Len Atlee was the star. The

Sydney rider continued his form the

following weekend, winning the

Unlimited TT and the 250 TT, while Bill

Horsman won the 350, Paul Anson the

125, and Ken Blake took out the

Ron Toombs’ bikes arrive

in Devonport in 1965.

Bert Flood on his Bultaco-engined

Bantam BSA in 1965.

Kel Carruthers and the

250-4 Honda dominated

the 1961 meeting.

Ray Foster’s

Norton outfit

on the dock at

Devonport.