4 replies to this topic

[Nomad]

So where is the old Longford track then?
Which bit of Tassie should I been standing in?

[Ray Bell]

Nomad,
I'm glad you picked up on that.
The present day Symmons Plains circuit is right on the Midland Highway 10km south of Perth, which in turn is about 20km south of Launceston.
At Perth you head west to Longford, and you will come to Mountford Corner about 4km from Perth. There is a new road that takes you to Longford a little short of this now, I believe, but in Longford itself you'll find a pub on a corner which was called Longford Corner in the Hill and Clark days.
The pub has become a real museum for the circuit, and there a lots of mementoes inside.
From the pub, Tannery Straight heads North for just over a mile, crossing the railway on the edge of town as it goes.
At the end of Tannery Straight there is an all-new road, but you can see pictures of what it was like at the pub and then go visualise the old high timber bridge where Phil Hill passed Jim Clark in 1965.
Just over the bridge the road to Perth comes in, and that leads to the Flying Mile and Mountford Corner.
By walking around and driving down dead ends, you can find the section from Mountford to the pub. The start was originally just before Mountford, but the pits and all were moved around the corner in about 1959. The road dives down the hill alongside the railway line (the bitumen is still there), then goes under the railway through a viaduct, traverses a marshy area through some esses then there was the King's Bridge into town.
It was just entering the braking area for Longford Corner that Timmy Mayer got his Cooper airborne and lost it, hitting a tree and bending the car round it.
He was heading for some kids...
Please let us know how you like that little adventure.
The lap average was about 122mph in 1968, the record finally going to Bill Brown in the Ferrari P4. It rained before the 49s could really have a go at it...
Perhaps when you get closer to Hobart you can have a look at Baskerville, between Bridgewater and Old Beach. People will let you in to look at Symmons and Baskerville, I'm sure you'll find. Both date back to 1959.

[Ray Bell]

Nomad,
I'm glad you picked up on that.
The present day Symmons Plains circuit is right on the Midland Highway 10km south of Perth, which in turn is about 20km south of Launceston.
At Perth you head west to Longford, and you will come to Mountford Corner about 4km from Perth. There is a new road that takes you to Longford a little short of this now, I believe, but in Longford itself you'll find a pub on a corner which was called Longford Corner in the Hill and Clark days.
The pub has become a real museum for the circuit, and there a lots of mementoes inside.
From the pub, Tannery Straight heads North for just over a mile, crossing the railway on the edge of town as it goes.
At the end of Tannery Straight there is an all-new road, but you can see pictures of what it was like at the pub and then go visualise the old high timber bridge where Phil Hill passed Jim Clark in 1965.
Just over the bridge the road to Perth comes in, and that leads to the Flying Mile and Mountford Corner.
By walking around and driving down dead ends, you can find the section from Mountford to the pub. The start was originally just before Mountford, but the pits and all were moved around the corner in about 1959. The road dives down the hill alongside the railway line (the bitumen is still there), then goes under the railway through a viaduct, traverses a marshy area through some esses then there was the King's Bridge into town.
It was just entering the braking area for Longford Corner that Timmy Mayer got his Cooper airborne and lost it, hitting a tree and bending the car round it.
He was heading for some kids...
Please let us know how you like that little adventure.
The lap average was about 122mph in 1968, the record finally going to Bill Brown in the Ferrari P4. It rained before the 49s could really have a go at it...
Perhaps when you get closer to Hobart you can have a look at Baskerville, between Bridgewater and Old Beach. People will let you in to look at Symmons and Baskerville, I'm sure you'll find. Both date back to 1959.

[Ray Bell]

By the way, are you going to Adelaide?
If so, you just have to see Lobethal.

[Nomad]

Thank's Ray. I'll see what I do about getting there.
Not going to Adelaide on this trip. Well I'm not planning to at the moment.