Longford Circuit

The Longford Circuit was a temporary motor racing course laid out on public roads at Longford, 23 kilometres (14 mi) south-west of Launceston in Tasmania, Australia. It was located on the northern edges of the town and its 7 km lap passed under a railway line viaduct, crossed the South Esk River via the wooden Kings Bridge, turned hard right at the doorstep of the Longford Hotel, passed over the railway line using a level crossing and traversed the South Esk again via another wooden structure, the Long Bridge.Its first race meeting was held in 1953, the Australian Grand Prix was staged there in 1959 and 1965 and the track hosted a round of the Tasman Series each year from 1964 to 1968. It was also the venue for the single race 1962 Australian Touring Car Championship, the Australian Tourist Trophy in 1960, 1964 & 1966 and a round of the Australian Drivers' Championship each year from 1958 to 1965. Its use as a motor racing venue was curtailed due to financial issues, following the running of the 1968 Tasman Series meeting.The new outright lap record of 2:12.6 set by New Zealand’s Chris Amon in a Ferrari P4 sports car at the final meeting was, with an average lap speed of 122.2 mph (196.62 km/h), the fastest lap record for any Australian motor racing circuit and would remain so until the opening of the new Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit at Albert Park in Victoria in 1996.