When Alan Ling passed away in 1999, Tasmanian motorsport lost one of its great icons. Alan had been CAMS Tasmanian chairman for 18 years from 1980 to 1998, stepping aside to take on the deputy chairmanship under Steve Chopping in 1999. It was a position he still held at the time of his death.

Alan represented Tasmania at national level on the Motor Race Committee and he was chairman of the Tasmanian State Race Advisory Panel and a regional track inspector. He and his wife Phyl established the Ling Rookie Award, which is now a highlight of the Tasmanian circuit racing season. Alan Ling was a perfectionist and his attention to detail combined with hard work rewarded him with success in business and motorsport.

Alan first became involved in motorsport in 1955 and until 1958 he competed only in sprints and hillclimbs, but then he purchased a 1956 FE Holden which was heavily modified including a special Repco highpower head. It wasn’t until April 1959 that Alan decided to go circuit racing, and won the Tasmanian Touring Car Championship that same year. In 1960 Alan raced at Orange and Bathurst where the car was timed at 200 km/hr on Conrod Straight. Soon after it was sold to make way for the famous Geoghegan Holden in 1961. The combination proved to be unbeatable in the GT category and even when converted back to a touring car specifications the result was the same. Alan sold the Holden and then purchased the first Lotus Super Seven to come to Tasmania. Again it was a highly successful combination with Alan and the familiar black No.30 winning the Tasmanian Sports Car Championship and three consecutive Jim Barrie Memorial trophies.

After winning another Tasmanian sports car championship, Alan retired from driving in 1966, but then became a car owner, inviting business partner Bruce Gowans to drive for him. The combination achieved great success throughout the country and at one time their Lotus 23B held lap records at five Australian circuits in the under 1600cc sports car category. A purpose built Toyota Celica sports car for the pair in the late 1970s resulted in several Tasmanian sports car championships and a third in the Australian title in 1978. When the car was sold in 1980, Alan turned his interests to motorsport administration, where he also achieved great success and recognition.