In 1948 the President of the Launceston Motor Cycle Club Martin Coombe, recognised the potential for a road race track at Longford, but it wasn’t until 1953 that the first meeting took place on the long weekend in March.

The combined motor cycle and car meeting proved to be an outstanding success with a claimed 40,000 spectators attending over the three days.

Sadly both the 1954 and 1956 meetings had to be cancelled due to wharfage issues in both Tasmania and Melbourne, but between 1953 and the final meeting in 1968, the 7.2 kilometre Longford course hosted brilliant racing on 14 occasions.

The circuit crossed two bridges, where scuba divers were at the ready should a competitor plunge through the timber railing into the river, and a railway line with the scheduled Tasman Limited train dictating when events could be run.

In 1955 world 500cc motor cycle champion Geoff Duke included Longford in his busy Australian schedule and stunned the spectators by lapping the circuit at 149 kph, recording a top speed of 226 kph on the Flying Mile.

The fastest car at the track at the time was a V8 Allard, driven by Tom Hawkes, with a fastest lap of 129 kph average speed.

In contrast, in 1968, New Zealand’s Chris Amon established the all time lap record in a P4 Ferrari sports car at 2:12:6, at an average speed of 194 kph, topping 291 kph on the Flying Mile.

World Formula One champion Jack Brabham made the first of eight appearances at Longford in 1960 and over the next eight years a total of 22 international drivers including seven world champions (Jack Brabham, John Surtees, Graham Hill, Phil Hill, Jim Clark, Jackie Stewart and Denny Hulme) would compete on the fastest track in the Southern Hemisphere.

The Tasman Cup was introduced in 1964, which included four meetings in New Zealand and four in Australia, with Longford hosting the final round each year.

Longford also hosted the Australian Grand Prix in 1959 and1965, the Australian Tourist Trophy for Sports Cars in 1960, 1964 and 1966, and the Australian Touring Car Championship event in 1962.

Local drivers were included in the programme with races for touring cars and sports cars, which usually attracted large fields for what was for competitors’ the biggest stage of their season.

Motorcycles were an integral part of the programme up until 1966 for both solos and sidecars, with the Australian TT held at Longford in 1953, 1959 and 1965, and the Australian Grand Prix in 1960 and 1966.

Sadly atrocious weather conditions in 1968, the need for major upgrades to comply with circuit safety requirements, and the escalating costs to run the meeting forced the board of the Longford Motor Racing Association to consider the future running of the event.

The final nail in the coffin was the scheduling by the FIA for the 1969 Formula One South African Grand Prix on the same weekend, which meant none of the Grand Prix drivers would be available.

On the 24th of November, 1968 the decision was made by the Board not to continue to promote racing at the circuit.

While large sections of the circuit remain intact it is no longer possible to complete a full lap, due to a major bypass linking the Bass Highway to the Midlands Highway, and the removal of both bridges.