Symmons Plains first hosted rounds of the Australian Touring Car Championship and Supercars Championship in 1969, establishing itself early as a key venue in Australian touring car racing. The circuit was removed from the Supercars Championship calendar in 2000 but returned in 2004 following a significant upgrade.
In 2004 the facility received an A$3 million upgrade that included layout modifications and relocated the start/finish line to a more conventional position opposite the pits. Prior to this renovation, the start/finish line sat on a curve — an unusual arrangement for a permanent road course. The 2004 return was accompanied by the Tasmania Super 440 event, which has been held at the circuit annually since that year.
Symmons Plains is noted for being very hard on brakes. Its defining feature is the Brambles Hairpin, an extremely tight hairpin bend at the end of the old front straight, which provides one of the primary overtaking opportunities on the circuit. A left-hander at the end of the back straight offers a second passing point.
The circuit measures 2.411 km and features a banking at the Brambles Hairpin that makes it particularly distinctive among Australian circuits of its era.
The outright race lap record stood for more than four decades. Alfredo Costanzo set a time of 50.16 seconds in a Lola T430 Formula 5000 car from 1980 to 2021 — a span of 41 years. British driver James Winslow came closest to breaking it, recording 50.5036 seconds in a Dallara F307 in April 2012. The record finally fell in 2021 when Joey Mawson set a new benchmark of 49.7242 seconds driving a Ligier JS F3-S5000. Mawson improved his own record again in 2022, setting a time of 48.5598 seconds.
Symmons Plains has hosted a wide range of national championships over its history. Beyond the ATCC and Supercars Championship, the circuit has been used for the Australian Drivers' Championship on multiple occasions between 1966 and 2013, the Australian Formula 2 Championship (1971–1987), the Australian Formula 3 Championship (2002–2013), and the Australian Formula 4 Championship. Motorcycle racing has featured through the Australian Superbike Championship, which used the circuit on multiple occasions from 1991 to 2015.
The circuit also hosted rounds of the Australian Production Car Championship, Australian Super Touring Championship, and the S5000 Australian Drivers' Championship (2021–2023), among numerous other categories.
The annual Supercars Championship Tasmania Super 440 remains the headline event at the circuit. The venue also hosts the Symmons 6 Hour in August, along with other national series support categories including SuperUtes and Aussie Racing Cars. The TCR Australia Touring Car Series used the circuit from 2021 to 2024.
Symmons Plains fills a vital role in Australian motorsport as the island state's only major permanent racing facility. Its longevity on the Supercars calendar — with continuous presence dating to 1969, interrupted only by the gap from 2000 to 2004 — reflects the circuit's standing in the sport and the appetite for major-category racing in Tasmania. The hairpin's unique banking and the circuit's brake-punishing nature make it a memorable challenge for drivers across all categories.