Australian motorsport icon and multiple tin-top champion John Bowe is getting set to make his final V8 Supercar start at his home circuit – Tasmania's Symmons Plains Raceway – this weekend, describing the track as an integral part of his life.
The scene of the 53-year-old's 224th and second-to-last V8 Supercar start – and the penultimate stop on his ‘JB's Final Bowe' farewell tour – Symmons Plains is a race track close to Bowe's heart.
Growing up in Tasmania, the Glenfords Racing ace spent much of his childhood at the Launceston circuit, the venue of his first outing in a race car at the age of just eleven. Over the years, Symmons Plains has remained a significant part of Bowe's life, with a thrilling victory in 1995 en route to securing the Australian Touring Car Championship crown occupying a particularly special place in his memory.
“Symmons Plains has always been part of my life,” he reminisced, looking to produce a good result there on the back of a promising run in Bahrain last time out. “I grew up in a motor racing family in Tassie and spent a lot of time at Symmons Plains; I basically grew up there.
“My dad had a little Elfin open-wheeler, and after much badgering he let me drive it around Symmons when I was eleven, before I even started high school; that was my first drive in a race car.
“My connection there goes back so far. Symmons Plains is one of the oldest circuits in Australia; it's been going since 1960 and I've seen it change and evolve over the years. The reaction and support I get from Tasmanian fans is always tremendous and a little bit overwhelming – there are people who have been coming to Symmons Plains and watching me race since I was 16-years-old.
“It seems like just about everyone in the state goes to the race; it's the biggest sporting event in Tasmania every year. Even when we visited last month for some promotional activities, there was a massive amount of people who were interested in me and wishing me well which was fantastic.”
