Historic Leyburn Sprints 20th Anniversary and Brabham Tribute

The 20th Anniversary Historic Leyburn Sprints Brabham Tribute should be an absolute blast this year.  With over 200 cars set to race against the clock this fast paced, action packed weekend is a must for any motoring enthusiast. Im taking my DJR signed XD falcon to a new level this year so its going to be interesting weekend. Hope to see you there!

Here is some history on the event:

A Commemoration of Queensland's first-ever Australian Grand Prix - The weekend of August 15th & 16th 2015 will see the showcase of one of the most significant motoring events in Queensland and one of the State's biggest regional events staged, when the 20th annual Historic Leyburn Sprints takes place in the small rural community of Leyburn. While the sprints concept is still enjoying its infancy on the Australian motor sporting calendar, the associated stories of Leyburn's hosting of the 1949 Australian Grand Prix makes for some interesting reading.

To complement such a significant time for Queensland motoring the historic Leyburn Sprints recaptures that sense of achievement annually. A record 15,000 plus people descended on this scarcely populated rural domain annually. The Sprints concept caters to competition in a number of historic classes and an array of open wheelers.

2015 markes the 20th anniversary of the Historic Leyburn Sprints concept and the 62nd anniversary celebrations of the Australian Grand prix in 1949, the event has maintained around 15 000 visitors annually over the two-day format. Those sorts of figures provide a massive injection into the local economy that is a welcome financial boost for the town of Leyburn, the Southern Downs Regional Council and the entire South-West Queensland region.

Motor racing in Australia came of age in 1928 with the inaugural AGP held at Cowes on Phillip Island. A short 21 years later, after enjoying a lengthy eight year stay at its original home and then stints at Victor Harbour (South Australia, 1937), Mount Panorama, Bathurst (NSW, 1938/47), Lobethal (South Australia, 1939) and Point Cook (Victoria, 1948) the plan was to strengthen the national significance of the event and the door was left open for Queensland to snare its own slice of motoring history.

What a history that turned out to be. Lowood was the first choice Queensland town to play host to the who's who of Australian Motor sport due to its growing popularity at the time. With the AGP scheduled for the traditional Sunday racing time slot, this hit a moral nerve with Lowood locals who confronted the Queensland Motor Sporting Club, voicing resistance to scheduling a sporting event during church mass and so the event was re-scheduled to take place at Leyburn, about 75 km south west of Toowoomba.

"At the time Leyburn, like every small country town in Australia, was rebuilding following the Second World War and the opportunity to host the Grand Prix provided a real highlight for the township," 2009 Race Director, Mike Collins said. "An air of excitement and anticipation filtered through the community in the lead up, but not even the most supportive of locals could have imagined the flood of spectators that made the journey to witness the 14th Grand Prix," Collins added. "That occasion still stands as the most populated time in Leyburn's history and those who have come along in recent years to the Historic Sprints will appreciate what an amazing scene it was to see 30-odd thousand people descend on a community so small."

1949 represented just the third year that the AGP had been reintroduced on the annual sporting calendar after a seven-year lay-off between 1940-46. World War 2 had played a significant part in all activities in Australia during that time and ironically it too would provide another chapter to the Leyburn story when an abandoned WW2 airstrip just outside of the main township was used as the venue for the '49 feature.

Simular to the eight years of the Historic Leyburn Motor Sprints, public consultation was vital to the staging of the '49 event. The airstrip intruded on the land of three local farming families who granted permission for the site to be established as the Australian Grand Prix track. Their names have been immortalised in racing history with Hamblyn Corner, Porter Corner and Backhouse Bend forming the three turns of the original Leyburn circuit.

The 150-mile AGP journey played a major hand in establishing the final results of the 1949 Australian Grand Prix, at a time when motor racing was endeavouring to shrug off its amateur status. What were described as custom-made special vehicles formed the bulk of the Leyburn field, with a strong contingent of Aussie and MG Specials and a number of discarded European models featuring. Many of the entrants succumbed to the elements with their vehicles unable to complete the 35 laps and so it was left to the hard-nosed semi professionals to fight it out.

John Crouch, in a sleek looking Delahaye collected chequered flag honours to etch his name in Queensland's motoring history books and along with Frank Kleinig in a Hudson Special also obtained the equal fastest lap time for the event. Both drivers clocked 2m 52 seconds around the 6.9km circuit at an average speed of 145km/h. So with the 150 pound winners cheque handed over and the 30 000 spectators packing up and heading home, Leyburn once again laboured away to it's traditional rural tune until 1996 when local Mike Collins, a self-confessed motor sport junkie, latched hold of the idea to establish a commemorative event and immediately contacted the Historic Racing Car Club (HRCC).

"Realising the significance of 1999 as the 50th anniversary of the Australian Grand Prix in Leyburn, I thought we could lay the platform for a huge celebration." "In conjunction with the HRCC we surveyed the original site of the Grand Prix but it was deemed too far gone to renovate and so the concept of establishing the sprints in the town was born."

Once again community consultation was sought before proceeding with the plans to re-establish Leyburn on the Australian motoring calendar and after gaining public approval the Historic Leyburn Sprints was developed.



It was through unusual circumstances that the history of Queensland motoring has been shaped. Who would have thought that the events leading up to the first ever Australian Grand Prix held in the State, would go on to provide a valuable legacy for a small country town of just 150 people? Certainly the well entrenched locals of Leyburn all have their own story to tell, about the day that their rural community grew to in excess of 30 000 people, the day that Queensland first hosted the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday, September 18, 1949.

BO SETON AMONG LEGENDS OF MOTORSPORT TO STAR AT 20TH LEYBURN’S INAUGURAL DINNER!!



PHOTO: Bo Seton will bring his ‘favourite’ Ford Capri to Leyburn (Australian Muscle Car magazine pic).

FORD Capri touring car ace Bo Seton will be among several of Australia’s best known racing identities of past decades in the spotlight when the Historic Leyburn Sprints hosts its inaugural Legends Dinner during the 20th anniversary event in August – and his favourite Bathurst car will be part of the celebrations.

The 1965 Bathurst Armstrong 500 winner, now aged 78, will be making his first appearance at Leyburn, the round-the-houses time trials that commemorate the running of the 1949 Australian Grand Prix on a wartime airfield just outside the Darling Downs village.

“Captain Capri”, as he’s known, hopes to bring the car that he and his son Glenn shared in the 1983 Bathurst 1000. Bo hasn’t driven the Capri for several years, but says it’s the only one he’s kept from the many he built and raced, because of its sentimental value.

“I’ve always kept it. It means a lot to the family. It’s quite a few years since it’s run but I still love getting away to race meetings,” says Seton, who is profiled in Issue 81 of Australian Muscle Car magazine.

The inaugural Legends Dinner at Leyburn’s Royal Hotel on Saturday night 15 August will provide welcome entertainment for the many competitors and supporters who camp every year and add to the Sprints’ special country atmosphere. Tickets cost $85 and are available to purchase at historicleyburnsprints.com.au/legends-invites.html.

Organisers are expecting entries from up to 225 classic, historic and performance cars on the track and the names of more special guests for the Legends Dinner are expected to be announced soon.

“Our Legends’ achievements will be already well known to the community of competitors and friends that has grown over 20 years of the Historic Leyburn,” Sprints Committee President Ann Collins said.

“But I’m sure there will be many new stories and anecdotes to be heard when they are interviewed by our dinner emcee Will Hagon, whose own experience covers more than 50 years as a motorsport commentator.

“This is a great way to celebrate our 20 years of the community-run Sprints, which itself celebrates the running of the Australian Grand Prix near Leyburn in 1949.

“Leyburn is proud to have an association that goes back to the earliest days of Sir Jack Brabham’s career. Although Sir Jack didn’t contest the grand prix he did race in a later event on the old airfield circuit and with his passing last year it is very fitting to celebrate the cars and achievements of this great Australian."

While on-track competition takes centre stage, off-track attractions will feature big Shannons Show ‘n’ Shine and Vintage Caravans displays, both offering prizes for winners in several classes.

Tickets to the dinner are limited to 250 and are selling fast. The evening includes a buffet meal prepared by the Royal Hotel – the oldest continually licensed premises in Queensland – and complimentary wine, beer and soft drinks.

The community-run Historic Leyburn Sprints are supported through Tourism and Events Queensland’s Regional Development Program as part of a growing calendar of events across the State, plus the Southern Downs Regional Council.

The Ad for last year!

Well the entry list is available for download! Looks like I'm not the only Ford in my category this year!  I'm also not the only XD this year either with another 3 XDs in the field including my uncles green machine and one other XD in my category!  Its going to be very exciting!


Download the entry list hear!

http://leyburnmotorsprints.com.au/downloads.html


Check it out!!

Well Im fully packed and Marduk is loaded onto my new trailer.!  Getting excited now!  Nerves are starting to kick in!!

Hi everyone! I had another fantastic weekend at Leyburn Sprints. The car went back on the trailer the same way it come off and had very minimal problems. Loosing an engine mount bolt was the biggest thing that went wrong. Some great mates helped me get it sorted and kept me in the race. I ran 2nd place most of the weekend until our second last lap, A Torana just got me by a fraction of a second and that brought me back to 3rd. I was still over the moon to receive another rock (trophy lol).

It was a fantastic weekend of racing great mates and partying with them as well! Looking forward to next year already. I will be putting up pics and vids up over the next week so keep an eye out on this page.

Hi everyone I can't believe its 2 weeks today the Leyburn Sprints came to a close!  I have finally got my pics up loaded so here are my favorite shots.  You can also see the full album here at :https://s684.photobucket.com/user/joshy351/library/Historic%20Leyburn%20Sprint%202015

Going out for our first run!!

Good Ol Rad!  Awesome bloke!

Good Ol Rad!  Awesome bloke!

The end of the weekend! Trophy time!