Sprints to roar this weekend

When the Historic Leyburn Sprints roars into action this weekend it will celebrate not only the time the Darling Downs village hosted the Australian Grand Prix but also the ingenious home-built cars that helped revive Australian motor-racing after World War 2.

The entry list of 28 cars at the 1949 grand prix included 19 described as “Specials” – either roadgoing models lightened of superfluous bodywork or ground-up creations using combinations of secondhand parts. Their expensive imported rivals included two Bugattis, the winning Delahaye, a Jaguar and several MGs.

Virtually all the “Australian Specials” were constructed by enthusiasts with either limited funds or skills, but made up in speed what they lacked in style.

They became part of an engineering tradition that has continued for decades and will be remembered when around 20 cars that have been built as one-offs compete among a total entry of 210 in the weekend’s time-trials on the Leyburn 1.0 kilometre street course.

The star deserves to be the Strathpine Special, driven by John Parker, which is returning to Leyburn 69 years after it contested the Australian Grand Prix on an ex-airfield circuit just outside town. Although entered as a 1935 model, the Strathpine Special’s vintage is believed to refer to its Ford V8 engine while the car is understood to have been built post-war, as it incorporated Jeep parts.

Its builder Snow Sefton helped in 1946 to found the Strathpine circuit, another ex-airfield venue on the northern outskirts of Brisbane where many Specials competed.

Event details…

• The community-run Historic Leyburn Sprints, Queensland 2017 Motor Sport Event of the Year, will run this Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 August, with competition from 8am each day. Gates open at 6.30am and adult tickets are $20 a day or $30 for the weekend; accompanied children under 14 enter free.

• Attractions include a Shannons Show ‘n’ Shine car display (Sunday only), vintage caravan display, markets and other attractions. Lucky raffle winners will take a fast track ride in powerful McLaren or Lotus sports car, Audi quattro rally car, 800 horsepower Ford Falcon GT or an ex-Police drag racer.

• Tourism and Events Queensland’s Queensland Destination Events Program and Southern Downs Regional Council provide financial assistance to help promote the Sprints and attract visitors to the Southern Downs region.