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News&eveNts

Coming into the tiny town of Leyburn you

get the feeling that for most of the time

nothing much really happens here. Theres

a shop, a church, a pub (owned by rugby league

hero Shane Webcke), a few fibro houses around

the town and a school. Its the way the locals

like it: peaceful and quiet.

That is except for one weekend a year when

the population explodes from around 300 to

several thousand as drivers and spectators from

around Australia cram into this pioneer town for

some real backwoods driving action.

The star car this year was Jamie Chants

700hp+ XY GT Falcon, which was piloted over

the weekend by touring car legend Dick Johnson

and two current V8 Supercar drivers, Tim Slade

and Shane Van Gisbergen, as well as Chant

himself. Throughout the weekend Johnson,

Slade and Van Gisbergen battled it out with no

deference to seniority shown by the youngsters

and none expected by Johnson.

Slade managed to shade Johnson unofficially

by 0.2 of a second at the close of play after a

battle that had the entire town entranced, but it

was Johnson who took the class win. The 65-year-

old punted the GT to an official 53.1-second lap,

V8 Supercar stars, past and present, attended the latest

running of the most relaxed race on earth

ABOVE AND

BELOW An entrant

smokes it up at the

start line; Bruce

Garland brought

plenty of experience

to the track.

LEYBURN SPRINTS 201

Australian Classic Car24

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BELOW Dick Johnson got reacquainted with

1981 Bathurst-winning TruBlu Falcon when he to

it for a cruise to a nearby polling station.

making him the fastest in the 5101cc and over

class. I havent driven a car in anger since this

event last year, Johnson puffs.

And Dick Johnson hasnt lost his larrikin spirit

either as on election day he drove Ian Bones

reproduction of the 1981 TruBlu XD Falcon thatJohnson took to victory in the 1981 Bathurst

1000 to cast his vote at the local polling booth.

While the V8s werent the fastest cars around

the one-kilometre street circuit, for many they

were the heart and soul of the event and fit the

look of the country town like a glove.

Another great Aussie character in the field

was Bruce Garland, and while his name may not

be a familiar one, his reputation in events like

the Paris-Dakar rallies make his presence at the

Sprints of great interest to all.

Motor sport isnt an anomaly in Leyburn, with

the town hosting the 1949 Australian Grand Prix

on a seven-kilometre circuit made

up of WWII airfields outside the town with that

first race won by John Crouch in a Delahaye 135.

This past glory echoes through to today with

the car that finished second outright in the 1949

Grand Prix in the hands of Ray Gordon being

driven at this years event by current owner PeterGostelow. In the end Gostelows supercharged

MG TC Special single-seater took the class L

(logbook) win with a 1:04.7 minute lap.

Todays Sprints are a little different to the

1949 Grand Prix as the event is a not-for-profit

affair with all proceeds being poured back

into community groups, like the local Country

Womens Association.

The community spirit shown throughout the

event is incredible as literally everyone in town

gets involved. From the kids in the local Scouts

collecting rubbish, to the marshalls, timekeepers

and ticket-sellers, everyone is happy to have the

Sprints in their town.

www.ccar.com.au 2