Dean Amos dominated Leyburn’s historic sprints to claim his seventh fastest trophy in a big weekend that attracted 221 entries racing in front of one of the biggest crowds in the event’s history.
Amos fell short of his 2019 record, but took the 1km street course on his British Built Gould GR55B-Judd V8 in 40.669s, 0.733s faster than his nearest rival, 2021 domestic Warrick Hutchinson.
Amos now extends his record as the most successful sprint competitor.
It was an emotional victory for Amos after the Lismore resident lost his home and car tuning business to devastating floods in northern New South Wales earlier in the year.
However, he managed to save his car before the flood destroyed his workshop.
“I wasn’t going to lose the car. Due to the Covid issues I haven’t been to Leyburn since 2019 so it was great to save the car and come back this year and win with all my family to see it,” said Amos.
“I just love coming to Leyburn. The atmosphere is fantastic, it’s a lot of fun and I love racing.”
The sprint commemorates the holding of the 1949 Australian Grand Prix in close proximity to the former gold rush village of the southern Darling Downs.
Old rivals dating back 106 years, Willy’s Overland and Studebaker.
“We haven’t finished counting all the attendance categories for Monday morning, but there was definitely a big crowd, especially on Saturday,” said Trisha Chant, president of the community organizing committee.
“The weather was beautiful, there was not a single cloud in the sky all weekend, the Sprints field was filled with wonderful cars of various vintages, and spectators flocked to the vintage vans and Show ‘n’ Shine displays.
“But most of all I think people were drawn to Leyburn’s friendly village atmosphere – that’s what everyone says makes this motoring heritage event so special.”
Other entertainment included Matthew Clift who raced a 1971 Mazda R100 Coupé and set the fastest sprint in the historic category with a time of 50.368 seconds to finish an impressive 17th.thousand the fastest in the entire field.
Michael Robinson’s restored 1958 FE Holden Special won Best Car in Shannons Show ‘n’ Shine, which attracted more than 60 entries.
Tony Sullivan won Best Van and Tow Truck Combination at the Vintage Vans Show with a 1969 Olympic Riviera towed by a 1960 Chevrolet El Camino ute painted in pastel green.
Spectators were also enthralled by the parade laps on Saturday and Sunday of the two cars that battled each other 106 years ago for the Australian land speed record, the 1912 Willys Overland and the 1916 Studebaker Six.
The old-timers reached 137km/h on the sands of Southport in 1916, but poor stopping power limited them to modest speeds on the six-corner Sprint circuit.
RESULTS
- Fastest (Colonel Furness Memorial Trophy): 1 D Amos (Gould GR55B-Judd) 40.669s, 2 W Hutchinson (OMS28) 41.402s, 3 B Bull (Van Dieman RF03K) 43.412s
- Fastest Historic (Hayden Betts Memorial Trophy): M Clift (1971 Mazda R100) 55.368s
- Anne Collins Memorial Junior Award: S Chant (Hyundai Excel)
- Best Volunteer (Alan Wickham Memorial): Rod and Audra Pugh
- Shannons Show ‘n’ Shine: Best Car, 1958 Holden FE Special (M. Robinson)
- Best Vintage Van and Display: Sunliner (P & R Nixon)
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https://autoaction.com.au/2022/08/22/26th-historic-leyburn-sprint-goes-to-aussie-battler
