Leyburn set to celebrate historic 75th GP anniversary

By Timothy Neal

Date posted: July 26, 2024

The 28th Historic Leyburn Sprints is getting closer for August 17-18, as Queensland’s “town of living history” gets set to commemorate the 75th anniversary of its hosting the 1949 Australian Grand Prix.

On the 18th of September, 1949, Leyburn’s small population temporarily swelled to well over 30,000 people as it hosted the 14th Australian Grand Prix on an ex-wartime aerodrome.

The race – the first GP to be held in Queensland – was taken out by John Crouch in a 1936 3.6 L six cylinder French Delahaye 135MS, a machine that had previously won a Monte Carlo Rally in 1937, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1948.

It took Sydney’s John Crouch his tenth attempt and trip to Leyburn to finally snatch an Australian GP victory

28 entrants began the race on the old runway at the abandoned RAAF airbase – a 6.92 km track – with 11 finishing, and Crouch finally grabbing an Aussie GP win in his 10th attempt.

The old airfield also played its part in bringing people to the town, with seven planes landing in the morning to transport out of town spectators, whilst an estimated number of six thousand cars were parked around the track.

With so many people at the track, police and organisers had a hard time in stopping spectators encroaching onto the airstrip during races, with the sixth and final event of the day being called off as a result of a failure to control the swelling crowds.

Crouch in the #4 car that now exists in a museum in the Mullin Automotive Museum in Oxnard, California.

The Historic Leyburn Sprints will again feature its famous Round-the-houses sprint, and will feature a record field of 240 historic and classic cars.

And to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Leyburn GP, there will also be a host 1949 Grand Prix machines on display, as well as appearances by some former International Aussie racing stars, Warwick Brown and Bruce Allison.

Also at the event will be former touring car teammates Dick Johnson and John Bowe.

The Sprints will kick off at 8am on the Saturday and go through till Sunday, Adult tickets are available on-line or at the gate for $25 a day or $35 for the weekend, with children under 14 free.

On-street parking is free. The event also is holding a raffle to win a Bathurst 1000 weekend for two valued at more than $11,000 or five $500 Supercheap Auto vouchers. Tickets can be bought on the website via this link.

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Leyburn set to celebrate historic 75th GP anniversary

The Historic Leyburn Sprints will again feature its famous Round-the-houses sprint, and will feature a record field of 240 historic and classic cars.

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