By Gerard Walsh
Lismore driver Dean Amos has won his ninth Leyburn Sprints to celebrate 75 years since the first Australian Grand Prix was run on the Second World War Airstrip at Leyburn.
As is the case most years, Amos won in his Gould from Brisbane driver Warwick Hutchinson to win the Col Furness Memorial Trophy.
The fastest historic car was driven by David Cross from Brisbane.
One of the highlights of the weekend was the first appearance in Australia of a 1999 Indianapolis 500 from Brisbane which has the capacity to be driven at 350 kilometres an hour.
The car has been owned for 25 years by motoring enthusiast Mark Pickering who has just finished a restoration and drove the car for the first time in competition at Leyburn.
It was without doubt the fastest car at Leyburn but not on the tight circuit around the streets.
Marketing manager Chris Nixon said the 243 vehicle nominations was a record.
Organisers believe more than 16,000 patrons attended the sprints counting drivers, support teams and sprints attendees.
“Crowd numbers were well up on last year,” he said.
One of the highlights of the weekend from a Warwick perspective was the win by Warwick State High School student Jai Wickham in the 14-17 years section, one of 64 classes at Leyburn.
The 16-year-old was driving a Hyundai and won in a field of 10.
Some of Australia’s best known retired drivers were at the 28th sprints to celebrate the 75 years including Q 150 Icon Dick Johnson, former teammate John Bowe and former Australian Grand Prix winner Warwick Brown who travelled from Sydney for the weekend.
The retired drivers visited a memorial to the 1949 Australian Grand Prix which is on Macquarie Drive at Leyburn, seven kilometres from the town.
