The rural Queensland motorsport festival draws thousands of spectators and hundreds of historic, classic, and performance cars, commemorating the 1949 Australian Grand Prix held near the Darling Downs town.
“After recovering from the surprise of learning a Supercars round was scheduled for the same weekend and just 150 kms away, we had no choice but to react promptly to ensure the viability of our event and to ensure it is celebrated in the best way, considering it’s our 30th with major celebrations planned,” said event president Tricia Chant.
Chant noted the conflict would have affected attendance, access to essential race officials, and the availability of common sponsors and competitors from support categories at Ipswich.
“In 29 years of staging the Sprints, we’ve never faced such a conflict. The Sprints has always been on the second-last weekend of August and we had already advertised the date for 2026,” she said.
The milestone event will include a special evening on Thursday, 13 August, with organisers promising an expanded celebration for the 30th anniversary.
The Leyburn Sprints are known for their “round-the-house” time trials, with historic, classic, and performance cars ranging from the 1920s to modern day competing on the tight course.
Australian Hillclimb champion Dean Amos claimed his 10th outright trophy at this year’s event.
Beyond the racing, the festival features a show and shine competition, vintage caravan display, appearances from former drivers, motorsport alley with rare cars, a charity auction, fun run, and live entertainment.
Supported by the Speedcafe, Queensland Government, Southern Downs Regional Council, and private sponsors including JMC Performance, Boral, Loaders R Us, Collins Hay, Shannons Insurance, and Tait Freight, the event channels proceeds through the Historic Leyburn Sprints Community Benefit Fund to support local projects and organisations.
Discussion about this post