Steve Johnson, James Moffat and Alex Davison will contest the V8 Supercars Drivers Challenge at the historic Leyburn Sprints on the Queensland Darling Downs later this month.
The trio will swap their regular Ford Falcon V8 Supercars and tackle Leyburn’s 1.1km, round-the-houses time trials in three classic Fords that are 40 years or older. To win, they’ll have to beat Queensland icon and Ford racing legend Dick Johnson.
The new V8 Supercars Drivers Challenge is the result of past appearances by Dick and Steven Johnson, Shane van Gisbergen, Tim Slade, Kevin Bartlett, John French and other touring car luminaries over the 15-year history of the Sprints, which celebrate the 1949 Australian Grand Prix on a nearby wartime airfield.
Dick and Steve Johnson, Moffat and Davison each will complete runs in a NASCAR-powered 1971 Ford Falcon GT HO, a 1971 2.0 litre Ford Escort Mk 1 and a 1934 Indy-style single-seat racing car. The fastest aggregate time will win.
Race Director Dennis Brown said that due to the drivers’ many commitments it was not known yet whether they would be able to attend on Saturday or Sunday or all weekend.
“However, we do have confirmation from Dick, Steve, Alex and James that they are definitely coming, so in particular there’s a treat in store for those spectators from country areas who don’t often get to see the big V8 Supercar events” Brown said.
“The drivers will be right here in our own back yard at Leyburn on the Darling Downs.”
Racing at Leyburn will start each day at 8am, with trophy presentations to be held from 3.30pm on Sunday in front of footballer Shane Webcke’s 1863 Royal Hotel.
Around 210 historic, classic and high-performance cars representing 80 years of Australian motorsport will contest the event in the little former gold-mining town, north-west of Warwick.
Other attractions during the weekend will include the dedication on Saturday of a Leyburn Sprints community art project by Queensland Liberal-National MP Lawrence Springborg, a Shannons Show n’ Shine display and track parade on Sunday and, throughout the weekend, the Jim Beam Racing merchandise truck and the Shannons Super Truck.
Tickets for the Sprints on August 27-28 are available now on-line at www.leyburnmotorsprints.com.au. Adult tickets are $15 per day, or $24 for both days.
