21st Historic Leyburn Sprints 20-21 August 16

[The American]

I'm looking forward to this one

[MattR]

Great event, I haven't had the opportunity to enter it yet and have been trying for near 20 years. Either haven't had a suitable car, or when I have had a suitable car the timing didn't work for me.

Even as a spectator it is a brilliant weekend.

One day will get there.

[The American]

My entry is in!

The course looks like fun, with some interesting old machinery as well

[Trackphotos]

I'm gonna head out to spectate one of the days. Might try and enter next year, wouldn't think mx5s fit the nature of the event but they allowed a few to enter last year.

Sent from my E6653 using Tapatalk

[The American]

...wouldn't think mx5s fit the nature of the event but they allowed a few to enter last year.

That's what I thought. The majority of the field last year was historic, or just elderly, but there were also a decent number of moderns from amongst the regular street sprint competitors, including the occasional Mx-5. Unfortunately Skelta's make for very tough completion for an mx5.

I suspect they concluded the need for some gradual generational change.

Maybe in 30 years time, some young bloke will turn up to to Leyburn in an Mx5 "that first raced here way back in 2016. Gone is the petrol engine that's so costly to run these days - it's now sporting a 300kw Adaptronic copper core with Energy Recovery Systems. Thankfully the owner has been able to retain and maintain the original suspension system and weight distribution that makes the Mazda so special to drive - there's no maglev here..."

Nah, probably not!

[Magpie]

Passing on this as well.

[Ted]

Maybe in 30 years time, some young bloke will turn up to to Leyburn in an Mx5 "that first raced here way back in 2016. Gone is the petrol engine that's so costly to run these days - it's now sporting a 300kw Adaptronic copper core with Energy Recovery Systems. Thankfully the owner has been able to retain and maintain the original suspension system and weight distribution that makes the Mazda so special to drive - there's no maglev here..."

Nah, probably not!

While it makes me feel old, I think its about 15 years since I ran Leyburn. Back then, the course was a little different, and faster. It was just start at the pub, turn right, all the way to the end, turn left, past the school, turn left, finish about 2/3rds down. The braking markers of 1, 2, 2 Late made real sense then as I joined the masses who have ended up in the front yard. Local cop with a speed gun, and someone in the school yard with a big board who wrote up your speed which was beside the single chicane, in front of the school, made of haybales stacked taller than an MX5.

[The American]

[The American]

Entries have closed and the list has been published. Over 200 entries in the field.
Here's the competition for Modern Sports Cars over 2000cc:



We will see how a turbo Mx5 compares to a Porsche GT3...

And there are two other Mx5 entries in Modern Sports Cars 1500cc-2000cc:



I can't imagine there will be many runs with this number of entries, but by all accounts the experience is a good one. Hopefully this means I'll have plenty of time to get behind the camera.

[The American]

I'm all set up, signed on, scrutineered and stickered up.

Loads of interesting cars :-)

There'd be several hundred caravans, in addition to those camped in the pits. If even half come to the pub....

If you're thinking of coming out for a look, watch your speed. I saw 3 or 4 separate police patrols in the 50 something km between Toowoomba and Leyburn.

I didn't forget anything essential this time

If you're interested in seeing occasional updates over the weekend look at/like/follow: http://www.facebook.com/ManDrivesCar

[The American]

At the end of day 1, 3 complete runs have been had and I'm second in class behind Phil Hart's Porsche GT3 - he's got a 2 second lead to play with.

The rain and cloud of this morning has cleared, and tomorrow should be a cracker.

http://www.facebook.com/ManDrivesCar for photos

[Code4]

Will be out tomorrow to spectate. In my Silver NB.

[Code4]

Great event to visit. A few photos.






When 'Da Mouse' grows up he wants to be a Cobra.

[The American]

Hi Code4!
Did we cross paths? Lots of people, and quite a few Mx5 owners came to say hello over the course of the weekend. Thanks for the photos!

[The American]

Here's a summary of my weekend at the Leyburn Sprints with photos

I took at day off work (**gasp**) to attend this event, which meant I could drive out, set up camp and get scrutineered, and still have some time to look around the town before dark.

By the time I arrived, there was already a large tent city/caravan park set up with competitors preparing their cars for the following day. This Honda -swapped mini was the first to catch my eye:


Followed by the growing assembly of vintage caravans:



A few other snaps from around the town:



A rendering of the winner of the original 1949 Australian Grand Prix that took place on a nearby airfield



I then turned my attention to the track, and went for a walk around it. The start line is right in front of the pub, which means that when staging for a run, you're reverse parked right at the entrance to the public bar:

The track itself is narrow bitumen, and makes its way through a series of 90 degree turns through the town before a sweeping left hand turn to the finish line: START, Right, Left, Right, Right,'the chute' Right, chicane, sweeping Left FINISH. Because the track is so narrow, there’s limited choice of ‘line’ if you plan to stay on the black stuff.
One of the details that stood out to me was the barriers – beautifully painted to match the scenery:



There were loads of interesting cars on site. This one was probably my favourite – a 1938 Offenhauser Sprint Car:

Day one was cold and began with some showers that kept things cool for the morning. On my first run, I struggled with a lack of grip, cold brake pads etc:

At the end of the day, three and a quarter runs for the whole field had been completed, and I think I finished the day in 2nd place behind this yellow Porsche GT3

Dinner and beer at the pub followed by bed.
Overnight, it felt much colder than it had the first night, and with no clouds to keep the heat in, and no wind, the temps dropped considerably. I’d slept in a tent in the pits, and there was a decent frost on the ground when I ventured out after dawn.
The roof of a Mini:

The Stratton’s Mx-5

An unconventional tent peg

The Mx-5’s windscreen

Day two warmed up to be very promising, and times quickly began to drop. Unfortunately, a few competitors also found the limits of the track in unfriendly circumstances.

This Commodore was dríven by my neighbour in the pits and he came unstuck after the finish line – sadly it did not look repairable to me

Stuart Reid’s Audi Quattro also copped a knock


Throughout the day, I found myself chasing the last time set by the driver of the yellow GT3, and going into the last run of the day, he still had a 1.8 second lead over my best time. It’s a large part of what makes this fun – chasing someone to see if I can just get in front. My last run of the day was my best and it was *just* enough for 1st in class and 19th outright:

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I think I say this after every event - I had a great time! (but this one was particularly good)