By Emily-Rose Toohey
Warwick’s Police Prosecutor Steve de Lissa was one of the competitors who undertook the Leyburn Sprints race course on the 20 and 21 August this year, and Steve is no stranger to the art of racing.
Driving a 1936 light green dodge speedster, Steve took to the Historic Leyburn Sprints course and said he had been racing since he was 18 and 1998 marked his first Sprints event.
“I’m just a car enthusiast and always have been since I was a little kid,” he said.
Born and raised on the Gold Coast, Steve said he formally moved to the Southern Downs 20 years ago.
“The Sprints are incredible, I really like the tradition of it,” he said.
“It was originally a commemorative of the 1949 old bomber race – still some of the cars appear in the Sprints.”
In terms of training for the landmark event each year, Steve said he doesn’t do any formal preparation.
“It’s about passion and takes a little bit of skill,” he said.
“Apart from that, just try – we can’t practice on the course during the lead-up.”
But Steve’s involvement in motorsports is not limited to the Leyburn Sprints, as he races at Morgan Park where they undertake a lot of training with juniors.
“It’s to get young people into racing in a safe environment,” he said.
“Car handling, control, emergency situations – that all translates to the road.
“They can get their racing licence at 14 and if they do it at a young age, they’ll develop important driving skills as mentioned before.”
Steve said he started this driver training a few years ago, but it has since been taken over by another group of enthusiastic instructors.
Throughout his motor racing career, Steve said getting to race his car at the iconic Bathurst 1000 circuit was a highlight.
“My XW GT Falcon is in the National Motor Racing Museum and I was able to race it for a weekend,” he said.
However, over the past few years, Steve said the Covid-19 pandemic had impacted racing.
“Aside from this, I’ve been racing continuously since ‘98 at Leyburn Sprints,” he said.
“I think it’s an incredible event for the local community.
“It brings people from all over the nation and internationally to a tiny little country town in Southern Queensland and it’s a tremendous initiative – the committee and crew who run it deserve all the accolades.”
Furthermore, Steve said the region had a rich motor racing culture.
“There’s the Gatton and Pittsworth Sprints and the Queensland Super Sprints series at Morgan Park Raceway,” he said.
“They do a fantastic job putting on events in a premier facility.”
