Sweet Adelaide

The original 8.7 mile track still exists in its entirety. The surface is newer of course and the corners are wider in places, being public roads as they were during the racing days of 1937 to 1948.

With 47 corners and formidable straights, this undulating road circuit was a favorite of the drivers and riders of the day. Doug Whiteford, who won the Australian Grand Prix three times in the fifties, acknowledged it as the greatest racing circuit in Australia. Allan Tomlinson won the 1939 Australian Grand Prix at this track, with its sharp crests followed by blind curves. After the race he had commented “What we had to do was turn the car before we got airborne”.

In his nineties now and living in New York, Allan Tomlinson was in Adelaide during the planning of the Carnival and organizers are hopeful that he will be returning in 2009. Lobethal racers Gavin Sandford-Morgan and Ray Pank were there as were eight cars that had raced on the circuit over half a century ago. The roads were closed while the cars and bikes went out though drivers were advised at the briefings that the event was a ‘spirited demonstration’. Entry categories included more recent machines with a sporting background. Separate sessions were held for cars and bikes, flagged off from the Main Street start line in packets of twenty by Glen Dix, Adelaide flagman for many of the 1985 – 95 Australian Formula 1 races.

Understandably, Australian Specials and UK makes dominated the paddock. Cars with Lobethal racing pedigrees included Ral Rainsford’s(South Australia) ex-Ron Uffindell Austin 7, Tom Roberts’ (Victoria) Kleinig Hudson Special, Phillip Bradey’s (SA) ex-Prince Bira MGK3, John Ellis’ (SA) MGTC Tillett Special, event director Tony Parkinson’s (SA) Bedmore Special and Frank Moore’s (Queensland) Ford powered ‘Black Bess’ and his Ballot-Oldsmobile.

Moore’s Ballot is based on a shortened and heavily drilled Ballot chassis; this car ran in the 1939 Australian Grand Prix, in the hands of builder Jim Gullan. In his book “As Long As It Has Wheels” Jim remembers it getting airborne approaching the town at 110 mph. Frank drove the six cylinder powered car more sedately.

Three Bugattis and a Pur Sang 35B recreation featured in the entry list. Kent Patrick (SA) had his Type 37A GP sharing paddock space in packet 1 with Adam Berryman’s (Vic) Type 37. In packet 3, Antony Simpson’s (SA) rebodied Type 57 sat next to the Adelaide based Argentinean built Pur Sang car and showed just how tiny the Type 35 racers from the twenties were.

The most original French car was undoubtedly Angus Mitchell’s (SA) 1927 Amilcar 998cc Grand Sport S. Bodied by Duval in France, it was imported new to Australia by the New South Wales distributors Chapmans and still sports its cast firewall and original bodywork. Sold to a shearer by the name of Colin McGinnity, it spent much of its rust-free working life in the Australian sun taking its owner to sheep stations around the country. Angus’ grandfather bought it from the shearer’s family in 1960 and it has been with the Mitchells ever since.

Italian cars were notable by their absence. Peter Smeets (SA) brought his Milano MG Special with its Ferrari 750 Monza style body and Tony Cullen (SA) had his recently completed Alfa Monza type. This well finished car is built on a FIAT chassis but its Jaguar six has a couple of ‘extra’ exhaust headers to give it that straight eight look.

At the speeches in Lobethal’s Centennial Hall on Sunday afternoon, Tony Parkinson hoped that the Carnival would become an annual event, attracting cars of the calibre of the P3 Alfa that ran there at the 1939 Grand Prix. With an atmosphere authenticated by vintage bi-planes from the nearby Woodside airstrip flying overhead, markets, local winemakers and brewers, food groups and other merchants’ stalls, a movie night (Anthony Hopkins in ‘The World’s Fastest Indian’ …what else!) and a Saturday night concert, it certainly deserves to be a yearly event.

For more information go the the website at www.lobethalgrandcarnival.com.au