Lobethal

Set in the Adelaide Hills to the east of the city, Lobethal had staged hillclimbs in 1936 and 1937 before the South Australia Grand Prix was held over this fast and challenging 8.65-mile temporary road course on 3 January 1938. The track included Lobethal’s Main Street and the undulating road to the east of the town, with tricky hairpins and blind corners. It was chosen as venue for the 1939 Australian GP which was won on handicap by its youngest competitor, Allan Tomlinson in an MG TA. Vern Leach had been killed during that race and injury ended Tomlinson’s racing career a year later after he crashed into a tree on the Woodside Road section of the course. Motor racing returned to Lobethal after World War II in 1948 although that meeting was marred by three sizable accidents which included a policeman breaking his leg when hit by a loose wheel. A license to hold a race meeting in 1951 was denied.