1948 Australian Grand Prix

The 1948 Australian Grand Prix was a motor race held at the Point Cook Aerodrome,[1] a Royal Australian Air Force base at Point Cook, just outside Melbourne in Victoria, Australia on Australia Day, 26 January 1948. It was staged over 42 laps of a 3.85 kilometre circuit utilizing the runways and service roads of the base.[2] The total race distance was 162 kilometres. The race was organised by the Light Car Club of Australia and was sanctioned by the Australian Automobile Association.[3]

1948 Australian Grand Prix
Formula Libre handicap race
Race details
Date 26 January 1948
Location Point Cook, Victoria
Course Airfield circuit
Course length 3.85 km (2.4 mi)
Distance 42 laps, 100.8 km (162.19 mi)
Weather Sunny
Fastest lap
Driver Alf Barrett Alfa Romeo
Time 1'48
Podium
First
  • Frank Pratt
 BMW
Second
  • Alf Najar
 MG
Third
  • Dick Bland
 Reed-Ford

The race was the thirteenth Australian Grand Prix and the first not to be held on a public road circuit. It was staged as a handicap event with the first car starting 18 minutes before the last.[4] Conditions were oppressive, with the temperature topping 100 °F (38 °C) by mid-morning, along with hot winds buffeting the exposed pits on the start/finish straight.[5] The overpowering heat, plus the bumpy concrete-slab surface of the runways, took a heavy toll on the competing cars. As well as mechanical retirements, several drivers had to retire due to heat exhaustion.[5]

Prominent motorcycle racer Frank Pratt won the race driving a BMW 328. Alf Najar finished second driving an MG TB Special with Dick Bland placed third in a George Reed constructed Ford V8 special. Bland was also awarded the prize for setting the fastest time.[6]

Classification
Race winner Frank Pratt (BMW 328) contesting the 1948 Australian Grand Prix

Results as follows.[4]

Pos No. Driver Car / Engine Entrant [1] Laps Time
1 28 Frank Pratt BMW 328 / BMW 2.0L LF Pratt 42 1h 33m 52s
2 31 Alf Najar MG TB Special / MG 1.3L A Najar 42 1h 34m 35s
3 11 Dick Bland G Reed Ford V8 Special / Ford 4.0L R Bland 42 1h 35m 19s
4 12 Granton Harrison Ford V8 Special / Ford 3.6L G Harrison 42 1h 35m 58s
5 26 Dennis Curran Willys Ford V8 Special / Ford 3.9L D Curran 42 1h 36m 05s
6 30 John Barraclough MG NE / MG 1.3L J Barraclough 42 1h 37m 02s
7 27 Bill Ford Hudson Special / Hudson 3.5L WD Ford 42 1h 38m 00s
8 3 John Crouch Delahaye 135 / Delahaye 3.6L J Crouch 42 1h 39m 00s
9 10 Alec Mildren Ford V8 Special / Ford 3.6L AG Mildren 42 1h 40m 22s
10 22 Ron Head Riley Imp / Riley 1.1L R Head 42 1h 42m 13s
NC 35 Bill Patterson MG TC / MG 1.3L GW Patterson ?
NC 23 Jim Skinner Ballot 8 / Ford 3.6L J Skinner ?
NC 41 Cec Warren Morgan / Matchless 0.4L CR Warren ?
NC [7] 19 Arthur Chick Bugatti Type 37 / Bugatti 2.3L A Chick ?
Ret 4 Doug Whiteford Ford V8 Special / Ford 4.2L D Whiteford 34
Ret 5 Hope Bartlett Dixon Riley / Riley 1.8L H Bartlett 32
Ret 2 Alf Barrett Alfa Romeo Monza / Alfa Romeo 2.4L H Bartlett 22
Ret 6 Lex Davison Mercedes-Benz 38/250 / Mercedes-Benz 7.4L AN Davison 17
Ret 38 Tom Sulman Singer Special / Singer 1.0L T Sulman 16
Ret 20 Jim Gullan Ballot / Oldsmobile 3.9L J Gullan 15
Ret 16 Rug Nutt Cadillac Special / Cadillac AC Cooper 14
Ret 14 Charlie Dean Maybach I / Maybach 4.3L HC Dean 12
Ret 21 John Nind MG TB Special / MG 1.3L J Nind 10
Ret 18 Tom Luxton Nuttbug Bugatti Type 40 / Ford 3.6L J McEwan 7
Ret 1 Tony Gaze Alta / Alta 2.0L FAO Gaze 5
Ret 7 Norm Andrews Stewand / Lea-Francis 3.5L N Andrews 0

Notes
  • Fastest lap: Alf Barrett (Alfa Romeo Monza), 1m 48s, 80.00 mph (128.7 km/h)
  • Fastest time: Dick Bland (G Reed Ford V8 Special), 1h 26m 52s, 69.62 mph (112.02 km/h)
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References
  1. Programme, Australian Grand Prix, Australia Day 26 January 1948, Point Cook Aerodrome
  2. Galpin, Darren. "Point Cook". GEL Motorsport Information Page. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
  3. Australian Motor Sports, 15 December 1947, page 24
  4. Howard, Graham (1986). "1948". In Howard, Graham (ed.). The Official 50-race history of the Australian Grand Prix. Gordon, NSW: R & T Publishing. pp. 126–137. ISBN 0-9588464-0-5.
  5. Walker, Terry (1995). Fast Tracks - Australia's Motor Racing Circuits: 1904-1995. Wahroonga, NSW: Turton & Armstrong. p. 134. ISBN 0908031556.
  6. Motor-cyclist wins Grand Prix in BMW, The Argus, Tuesday, 27 January 1948, page 12, trove.nla.gov.au Retrieved 14 April 2015
  7. Arthur Chick is mentioned as "still running at the finish" in The Official 50-race history of the Australian Grand Prix, page 132
Preceded by
1947 Australian Grand Prix		 Australian Grand Prix
1948		 Succeeded by
1949 Australian Grand Prix


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