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 miles) | ||
| Distance | 42 laps, 100.8 km (162.19 miles) | ||
| Weather | Sunny | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Alf Barrett | Alfa Romeo | |
| Time | 1'48 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | BMW | ||
| Second | MG | ||
| Third | 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 edit
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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 edit
- 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)
References edit
- ^ a b Programme, Australian Grand Prix, Australia Day 26 January 1948, Point Cook Aerodrome
- ^ Galpin, Darren. "Point Cook". GEL Motorsport Information Page. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
- ^ Australian Motor Sports, 15 December 1947, page 24
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ a b Walker, Terry (1995). Fast Tracks - Australia's Motor Racing Circuits: 1904-1995. Wahroonga, NSW: Turton & Armstrong. p. 134. ISBN 0908031556.
- ^ Motor-cyclist wins Grand Prix in BMW, The Argus, Tuesday, 27 January 1948, page 12, trove.nla.gov.au Retrieved 14 April 2015
- ^ Arthur Chick is mentioned as "still running at the finish" in The Official 50-race history of the Australian Grand Prix, page 132
External links edit
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