1948 Australian Grand Prix

  1948 Australian Grand Prix

Race details
Formula Libre handicap race
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 1948 Australian Grand Prix was a motor race held at the Royal Australian Air Force base at Point Cook, just outside Melbourne in Victoria, Australia on Australia Day, 26 January 1948. The race was held over 42 laps of a 3.85 kilometre circuit utilizing the runways and service roads of the base.^[1] The total race distance was 162 kilometres.

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.^[2] Conditions were oppressive, with the temperature topping 100 degrees Fahrenheit by mid-morning, along with hot winds buffeting the exposed pits on the start/finish straight.^[3] 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.^[3] 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.^[4]

Classification

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

Results as follows.^[2]

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

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)

References

1. Galpin, Darren. "Point Cook". GEL Motorsport Information Page. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
2. Howard, Graham (1986). "1948". In Howard, Graham. The Official 50-race history of the Australian Grand Prix. Gordon, NSW: R & T Publishing. pp. 126–137. ISBN 0-9588464-0-5.
3. Walker, Terry (1995). Fast Tracks - Australia's Motor Racing Circuits: 1904-1995. Wahroonga, NSW: Turton & Armstrong. p. 134. ISBN 0908031556.
4. Motor-cyclist wins Grand Prix in BMW, The Argus, Tuesday, 27 January 1948, page 12, trove.nla.gov.au Retrieved on 14 April 2015