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]

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 New Zealand Frank Pratt BMW 328 / BMW 2.0L LF Pratt 42 1h 33m 52s
2 31 Australia Alf Najar MG TB Special / MG 1.3L A Najar 42 1h 34m 35s
3 11 Australia Dick Bland G Reed Ford V8 Special / Ford 4.0L R Bland 42 1h 35m 19s
4 12 Australia Granton Harrison Ford V8 Special / Ford 3.6L G Harrison 42 1h 35m 58s
5 26 Australia Dennis Curran Willys Ford V8 Special / Ford 3.9L D Curran 42 1h 36m 05s
6 30 Australia John Barraclough MG NE / MG 1.3L J Barraclough 42 1h 37m 02s
7 27 Australia Bill Ford Hudson Special / Hudson 3.5L WD Ford 42 1h 38m 00s
8 3 Australia John Crouch Delahaye 135 / Delahaye 3.6L J Crouch 42 1h 39m 00s
9 10 Australia Alec Mildren Ford V8 Special / Ford 3.6L AG Mildren 42 1h 40m 22s
10 22 Australia Ron Head Riley Imp / Riley 1.1L R Head 42 1h 42m 13s
NC 35 Australia Bill Patterson MG TC / MG 1.3L GW Patterson ?
NC 23 Australia Jim Skinner Ballot 8 / Ford 3.6L J Skinner ?
NC 41 Australia Cec Warren Morgan / Matchless 0.4L CR Warren ?
NC[7] 19 Australia Arthur Chick Bugatti Type 37 / Bugatti 2.3L A Chick ?
Ret 4 Australia Doug Whiteford Ford V8 Special / Ford 4.2L D Whiteford 34
Ret 5 Australia Hope Bartlett Dixon Riley / Riley 1.8L H Bartlett 32
Ret 2 Australia Alf Barrett Alfa Romeo Monza / Alfa Romeo 2.4L H Bartlett 22
Ret 6 Australia Lex Davison Mercedes-Benz 38/250 / Mercedes-Benz 7.4L AN Davison 17
Ret 38 Australia Tom Sulman Singer Special / Singer 1.0L T Sulman 16
Ret 20 Australia Jim Gullan Ballot / Oldsmobile 3.9L J Gullan 15
Ret 16 Australia Rug Nutt Cadillac Special / Cadillac AC Cooper 14
Ret 14 Australia Charlie Dean Maybach I / Maybach 4.3L HC Dean 12
Ret 21 Australia John Nind MG TB Special / MG 1.3L J Nind 10
Ret 18 Australia Tom Luxton Nuttbug Bugatti Type 40 / Ford 3.6L J McEwan 7
Ret 1 Australia Tony Gaze Alta / Alta 2.0L FAO Gaze 5
Ret 7 Australia 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)

References

  1. ^ a b 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. ^ 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.
  5. ^ a b 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 Australian Grand Prix
1948 		Succeeded by


Allikas: Https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1948_Australian_Grand_Prix
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