1950 Australian Grand Prix
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| 1950 Australian Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Formula Libre race | |||
| Race details | |||
| Date | 2 January 1950 | ||
| Location | Nuriootpa, South Australia | ||
| Course | Temporary road circuit | ||
| Course length | 4.8 km (3.0 miles) | ||
| Distance | 34 laps, 163.2 km (102 miles) | ||
| Weather | Sunny | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Rupert Steele Doug Whiteford |
Alfa Romeo Ford | |
| Time | 2'27 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Ford | ||
| Second |
| Alfa Romeo | |
| Third |
| Ballot-Oldsmobile | |
The 1950 Australian Grand Prix was a motor race held at the Nuriootpa Road Circuit in South Australia on 2 January 1950.[1] It was organised by the Sporting Car Club of South Australia,[2] promoted by the Barossa Valley Vintage Festival Association[1] and staged over 34 laps[3] of the 4.8-kilometre circuit for a race distance of 163 kilometres.[2] The race, which is recognized by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport as the fifteenth Australian Grand Prix,[4] was a Formula Libre race.
The race utilised a handicap start with cars commencing progressively, slowest through to fastest, at timed intervals.[2] The declared winner of the Grand Prix however, was the driver with the fastest elapsed race time, regardless of handicap.[2] All other official awards were based on the handicap results, with an additional trophy awarded to the handicap winner and prize money paid for the first nine handicap places.[1] Doug Whiteford, driving a Ford V8 Special, known as 'Black Bess', won his first Australian Grand Prix, completing the race distance almost three minutes faster than Rupert Steele, driving an Alfa Romeo.[2] Jim Gullan, driving an Oldsmobile-powered Ballot Special recorded the third fastest race time and was also the official handicap winner.[2]
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| Pos[2] | No.[2] | Driver[2] | Car[2] / Engine | Entrant[1] | Laps[2] | Time[2] | H'cap Pos[2] | H'cap start[2] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Doug Whiteford |
Ford V8 Special / Ford 4.2L | D Whiteford | 34 | 1h 24m 53s | 5 | 1m 45s |
| 2 | 6 | Rupert Steele |
Alfa Romeo 8C / Alfa Romeo 2.3L | PJR Steele | 34 | 1h 27m 51s | 9 | 1m 45s |
| 3 | 21 | Jim Gullan |
Ballot Special / Oldsmobile 3.9L | J Gullan | 34 | 1h 29m 23s | 1 | 7m 45s |
| 4 | 30 | David Harvey |
MG TC Special / MG 1.3L | DG Harvey | 34 | 1h 33m 49s | 2 | 11m 00s |
| 5 | 22 | Bill Willcox |
Dodge Special / Dodge 4.1L | WH Wilcox | 34 | 1h 34m 11s | 10 | 8m 20s |
| 6 | 32 | Steve Tillett |
MG TC Special / MG 1.3L | SD Tillett | 34 | 1h 34m 37s | 6 | 11m 50s |
| 7 | 33 | Ron Kennedy |
MG TC / MG 1.3L | RJ Kennedy | 34 | 1h 34m 41s | 3 | 11m 30s |
| 8 | 35 | Don Cant |
MG TC / MG 1.3L | DP Cant | 34 | 1h 35m 05s | 4 | 11m 55s |
| 9 | 27 | Howard Keil[5] |
HRG Special / HRG 1.5L | FAO Gaze | 34 | 1h 35m 57s | 8 | 9m 40s |
| 10 | 26 | Norman Steele |
HRG Special / HRG 1.5L | NC Steele | 34 | 1h 36m 08s | 7 | 9m 40s |
| 11 | 19 | Granton Harrison |
Phillips V8 Special / Ford 3.9L | GT Harrison | 34 | 1h 37m 39s | 11 | 7m 45s |
| 12 | 29 | Vin Maloney |
MG TC Special / MG 1.3L | VA Maloney | 34 | 1h 40m 14s | 12 | 10m 40s |
| 13 | 38 | Ross Vinall [1] |
MG NA / MG 1.3L | RK Vinall | 34 | 1h 46m 42s | 13 | 13m 00s |
| Ret | 25 | Peter McKenna |
BMW 328 / BMW 2.0L | Peter McKenna | 33 | 9m 05s | ||
| Ret | 34 | D. Douglas |
MG TC / MG 1.3L | AP Douglas | 32 | 11m 55s | ||
| Ret | 20 | Dennis Curran |
Curran Ford V8 Special / Ford 4.0L | DE Curran | 30 | 7m 45s | ||
| Ret | 16 | Ken Tubman |
MG K3 / MG s/c 1.1L | KV Tubman | 28 | 4m 50s | ||
| Ret | 31 | Ian Jackson[6] |
MG TC / MG 1.3L | IN Jackson | 25 | 11m 20s | ||
| Ret | 40 | Phil Harrison[7] |
MG P / Vauxhall 1.4L | P Harrison | 21 | 13m 00s | ||
| Ret | 24 | Bob Brown |
Alfa Romeo 6C 1750[8] / Ford 4.0L | RS Brown | 21 | 9m 00s | ||
| Ret | 3 | Charlie Dean |
Maybach Special Mk.1 / Maybach 4.2L | HC Dean | 21 | 0m 30s | ||
| Ret | 23 | L. Robinson |
Bugatti / Dodge | LD Robinson | 15 | 8m 40s | ||
| Ret | 11 | Peter Damman[9] |
Hudson Special / Hudson | P Denman | 13 | 2m 50s | ||
| Ret | 36 | E. Truman |
MG TC / MG 1.3L | EC Truman | 11 | 11m 55s | ||
| Ret | 17 | Bill Patterson |
MG TC / MG s/c 1.3L | GW Patterson | 6 | 5m 05s | ||
| Ret | 39 | Max Galt |
MG NA / MG 1.3L | M Galt | 4 | 13m 00s | ||
| Ret | 4 | Eldred Norman |
Double Ford V8 Special / Ford 7.8L | E de B Norman | 2 | 1m 25s | ||
| Ret | 15 | Otto Stone |
MG K3 / MG s/c 1.1L | Otto Stone | 1 | 4m 50s | ||
| Ret | 2 | Lex Davison |
Alfa Romeo Tipo B / Alfa Romeo 3.0L | AN Davison | 1 | 0m 30s | ||
| DNS | 1 | Tony Gaze |
Alta | FAO Gaze | - | 0m 00s | ||
| DNS | 12 | Stan Jones |
HRG | S Jones | - | 3m 25s[1] | ||
| DNS[10] | 14[1] | John Barraclough[1] |
MG K3 s/c[1] | A.N. Davison[1] | - | 4m 50s[1] | ||
The above results rank all finishers based on actual race time, regardless of handicap.[2] Officially, race results were based on handicap placings, with the exception of the actual Australian Grand Prix title itself, which was awarded to the driver setting the fastest race time.[2]
It is not known if the cars of McKenna and Douglas actually retired from the race or were still running when the race time expired.[2]
Notes
- Attendance: 35,000 (police estimate)[11]
- Number of starters: 29[12]
- Fastest lap: Rupert Steele and Doug Whiteford – 2'27 (73.47 mph, 118.2 km/h)[2]