| Type: | CUST |
| Description: | Formula Libre race |
| Grand Prix: | Australian |
| Country: | Australia |
| Location: | Nuriootpa, South Australia |
| Date: | 2 January |
| Year: | 1950 |
| Course: | Temporary road circuit |
| Course Mi: | 3.0 |
| Course Km: | 4.8 |
| Distance Laps: | 34 |
| Distance Mi: | 102 |
| Distance Km: | 163.2 |
| Weather: | Sunny |
| Fast Driver: | Rupert Steele Doug Whiteford |
| Fast Team: | Alfa Romeo Ford |
| Fast Time: | 2'27 |
| Fast Country: | AUS |
| First Driver: | Doug Whiteford |
| First Country: | AUS |
| First Team: | Ford |
| Second Driver: | Rupert Steele |
| Second Country: | AUS |
| Second Team: | Alfa Romeo |
| Third Driver: | Jim Gullan |
| Third Country: | AUS |
| Third Team: | 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]
| Pos | No. | Driver | Car / Engine | Entrant | Laps | Time | H'cap Pos | H'cap start |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | R. Vinall | 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 | FAO Gaze | - | 0m 00s | |||
| DNS | 12 | Stan Jones | S Jones | - | 3m 25s | |||
| DNS[10] | 14 | John Barraclough | MG K3 s/c | A.N. Davison | - | 4m 50s | ||
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]
