It fell to Victoria to organise the 1948 Australian Grand Prix in the austere petrol rationed post-World War II era. Without an established venue available, the Royal Australian Air Force airfield at Point Cook was chosen for what would be its only race meeting. The oldest operational RAAF base in the country was on the western side of Port Phillip Bay and just 15 miles from downtown Melbourne. The start/finish straight was on the 0.75-mile concrete north-south runway before competitors swept passed the hangers and parked WWII aircraft on its bitumen service roads that formed the return leg. Recently recovered from injuries sustained on two-wheels, New Zealand-born motorcycle racer Frank Pratt drove his road-legal BMW 328 to victory on handicap in what was his first car race. The race was run in sweltering and gusty conditions which caused mechanical failure and heat exhaustion for the drivers.
