Racing in Australia had resumed in 1946, but it took until 1947 for the Australian Sporting Car Club to organise a full Grand Prix. The event encountered early difficulties: police opposition to racing at Mount Panorama forced a postponement from Easter to October. The race was run as a handicap event, as was the custom in the immediate post-war period, with cars despatched in staggered groups according to their perceived performance advantage.
The field ranged from small-capacity pre-war MGs to powerful pre-war machinery. Alf Barrett started from scratch — a full 37 minutes after the first car, Les Burrows in an MG J2, had been sent away — in an Alfa Romeo Monza, reflecting the advantage his car held over the rest of the field.
Ray Mitchell, driving a Jeep/Ford Special, ran as the race leader entering the final lap and appeared on course for victory. A tyre failure caused him to slow dramatically and he eventually limped home in fourth position, handing the lead to Bill Murray.
Murray, in his MG TC with a 25.5-minute handicap allowance, inherited the lead and held on to win. Dick Bland took second place in his Mercury Special, completing the race 36 seconds behind the winner. Third place went to Lex Davison in a 7.6-litre Mercedes-Benz SSK 38/250 with a 10.5-minute handicap. Davison, despite finishing third on handicap positions, completed the race in the shortest actual time — a prelude to his dominance of the Australian Grand Prix over the following decade and a half. He would go on to win the race four times before his death at Sandown in 1965.
Alf Barrett set the fastest lap of the race at 3 minutes 6 seconds and recorded the highest speed through the flying quarter-mile at 123.5 mph. He retired on lap 29 with valve trouble, denying him a classified finish.
Two subsidiary championships were decided on net race time, independent of the handicap positions: the Under 1500cc Championship was awarded to Alf Najar, and the Over 1500cc Championship to Lex Davison.
| Pos | Driver | Car | Laps | Handicap | |---|---|---|---|---| | 1 | Bill Murray | MG TC | 38 | 25.5 min | | 2 | Dick Bland | Mercury Special | 38 | 15.0 min | | 3 | Lex Davison | Mercedes-Benz SSK 38/250 | 38 | 10.5 min | | 4 | Ray Mitchell | Jeep/Ford Special | 38 | 17.0 min | | Ret | Alf Barrett | Alfa Romeo Monza | 28 | Scratch |
Lex Davison's third-place finish in 1947 was the beginning of one of Australian motorsport's most distinguished careers. Dick Bland claimed two further podium finishes in subsequent years but never converted them into a victory. The 1947 race marked the resumption of a grand prix tradition at Mount Panorama that continued to define Australian motorsport.
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