| 1948 RAC International Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Race details | |||
| Date | 2 October 1948 | ||
| Official name | RAC International Grand Prix | ||
| Location | RAF Silverstone, Northamptonshire | ||
| Course | Converted aerodrome | ||
| Course length | 5.907 km (3.670 miles) | ||
| Distance | 65 laps, 383.91 km (238.55 miles) | ||
| Weather | Dry, light cloud. | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Talbot-Lago | ||
| Time | 2:56.0 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Luigi Villoresi | Maserati | |
| Time | 2:52.0 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Maserati | ||
| Second | Maserati | ||
| Third | ERA | ||
The Royal Automobile Club International Grand Prix was a motor race held on 2 October 1948, at Silverstone Airfield, Northamptonshire, UK. It is commonly cited as the first British Grand Prix of the modern era.[1]
Held two years before the inauguration of the FIA World Championship of Drivers, the 65-lap race was run under the new Formula One regulations[2] which effectively replaced the pre-war Grand Prix motor racing standards.[1] Winner was the Italian Luigi Villoresi, in a Maserati 4CLT/48. A 13-lap 500 cc race, preceding the Grand Prix, was won by Spike Rhiando in a Cooper. Stirling Moss failed to finish after mechanical problems.
The race meeting marked the opening of the Silverstone Circuit, although at the time the site was only on a one-year loan to the RAC from the Air Ministry, having been a bomber station during World War II.