Cecil Charles Sandford (21 February 1928 – 28 November 2023) was a British professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer.[1] He competed in the FIM motorcycle Grand Prix world championships from 1950 to 1957. Sandford was a two-time FIM road racing world champion and a two-time winner at the Isle of Man TT.[1][2]

Cecil Sandford
Cecil Sandford in 1952
NationalityBritish
Born(1928-02-21)21 February 1928
Blockley, Gloucestershire, England
Died28 November 2023(2023-11-28) (aged 95)
Motorcycle racing career statistics
Grand Prix motorcycle racing
Active years19501957
First race1950 350cc Ulster Grand Prix
Last race1957 250cc Nations Grand Prix
First win1952 125cc Isle of Man TT
Last win1957 250cc Ulster Grand Prix
Team(s)MV Agusta, Moto Guzzi, DKW, Mondial
Championships125cc – 1952
250cc – 1957
Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points
42 5 21 N/A 3 149

Motorcycle racing career

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Born in Blockley, Gloucestershire, Sandford began his career riding in local scramble and grass track events. In 1950 he was offered a place on the AJS factory racing team alongside the reigning world champion, Les Graham. He followed Graham to the MV Agusta team and won the 1952 FIM 125cc title, bringing Agusta their first world championship, as well as their first Isle of Man TT win.[3][4]

Sandford left MV at the end of 1954, as he believed he was not getting equal treatment to his Italian team-mate Carlo Ubbiali. He raced as a privateer in 1955. In 1956, he signed a factory contract with DKW in the 350cc class, but he had a troubled time with the brand's two-stroke machines, finishing 5th in the world championship. He raced part-time for Mondial in the 125cc class in parallel, and signed a three-year factory contract with them at the end of the year. In the 1957 season, he won a second world championship, and a second Isle of Man TT race, this time in the 250cc class. Mondial announced their immediate withdrawal from Grand Prix racing in October 1957, and Sandford decided to retire from racing rather than carry on as a privateer. He later worked at a bike dealership at Shipston-on-Stour.[3]

Sandford died on 28 November 2023, aged 95.[5] He was the last surviving motorcycle Grand Prix world champion of the 1950s at the time of his death.[3]

Motorcycle Grand Prix results

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Points system from 1950 to 1968

Position 1 2 3 4 5 6
Points 8 6 4 3 2 1

(key) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Class Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Points Rank Wins
1950 350cc AJS IOM
-
BEL
-
NED
-
SUI
-
ULS
5
NAT
6
3 13th 0
1951 250cc Velocette ESP
-
SUI
5
IOM
-
BEL
-
NED
-
FRA
-
ULS
-
NAT
-
2 12th 0
350cc Velocette ESP
-
SUI
2
IOM
-
BEL
4
NED
-
FRA
-
ULS
-
NAT
-
9 9th 0
1952 125cc MV Agusta IOM
1
NED
1
GER
3
ULS
1
NAT
-
ESP
3
28 1st 3
1953 125cc MV Agusta IOM
3
NED
3
GER
-
ULS
2
NAT
-
ESP
2
20 2nd 0
500cc MV Agusta IOM
-
NED
-
BEL
-
GER
-
FRA
-
ULS
-
SUI
-
NAT
5
ESP
-
2 15th 0
1954 125cc MV Agusta IOM
3
ULS
5
NED
-
GER
5
NAT
-
ESP
-
8 8th 0
1955 250cc Moto Guzzi IOM
2
GER
3
NED
5
ULS
5
NAT
-
12 3rd 0
350cc Moto Guzzi FRA
-
IOM
3
GER
4
BEL
4
NED
-
ULS
4
NAT
-
13 5th 0
1956 125cc Mondial IOM
-
NED
4
BEL
-
GER
6
ULS
-
NAT
-
4 13th 0
350cc DKW IOM
4
NED
4
BEL
3
GER
4
ULS
-
NAT
5
13 5th 0
1957 125cc Mondial GER
-
IOM
5
NED
4
BEL
3
ULS
-
NAT
-
9 6th 0
250cc Mondial GER
3
IOM
1
NED
2
BEL
3
ULS
1
NAT
4
26 1st 2

References

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  1. ^ a b "Cecil Sandford career statistics at MotoGP.com". motogp.com. Archived from the original on 19 June 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  2. ^ "Cecil Sandford career statistics at iomtt.com". iomtt.com. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  3. ^ a b c Oxley, Mat (1 December 2023). "Remembering Cecil Sandford, MV Agusta's history man". Motor Sport Magazine. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  4. ^ The Oxford Times article on Cecil Sandford
  5. ^ "Remembering Cecil Sandford". MotoGP. 28 November 2023. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
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