| Cecil Sandford | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Cecil Sandford in 1952 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | British | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1928-02-21)21 February 1928 Blockley,Gloucestershire, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 28 November 2023(2023-11-28) (aged 95) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Cecil Charles Sandford (21 February 1928 – 28 November 2023) was a British professionalGrand Prix motorcycleroad racer.[1] He competed in theFIM 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 theIsle of Man TT.[1][2]
Born inBlockley,Gloucestershire, Sandford began his career riding in localscramble andgrass track events. In1950 he was offered a place on theAJS factory racing team alongside the reigning world champion,Les Graham. He followed Graham to theMV Agusta team and won the1952FIM 125cc title, bringing Agusta their first world championship, as well as their firstIsle 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-mateCarlo Ubbiali. He raced as a privateer in1955. In1956, he signed a factory contract withDKW 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 forMondial in the 125cc class in parallel, and signed a three-year factory contract with them at the end of the year. In the1957 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 atShipston-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]
Points system from 1950 to 1968
| Position | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| Points | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
(key) (Races initalics 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 |
