Dickie Stanford | |
|---|---|
| Born | Richard Stanford (1956-01-09)January 9, 1956 (age 70) Highworth, England, UK |
| Occupation | Williams Heritage General Manager |
| Children | 3 |
Richard "Dickie" Stanford (born 9 January 1956) is a Britishmotor racing mechanic who has since become the general manager ofWilliams Heritage, a company that repairs and maintains retired Williams cars, similar toClassic Team Lotus.
Dickie Stanford was born on 9 January 1956 inHighworth, Wiltshire but grew up inSwindon. At the age of 12, he attended the Race of Champions where he gained his passion for motor racing. When he left school in 1972, Stanford worked in the British Government'sMinistry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and was involved in the work of stock-piling in case of war.[1]
Along with a friend, Stanford ran aFormula Ford team in the weekends and evenings.[1] His first job in the industry was inSports 2000 where he was a mechanic toJames Weaver andJonathan Palmer. Stanford later left to work inFormula Three for theTiga Race Cars team. During this time, he planned to joinWilliams in 1983 but was turned down after a one-hour interview because there were no jobs available. However, Stanford joined theRaltFormula Two team who were using Williams' wind tunnel.[2][3]
In 1985, Stanford joined Williams as the Race Mechanic toNigel Mansell. Three years later, he became a member of the test team and stayed in his role until 1989 and became the chief mechanic in 1990. Stanford became the team manager after his predecessorIan Harrison left for the RenaultBTCC team in late 1995. Stanford remained in his position for a further 10 years before reducing his work to spend more time with his family.[1][3] During the 2010 season, Stanford rejoined Williams to return as the team manager for Race Day and Testing.[2] After his spell at Williams Heritage, Stanford started working forUnited Autosports in October 2020 to look after the Formula 1 car collection ofZak Brown.
As of 2003[update], Stanford lived inMarlborough with his second wife.[3] He has three children. As of 2008[update], he owned a Mercedes 250SL which he was in the process of restoring.[2]
