Cecil Charles Sandford (born 21 February 1928) is a British former professional

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

motorcycle

road racer Road racing is a form of motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held either on a closed circuit or on a street circuit utilizing temporarily closed public roads. Originally, road races were held almost entirely on publ ...

. He competed in the

FIM FIM may refer to: Organizations and companies * Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, the International Motorcycling Federation * Flint Institute of Music, in Michigan, United States * Fox Interactive Media, now News Corp. Digital Media * ...

motorcycle Grand Prix world championships from 1950 to 1957. Sandford is a two-time FIM road racing world champion and a two-time winner at the Isle of Man TT. After the death of Carlo Ubbiali in 2020, Sandford is the last surviving motorcycle world champion across all classes from the 1950s.

Motorcycle racing career

Born in Blockley, Gloucestershire, Sandford began his career riding in local scramble and

grass track Motorcycle Grasstrack is a form of track racing which typically, in its current form, takes place on a flat track consisting of two straights and two bends usually constructed in a field. It is one of the oldest types of motorcycle sports in the ...

events. In

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 cr ...

he was offered a place on the

AJS A. J. Stevens & Co. Ltd was a British automobile and motorcycle manufacturer in operation from 1909 to 1931. The company was founded by Joe Stevens in Wolverhampton, England. After the firm was sold, the name continued to be used by Matchless, A ...

factory racing team alongside the reigning world champion, Les Graham. He followed Graham to the

MV Agusta MV Agusta (, full name: MV AGUSTA Motor S.p.A., original name: Meccanica Verghera Agusta or MV) is a motorcycle manufacturer founded by Count Domenico Agusta on 19 January 1945 as one of the branches of the Agusta aircraft company near Milan in ...

team and won the

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

125cc title, bringing Agusta their first world championship.The Oxford Times article on Cecil Sandford
/ref> In the

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th y ...

season, he won a second world championship, this time in the 250 class riding for the Mondial team.

Motorcycle Grand Prix results

Points system from 1950 to 1968 (

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sandford, Cecil 1928 births Living people English motorcycle racers 500cc World Championship riders 350cc World Championship riders 250cc World Championship riders 125cc World Championship riders Isle of Man TT riders People from Blockley Sportspeople from Gloucestershire 250cc World Riders' Champions 125cc World Riders' Champions