Cecil Sandford

Cecil Charles Sandford (21 February 1928 – 28 November 2023) was a British professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. 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.

Motorcycle racing career 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.

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 fifth 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. He was the last surviving motorcycle Grand Prix world champion of the 1950s at the time of his death.

Motorcycle Grand Prix results 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- ULS5 NAT6 3 13th 01951 250cc Velocette ESP- SUI5 IOM- BEL- NED- FRA- ULS- NAT- 2 12th 0 350cc Velocette ESP- SUI2 IOM- BEL4 NED- FRA- ULS- NAT- 9 9th 0 1952 125cc MV Agusta IOM1 NED1 GER3 ULS1 NAT- ESP3 28 1st 31953 125cc MV Agusta IOM3 NED3 GER- ULS2 NAT- ESP2 20 2nd 0 500cc MV Agusta IOM- NED- BEL- GER- FRA- ULS- SUI- NAT5 ESP- 2 15th 0 1954 125cc MV Agusta IOM3 ULS5 NED- GER5 NAT- ESP- 8 8th 0 1955 250cc Moto Guzzi IOM2 GER3 NED5 ULS5 NAT- 12 3rd 0 350cc Moto Guzzi FRA- IOM3 GER4 BEL4 NED- ULS4 NAT- 13 5th 0 1956 125cc Mondial IOM- NED4 BEL- GER6 ULS- NAT- 4 13th 0 350cc DKW IOM4 NED4 BEL3 GER4 ULS- NAT5 13 5th 0 1957 125cc Mondial GER- IOM5 NED4 BEL3 ULS- NAT- 9 6th 0 250cc Mondial GER3 IOM1 NED2 BEL3 ULS1 NAT4 26 1st 2