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Richard Attwood

2015-02-02

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{{Infobox F1 driver|

name = Richard Attwood |

image = [[File:Richard Attwood 1968 kl.JPG|250px]] |

caption = Richard Attwood at the [[1968 German Grand Prix]]. |

nationality = {{flagicon|UK}} British |

birth_date = {{birth date and age|1940|4|4|df=y}} |

birth_place = Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, England, UK |

Years = {{F1|1964}}–{{F1|1965}}, {{F1|1967}}–{{F1|1969}} |

Team(s) = [[BRM]] [[Reg Parnell Racing]] [[Cooper Car Company|Cooper]] [[Team Lotus|Lotus]] |

Races = 17 (16 starts) |

Championships = 0 |

Wins = 0 |

Podiums = 1 |

Points = 11 |

Poles = 0 |

Fastest laps = 1 |

First race = [[1964 British Grand Prix]] |

First win = |

Last win = |

Last race = [[1969 Monaco Grand Prix]]

}}

'''Richard James David Attwood'''<ref>{{cite book|title=FIA Year Book of Automobile Sport 1971|publisher=Patrick Stephens Ltd.|isbn=0-85059-062-0|nopp=true|page=white p. 33}}</ref> (born 4 April 1940, Wolverhampton, Staffordshire) is a British [[motor racing]] driver. During his career he raced for the [[BRM]], [[Team Lotus|Lotus]] and [[Cooper Car Company|Cooper]] [[Formula One]] teams. In his Formula One career he achieved one podium and scored a total of 11 championship points. He was also a successful [[sports car racing]] driver and won the [[1970 24 Hours of Le Mans]] race, driving a [[Porsche 917]].

==Early career==

Richard Attwood got into the motor industry as an apprentice at sports car manufacturer [[Jaguar Cars|Jaguar]]. He started racing in 1960 at the wheel of a [[Triumph Motor Company|Triumph]] [[Triumph TR3|TR3]]. For 1961 he joined the [[Midlands Racing Partnership]] to drive for them in club-level [[Formula Junior]] events, and continued in this role until the end of 1962. In 1963 the team expanded into the international arena, and Attwood immediately grabbed motorsport headlines when he won the [[Monaco Grand Prix]] Formula Junior support race, in a [[Lola Racing Cars|Lola]] [[Lola Mk5|Mk5a]]. This and other performances during the year earned him the inaugural [[Grovewood Award]], voted for by a [[Guild of Motoring Writers]] panel.

On the back of this success, in 1964 MRP decided to step up to the [[Formula Two]] class. Attwood won in Vienna and took second places in the [[Pau Grand Prix]], [[Eifelrennen]] and [[Albi Grand Prix]]. This was at a time when top-line Grand Prix drivers were an integral part of the Formula Two series; indeed, at Pau he was only beaten by reigning [[Formula One]] World Champion [[Jim Clark]] driving a full-works [[Team Lotus|Lotus]].

==Formula One and other single-seat series==

Attwood's performances in Formula Two prompted [[Alfred Owen]], the proprietor of [[British Racing Motors|BRM]], to offer him an opportunity in his works Formula One team. His first outing for the team was in the non-Championship [[1964 News of the World Trophy|News of the World Trophy]] race, at [[Goodwood Circuit|Goodwood]], in which he took the [[BRM P57]] to fourth place, the first non-Lotus finisher and the only car to end on the same lap as [[Colin Chapman]]'s fleet winners. Attwood's second Formula One outing was in the [[1964 British Grand Prix]], driving BRM's experimental [[four wheel drive]] [[BRM P67|P67]] model. Having been the project's test driver Attwood did manage to qualify the overweight car, albeit in last place on the grid. However, as the car was principally intended as a rolling test bed, BRM decided to withdraw the P67 prior to the race itself.

[[Image:1965-07-30 Richard Attwood, Lotus-BRM.jpg|thumb|left|Attwood driving for [[Reg Parnell Racing]] at the [[1965 German Grand Prix]].]]

[[Tim Parnell]] signed Dickie Attwood to his privateer [[Reg Parnell Racing]] team for {{F1|1965}}, driving a formerly class-leading [[Lotus 25]]. Unfortunately for Attwood, by 1965 the chassis was past its best, and fitted with the BRM motor it was distinctly uncompetitive. Although generally reliable, Attwood only managed to pick up a pair of sixth-place points finishes towards the end of the season.

[[Image:BRM P261 Richard Attwood 2007.jpg|thumb|right|Attwood driving a [[BRM P261]] Formula One car, identical (apart from engine capacity) to the one which he drove in the [[Tasman Series]] in 1966 and 1967.]]

In 1966 Attwood headed to Australia and New Zealand as a part of BRM's [[Tasman Series]] squad. His Tasman performances were very promising, including a win at [[Levin, New Zealand|Levin]], but despite this – perhaps due to his underwhelming 1965 Formula One performances and growing success in sports cars – Attwood sat out the majority of the {{F1|1966}} and {{F1|1967}} Formula One seasons. His only appearance came as a substitute for works-[[Cooper Car Company|Cooper]] driver [[Pedro Rodríguez]] at the [[1967 Canadian Grand Prix]], bringing the Cooper-[[Maserati in motorsport|Maserati]] home in 10th place. During 1966 he maintained his run of form in Formula Two, taking victory in the [[Rome Grand Prix]] and a second place at Pau in 1966, but concentrated firmly on sports cars in 1967.

After [[Mike Spence]]'s untimely death during the [[1968 Indianapolis 500]] race Attwood rejoined the BRM works team, now run by Parnell, as his replacement. Attwood's first race on his return was perhaps his most spectacular, taking fastest lap in the [[1968 Monaco Grand Prix]], on his way to a strong second-place finish behind [[Graham Hill]]'s works Lotus. However, results declined through the remainder of the season, and four races from the end Attwood was himself replaced by [[Bobby Unser]].

Always something of a Monaco specialist, it was in the principality that Richard Attwood made his final Formula One start. Colin Chapman brought in the Brit as substitute for the injured [[Jochen Rindt]], driving the [[Lotus 49]]B. He finished in a respectable fourth-place. Although this was his last Formula One drive, he did appear at the [[1969 German Grand Prix]] in a Formula Two [[Brabham]] for [[Frank Williams Racing Cars|Frank Williams]], where he finished sixth overall, and second in the Formula Two class.

==Sports car racing==

{{Infobox Le Mans driver|

Name = |

Image = |

Nationality = |

Years = {{24hLM|1963}} - {{24hLM|1971}}, {{24hLM|1984}} |

Team(s) = [[Lola Racing Cars|Lola Cars Ltd.]] [[Ford Motor Company]] [[Maranello Concessionaires]] [[David Piper|David Piper Racing]] [[Porsche|Porsche System]] [[Porsche KG Salzburg]] [[John Wyer|John Wyer Automotive]] [[Viscount Downe]] [[Aston Martin]] |

Best Finish = 1st ([[1970 24 Hours of Le Mans|1970]]) |

Class Wins = 1 ([[1970 24 Hours of Le Mans|1970]])

}}

In 1964, as Attwood was taking his first steps in Formula One, he was also approached by the [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] GT prototype project team, later to evolve into the [[Ford GT40]], and became one of the first drivers to take the iconic car onto a race track. He shared a GT40 with [[Jo Schlesser]] in the [[1964 24 Hours of Le Mans]], but was forced to retire due to the car catching fire. His first major international sports car victory came at the 1964 [[Rand 9 Hours]] race in South Africa, driving [[David Piper]]'s [[Scuderia Ferrari|Ferrari]] [[Ferrari P|P2]].

[[Image:1965-05-23 18 Richard Attwood, Ford GT.jpg|thumb|left|Richard Attwood driving the open, [[Roadster (automobile)|spyder]] version of the '''[[Ford GT40|Ford GT]]''', at the [[Nürburgring]] in 1965.]]

It was with David Piper that Dickie Attwood developed perhaps his longest lasting professional relationship. He drove Piper's green Ferraris – including the [[Ferrari P|250LM and 330P3/4]] – on many occasions over the following five years, collecting a few point finishes in [[World Sportscar Championship]] events, and paired up with Piper for the [[Maranello Concessionaires]] team. Highlights during this time included a third place in the [[Spa 1000 km]] and second in the [[500km Zeltweg]] in 1967. Attwood did not restrict himself to Ferrari and Ford though, putting in drives in machinery as diverse as the [[Porsche 906]] and [[Alfa Romeo T33]]. He was also one of the few drivers to race the infamous [[Ford P68]], GT successor to the GT40, failing to finish due to mechanical maladies during the 1968 [[1000km Nürburgring]].

Having driven privateer [[Porsche in motorsport|Porsche]]s, for the [[1969 World Sportscar Championship season]] Dickie Attwood was signed to the Porsche works team. Commonly paired with fellow Brit [[Vic Elford]], the season's highlights were a pair of second places, driving the [[Porsche 908]], in the [[BOAC 500]] (the drivers' home race at [[Brands Hatch]]) and the [[Watkins Glen International|Watkins Glen]] 6h race. Later in the season Attwood was again involved in the development of an iconic sports racing car: the [[Porsche 917]]. The Elford/Attwood pairing took their 917LH up to 327 laps in the [[1969 24 Hours of Le Mans]], but the car suffered a gearbox failure with only two hours to go, after leading for a substantial portion of the race.

[[Image:Porsche 917C.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Porsche 917]]K driven to victory in the [[1970 24 Hours of Le Mans]] by Dickie Attwood and [[Hans Herrmann]].]]

Attwood subsequently went on to win the [[Le Mans 24 Hours]] in 1970 with a Porsche 917K, along with [[Hans Herrmann]]. Hermann and Attwood also took second place in the 1970 Nürburgring race, this time back in a 908. Driving with Herbie Müller once more in a Porsche 917 he finished second in the [[1971 24 Hours of Le Mans]], this time for the [[John Wyer]] privateer team. At the end of the season, after also winning the [[1000km Zeltweg]] race along with his teammate [[Pedro Rodríguez]], Attwood retired from motorsport.

Richard Attwood came out of retirement briefly in 1984, as a part of the moribund [[Aston Martin]] [[Aston Martin Nimrod|Nimrod]] Le Mans project. Following his car's failure to finish in the [[1984 24 Hours of Le Mans]] race, Attwood retired from front line racing for good. With the growth in popularity of historic motorsport, he frequently appeared in events and Porsche shows with his own Porsche 917, which Steve McQueen used in his film ''Le Mans''. The car was painted to represent his 1970 Le Mans-winner, and Attwood referred to it as "''my pension''",<ref>{{cite AV media|people=Richard Attwood, Nigel Roebuck, Rob Widdows, Ed Foster, Damien Smith|date=Jan 17, 2013|title=Motor Sport Magazine Podcast|trans_title=January’s podcast with Richard Attwood|medium=Podcast|format=mp3|publisher=Motor Sport Magazine|url=http://podcast.motorsportmagazine.co.uk/2013/01/Richard_Attwood.mp3|minutes=6}}</ref> as the value of the car had risen rapidly over the decades since he bought it in the 1970s. In 2000 Atwood cashed-in his pension, when he sold the car in an auction for £1 million. Today he is still very active in historic motorsport, often making memorable appearances at the [[Goodwood Festival of Speed]], among many yearly excursions.

{{-}}

==Complete Formula One World Championship results==

([[:Template:F1 driver results legend 2|key]]) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%"

! Year

! Entrant

! Chassis

! Engine

! 1

! 2

! 3

! 4

! 5

! 6

! 7

! 8

! 9

! 10

! 11

! 12

! WDC

! Points

|-

| [[1964 Formula One season|1964]]

! [[British Racing Motors|Owen Racing Organisation]]

! [[British Racing Motors|BRM]] [[BRM P67|P67]]

! [[British Racing Motors|BRM]] [[V8 engine|V8]]

| [[1964 Monaco Grand Prix|MON]]

| [[1964 Dutch Grand Prix|NED]]

| [[1964 Belgian Grand Prix|BEL]]

| [[1964 French Grand Prix|FRA]]

|style="background:#ffffff;"| [[1964 British Grand Prix|GBR]] DNS

| [[1964 German Grand Prix|GER]]

| [[1964 Austrian Grand Prix|AUT]]

| [[1964 Italian Grand Prix|ITA]]

| [[1964 United States Grand Prix|USA]]

| [[1964 Mexican Grand Prix|MEX]]

|

|

! NC

! 0

|-

| [[1965 Formula One season|1965]]

! [[Reg Parnell Racing]]

! [[Team Lotus|Lotus]] [[Lotus 25|25]]

! [[British Racing Motors|BRM]] [[V8 engine|V8]]

| [[1965 South African Grand Prix|RSA]]

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| [[1965 Monaco Grand Prix|MON]] Ret

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| [[1965 Belgian Grand Prix|BEL]] 14

| [[1965 French Grand Prix|FRA]]

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| [[1965 British Grand Prix|GBR]] 13

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| [[1965 Dutch Grand Prix|NED]] 12

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| [[1965 German Grand Prix|GER]] Ret

|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| [[1965 Italian Grand Prix|ITA]] 6

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| [[1965 United States Grand Prix|USA]] 10

|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| [[1965 Mexican Grand Prix|MEX]] 6

|

|

! 16th

! 2

|-

| [[1967 Formula One season|1967]]

! [[Cooper Car Company]]

! [[Cooper Car Company|Cooper]] [[Cooper T81|T81B]]

! [[Maserati in motorsport|Maserati]] [[V12 engine|V12]]

| [[1967 South African Grand Prix|RSA]]

| [[1967 Monaco Grand Prix|MON]]

| [[1967 Dutch Grand Prix|NED]]

| [[1967 Belgian Grand Prix|BEL]]

| [[1967 French Grand Prix|FRA]]

| [[1967 British Grand Prix|GBR]]

| [[1967 German Grand Prix|GER]]

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| [[1967 Canadian Grand Prix|CAN]] 10

| [[1967 Italian Grand Prix|ITA]]

| [[1967 United States Grand Prix|USA]]

| [[1967 Mexican Grand Prix|MEX]]

|

! NC

! 0

|-

| [[1968 Formula One season|1968]]

! [[British Racing Motors|Owen Racing Organisation]]

! [[British Racing Motors|BRM]] [[BRM P126|P126]]

! [[British Racing Motors|BRM]] [[V12 engine|V12]]

| [[1968 South African Grand Prix|RSA]]

| [[1968 Spanish Grand Prix|ESP]]

|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| ''[[1968 Monaco Grand Prix|MON]]'' 2

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| [[1968 Belgian Grand Prix|BEL]] Ret

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| [[1968 Dutch Grand Prix|NED]] 7

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| [[1968 French Grand Prix|FRA]] 7

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| [[1968 British Grand Prix|GBR]] Ret

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| [[1968 German Grand Prix|GER]] 14

| [[1968 Italian Grand Prix|ITA]]

| [[1968 Canadian Grand Prix|CAN]]

| [[1968 United States Grand Prix|USA]]

| [[1968 Mexican Grand Prix|MEX]]

! 13th

! 6

|-

|rowspan="2"| [[1969 Formula One season|1969]]

! [[John Player & Sons|Gold Leaf]] [[Team Lotus]]

! [[Team Lotus|Lotus]] [[Lotus 49|49B]]

! [[Cosworth]] [[V8 engine|V8]]

| [[1969 South African Grand Prix|RSA]]

| [[1969 Spanish Grand Prix|ESP]]

|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| [[1969 Monaco Grand Prix|MON]] 4

| [[1969 Dutch Grand Prix|NED]]

| [[1969 French Grand Prix|FRA]]

| [[1969 British Grand Prix|GBR]]

|

|

|

|

|

|

!rowspan="2"| 13th

!rowspan="2"| 3

|-

! [[Frank Williams Racing Cars]]

! [[Brabham]] [[Brabham BT30|BT30]] (F2)

! [[Cosworth]] [[Straight-4]]

|

|

|

|

|

|

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| [[1969 German Grand Prix|GER]] 6 *

| [[1969 Italian Grand Prix|ITA]]

| [[1969 Canadian Grand Prix|CAN]]

| [[1969 United States Grand Prix|USA]]

| [[1969 Mexican Grand Prix|MEX]]

|

|}

''*'' Formula 2 entry, 2nd in class.

==References==

*{{cite web|title= Driver: Attwood, Richard |url= http://www.autocoursegpa.com/driver~driver_id~11572.htm |work= Autocourse Grand Prix Archive |accessdate= 2007-04-04 }}

*{{cite web|title= Driver: Richard Attwood |url= http://www.chicanef1.com/indiv.pl?name=Richard%20Attwood&type=d |work= ChicaneF1.com |accessdate= 2007-04-04 }}

*{{cite web|title= DRIVERS: RICHARD ATTWOOD |url= http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/drv-attric.html |work= Grandprix.com GP Encyclopedia |accessdate= 2007-04-04 }}

*{{cite web|title= A GP fluke, a hillclimb winner |url= http://www.forix.com/8w/brmp67.html |work= 8W |accessdate= 2007-04-04 }}

*{{cite web|title= Race Results Database |url= http://wspr-racing.com/chassis/chassis.html#races |work= classiccars.com |accessdate= 2007-04-04 }}

{{reflist}}

{{-}}

{{s-start}}

{{s-sports}}

{{succession box | before = [[Peter Arundell]] | title = [[List of Monaco Grand Prix Formula Three support race winners|Monaco Formula Three Race Winner]]| after = [[Jackie Stewart]]| years = 1963}}

{{succession box|title=[[List of 24 Hours of Le Mans winners|Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans]] |before= [[Jacky Ickx]] [[Jackie Oliver]]|after= [[Helmut Marko]] [[Gijs van Lennep]]|years= [[1970 24 Hours of Le Mans|1970]] with: [[Hans Herrmann]]}}

{{s-end}}

{{24 Hours of Le Mans winners}}

{{Persondata 

| NAME = Attwood, Richard

| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =

| SHORT DESCRIPTION = British racing driver

| DATE OF BIRTH = 1940-04-04

| PLACE OF BIRTH = Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, England, UK

| DATE OF DEATH =

| PLACE OF DEATH =

}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Attwood, Richard}}

{{Wikipedia}}