Richard Attwood

Richard Attwood

Richard Attwood at the1968 German Grand Prix.
Born	(1940-04-04)4 April 1940 Wolverhampton,Staffordshire, England
Formula OneWorld Championship career
Nationality	British
Active years	1964–1965,1967–1969
Teams	BRM Reg Parnell Racing Cooper Lotus
Entries	17 (16 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	1
Career points	11
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	1
First entry	1964 British Grand Prix
Last entry	1969 Monaco Grand Prix

Richard James David"Dickie"Attwood(born 4 April 1940) is a Britishmotor racingdriver from England. During his career he raced for theBRM,LotusandCooperFormula Oneteams. He competed in 17 World Championship Grands Prix, achieved one podium and scored a total of 11 championship points. He was also a successfulsports car racingdriver and won the1970 24 Hours of Le Mansrace, driving aPorsche 917,the first of Porsche's record 19 victories at the famous race.

Early career

Richard Attwood got into the motor industry as an apprentice at sports car manufacturerJaguar.He started racing in 1960 at the wheel of aTriumphTR3.For 1961 he joined theMidlands Racing Partnershipto drive for them in club-levelFormula Juniorevents, 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 theMonaco Grand PrixFormula Junior support race, in aLolaMk5a.This and other performances during the year earned him the inauguralGrovewood Award,voted for by aGuild of Motoring Writerspanel.

On the back of this success, in 1964 MRP decided to step up to theFormula Twoclass. Attwood won in Vienna and took second places in thePau Grand Prix,Eifelrennen,andAlbi 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 reigningFormula OneWorld ChampionJim Clarkdriving a full-worksLotus.

Formula One and other single-seat series

Attwood's performances inFormula TwopromptedAlfred Owen,the proprietor ofBRM,to offer him an opportunity in his worksFormula Oneteam. His first outing for the team was in the non-ChampionshipNews of the World Trophyrace, atGoodwood,in which he took theBRM P57to fourth place, the first non-Lotus finisher and the only car to end on the same lap asColin Chapman's fleet winners. Attwood's second Formula One outing was in the1964 British Grand Prix,driving BRM's experimentalfour wheel driveP67model. 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.

Attwood driving forReg Parnell Racingat the1965 German Grand Prix.

Tim Parnellsigned Attwood to his privateerReg Parnell Racingteam for1965,driving a formerly class-leadingLotus 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.

Attwood driving aBRM P261Formula One car, identical (apart from engine capacity) to the one which he drove in theTasman Seriesin 1966 and 1967.

In 1966 Attwood competed in Australia and New Zealand as a part of BRM'sTasman Seriessquad. His Tasman performances were very promising, including a win atLevin,but despite this – perhaps due to his underwhelming 1965 Formula One performances and growing success in sports cars – Attwood sat out the majority of the1966and1967Formula One seasons. His only appearance came as a substitute for works-CooperdriverPedro Rodríguezat the1967 Canadian Grand Prix,bringing the Cooper-Maseratihome in 10th place. During 1966 he maintained his run of form in Formula Two, taking victory in theRome Grand Prixand a second place atPauin 1966, but concentrated firmly on sports cars in 1967.

AfterMike Spence's death during practice for the1968 Indianapolis 500race Attwood rejoined theBRMworks team, now run by Parnell, as his replacement. Attwood's first race on his return was perhaps his most spectacular, taking fastest lap in the1968 Monaco Grand Prix,on his way to a strong second-place finish behindGraham Hill's works Lotus. However, results declined through the remainder of the season, and four races from the end Attwood was himself replaced byBobby 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 Briton as substitute for the injuredJochen Rindt,driving theLotus 49B. He finished in a respectable fourth-place. Although this was his last Formula One drive, he did appear at the1969 German Grand Prixin a Formula TwoBrabhamforFrank Williams,where he finished sixth overall, and second in the Formula Two class.

Sports car racing

24 Hours of Le Manscareer
Years	1963–1971,1984
Teams	Lola Cars Ltd. Ford Motor Company Maranello Concessionaires David Piper Racing Porsche System Porsche KG Salzburg John Wyer Automotive Viscount DowneAston Martin
Best finish	1st(1970)
Class wins	1(1970)

In 1964, as Attwood was taking his first steps inFormula One,he was also approached by theFordGT prototype project team, later to evolve into theFord GT40,and became one of the first drivers to take the iconic car onto a race track. He shared a GT40 withJo Schlesserin the1964 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 1964Rand 9 Hoursrace in South Africa, drivingDavid Piper'sFerrariP2.

Richard Attwood driving the open,spyderversion of theFord GT,at theNürburgringin 1965.

It was with David Piper that Attwood developed perhaps his longest lasting professional relationship. He drove Piper's green Ferraris – including the250LM and 330P3/4– on many occasions over the following five years, collecting a few point finishes inWorld Sportscar Championshipevents, and paired up with Piper for theMaranello Concessionairesteam. Highlights during this time included a third place in theSpa 1000 kmand second in the500km Zeltwegin 1967. Attwood did not restrict himself to Ferrari and Ford though, putting in drives in machinery as diverse as thePorsche 906andAlfa Romeo T33.He was also one of the few drivers to race the infamousFord P68,GT successor to the GT40, failing to finish due to mechanical maladies during the 19681000km Nürburgring.

Having driven privateerPorsches,for the1969 World Sportscar Championship seasonAttwood was signed to the Porsche works team. Commonly paired with fellow BritVic Elford,the season's highlights were a pair of second places, driving thePorsche 908,in theBOAC 500(the drivers' home race atBrands Hatch) and theWatkins Glen6h race. Later in the season Attwood was again involved in the development of an iconic sports racing car: thePorsche 917.The Elford/Attwood pairing took their 917 up to 327 laps in the1969 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.

The Porsche Museum's chassis 001 painted like the 023Porsche 917K driven to victory in the1970 24 Hours of Le Mansby Attwood andHans Herrmann.

Attwood subsequently went on to win theLe Mans 24 Hoursin 1970 with a Porsche 917K, along withHans 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 the1971 24 Hours of Le Mans,this time for theJohn Wyerprivateer team. At the end of the season, after also winning the1000km Zeltwegrace along with his teammatePedro Rodríguez,Attwood retired from motorsport.

Attwood came out of retirement briefly in 1984, as a part of the moribundAston MartinNimrodLe Mans project. Following his car's failure to finish in the1984 24 Hours of Le Mansrace after a hideously violent accident while John Sheldon was driving, 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, whichSteve McQueenused in his filmLe Mans.The car was painted to represent his 1970 Le Mans-winner, and Attwood referred to it as "my pension",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 theGoodwood Festival of Speed,among many yearly excursions.

Personal life

Attwood once owned a 1989Peugeot 405 estatewhich he bought new and successfully drove 415,000 miles, with the original engine and clutch. This was the subject of an article inEvo.On June 13, 2017 it was put up for sale by a subsequent owner, but as of June 18 the ad, with almost 2000 views, had no offers.

Racing record

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	WDC	Points
1964	Owen Racing Organisation	BRMP67	BRMV8	MON	NED	BEL	FRA	GBR DNS	GER	AUT	ITA	USA	MEX			NC	0
1965	Reg Parnell Racing	Lotus25	BRMV8	RSA	MON Ret	BEL 14	FRA	GBR 13	NED 12	GER Ret	ITA 6	USA 10	MEX 6			16th	2
1967	Cooper Car Company	CooperT81B	MaseratiV12	RSA	MON	NED	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	CAN 10	ITA	USA	MEX		NC	0
1968	Owen Racing Organisation	BRMP126	BRMV12	RSA	ESP	MON 2	BEL Ret	NED 7	FRA 7	GBR Ret	GER 14	ITA	CAN	USA	MEX	13th	6
1969	Gold LeafTeam Lotus	Lotus49B	CosworthV8	RSA	ESP	MON 4	NED	FRA	GBR							13th	3
	Frank Williams Racing Cars	BrabhamBT30(F2)	CosworthStraight-4							GER 6*	ITA	CAN	USA	MEX

*Formula 2 entry, second in class, not eligible for World Championship points

Complete Formula One non-championship results

(key)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
1964	Owen Racing Organisation	BRMP57	BRMV8	DMT	NWT 4	SYR	AIN	INT	SOL	MED	RAN
1965	Reg Parnell Racing	Lotus25	BRMV8	ROC Ret	SYR	SMT 6	INT 8	MED	RAN

Complete Tasman Series results

(key) (Races inboldindicate pole position; results initalicsindicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Pos.	Pts
1966	Owen Racing Organisation	BRM P261	BRM P601.9V8	PUK	LEV 1	WIG 2	TER Ret	WAR	LAK	SAN	LON	6th	15
1967	Owen Racing Organisation	BRM P261	BRM P1112.1V8	PUK 3	LEV1 3	WIG 2	TER1 2	LAK	WAR	SAN	LON	5th	10
1968	Owen Racing Organisation	BRM P126	BRMP121 2.5V12	PUK	LEV	WIG	TER	SUR Ret	WAR Ret	SAN 6	LON 4	10th	4

¹Levin and Teretonga in 1967 did not count towards Tasman Cup points

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class pos.
1963	Lola Cars Ltd.	David Hobbs	LolaMk6 GT	P +3.0	151	DNF	DNF
1964	Ford Motor Company	Jo Schlesser	Ford GT40	P 5.0	58	DNF	DNF
1966	Maranello Concessionaires	David Piper	Ferrari 365 P2	P 5.0	33	DNF	DNF
1967	Maranello Concessionaires	Piers Courage	Ferrari 412P	P 5.0	208	DNF	DNF
1968	David Piper	David Piper	Ferrari 275LM	S 5.0	302	7th	2nd
1969	Porsche System Engineering	Vic Elford	Porsche 917	S 5.0	327	DNF	DNF
1970	Porsche KG Salzburg	Hans Herrmann	Porsche 917K	S 5.0	343	1st	1st
1971	JW Automotive Engineering	Herbert Müller	Porsche 917K	S 5.0	395	2nd	2nd
1984	Viscount Downe- Aston Martin	Mike Salmon John Sheldon	Nimrod NRA/C2B	C1	92	DNF	DNF

References

Citations

Other sources

• "Driver: Attwood, Richard".Autocourse Grand Prix Archive.Archived fromthe originalon 25 February 2007.Retrieved4 April2007.
• "Driver: Richard Attwood".ChicaneF1.Retrieved4 April2007.
• "DRIVERS: RICHARD ATTWOOD".Grandprix GP Encyclopedia.Retrieved4 April2007.
• "A GP fluke, a hillclimb winner".8W.Retrieved4 April2007.
• "Race Results Database".classiccars.Archived fromthe originalon 17 February 2007.Retrieved4 April2007.