Cecil Charles Sandford (born 21 February 1928) is a British former professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He competed in the FIM 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 The Isle of Man TT or Tourist Trophy races are an annual motorcycle racing event run on the Isle of Man in May/June of most years since its inaugural race in 1907. The event is often called one of the most dangerous racing events in the world ...

. After the death of

Carlo Ubbiali Carlo Ubbiali (22 September 19292 June 2020) was an Italian nine-time World Champion motorcycle road racer. In the 1950s, he was a dominant force in the smaller classes of Grand Prix motorcycle racing, winning six 125cc and three 250cc world tit ...

in 2020, Sandford is the last surviving motorcycle world champion across all classes from the 1950s.

Motorcycle racing career

Born in

Blockley Blockley is a village, civil parish and ecclesiastical parish in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England, about northwest of Moreton-in-Marsh. Until 1931 Blockley was an exclave of Worcestershire. The civil and ecclesiastical paris ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

, Sandford began his career riding in local

scramble Scramble, Scrambled, or Scrambling may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games * ''Scramble'' (video game), a 1981 arcade game Music Albums * ''Scramble'' (album), an album by Atlanta-based band the Coathangers * ''Scrambles'' (album) ...

and grass track events. In

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 crashes in a snowstorm. All 19 ...

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 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 ...

FIM 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 year ...

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) (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