Richard Attwood

Richard James David Attwood (born 4 April 1940, Wolverhampton, Staffordshire) is a British motor racing driver, from England. During his career he raced for the BRM, Lotus and Cooper Formula One teams. He competed in 17 World Championship Grands Prix, 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. He started racing in 1960 at the wheel of a Triumph 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 Mk5a. This and other performances during the year earned him the inaugural Grovewood Award, voted for by a Guild of Motoring Writers panel.