David Richards at Brooklands on 7th October 2025 talking about his life in Motorsport and Prodrive.
David Richards CBE first gained prominence in motorsport by navigating Ari Vatanen to the World Rally Championship in 1981. David then established ProDrive which, over 40 years, has won events and championships across multiple motorsport disciplines including rallying, touring cars, Le Mans and Dakar. Colin McRae and Richard Burns both drove ProDrive cars to World Rally Championship success. In 1998 David became chief executive of the Benetton Formula One team and later was brought in to run the BAR Formula One team, guiding it to second place in the 2004 Formula One constructors championship, driven by Jenson Button. David continues to oversee ProDrive automotive and engineering projects, and combines this with chairing the Board of Motorsport UK.
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David Richards at Brooklands on 7th October 2025 talking about his life in Motorsport and Prodrive.
David Richards CBE first gained prominence in motorsport by navigating Ari Vatanen to the World Rally Championship in 1981. David then established ProDrive which, over 40 years, has won events and championships across multiple motorsport disciplines including rallying, touring cars, Le Mans and Dakar. Colin McRae and Richard Burns both drove ProDrive cars to World Rally Championship success. In 1998 David became chief executive of the Benetton Formula One team and later was brought in to run the BAR Formula One team, guiding it to second place in the 2004 Formula One constructors championship, driven by Jenson Button. David continues to oversee ProDrive automotive and engineering projects, and combines this with chairing the Board of Motorsport UK.
The History of Aviation at Brooklands in 100 Objects Book Launch
Brooklands Members Talks
1 hour 19 minutes 39 seconds
1 year ago
The History of Aviation at Brooklands in 100 Objects Book Launch
From bamboo biplanes to supersonic airliners and the pioneer designers who created them
A History of Aviation at Brooklands in 100 Objects. The author Nigel Spooner writes;
The book is a history of aviation at Brooklands in 100 objects that are arranged into
seven episodes, each of which covers a particular era of that history. Choosing what to include and
what to leave out has been a difficult task – there can be no such thing as a perfect list! The objects
include aircraft, engines, places and many other elements that played a role in the transformation
of Brooklands from a marshy water meadow to one of Europe’s largest aircraft factories. The intent
with each one is not to indulge in too many technical details but rather to explore the stories and
people behind them. I have also included relatively brief biographies on each of the six featured
designers that are intended to show their personal contributions to the Brooklands history.
Brooklands Members Talks
David Richards at Brooklands on 7th October 2025 talking about his life in Motorsport and Prodrive.
David Richards CBE first gained prominence in motorsport by navigating Ari Vatanen to the World Rally Championship in 1981. David then established ProDrive which, over 40 years, has won events and championships across multiple motorsport disciplines including rallying, touring cars, Le Mans and Dakar. Colin McRae and Richard Burns both drove ProDrive cars to World Rally Championship success. In 1998 David became chief executive of the Benetton Formula One team and later was brought in to run the BAR Formula One team, guiding it to second place in the 2004 Formula One constructors championship, driven by Jenson Button. David continues to oversee ProDrive automotive and engineering projects, and combines this with chairing the Board of Motorsport UK.
