DAVID RICHARDS RECEIVES C.B.E IN QUEEN'S NEW YEAR HONOURS
11/1/2005 17:06 (Press Release) -
Prodrive Group co-founder and Chairman, David Richards, has
become a CBE, (Commander of the British Empire) in recognition of his services
to motorsport.
The announcement was a part of the Queen's New Year's Honours list made every
year in the first week of January. David Richards was the only person in the
sports industry to receive a CBE in 2005.
This distinguished accolade is a major highlight of an outstanding career
that has seen 52 year old Richards progress from his start as a Championship
winning Rally co-driver, to the establishment of Prodrive - a company which has
since become one of Europe's fastest growing motor racing engineering and
automotive technology companies, with operations spanning the globe.
One of the most recent motor racing highlights for Prodrive saw the company
lead the British American Racing (BAR) Formula One team to second place in the
2004 World Championship, after guiding the team to 5th in the 2003
Championship. This remarkable goal was achieved within three years of an
intended five year program.
The global growth of the World Rally Championship of recent years can also be
attributed to the forward vision of the 2005 CBE recipient, when he acquired
the World Rally Championship television and commercial rights in 2000. Since
then, he has led the transformation of this Championship into a mainstream
sports entertainment package and a highly valuable sports marketing platform.
In Australia, Prodrive is in its fifth year of a highly successful joint
venture with Ford Australia, known as Ford Performance Vehicles (FPV). Prodrive
leads the design, manufacture and marketing of Ford's range of premium quality
high performance cars in this region. Continuing the company's proven link
between leading edge automotive technology and front line motorsport
competition, Prodrive established the Ford Performance Racing (FPR) V8 Supercar
team in 2003, competing in what is widely regarded as the most competitive
Touring Car Championship in the world.
Over the past twenty years, Prodrive has become one of the world's largest and
most successful motorsport and vehicle technology businesses with a turnover of
more than £110 million and employing nearly 1000 staff in Europe, North
America, Australia and Asia-Pacific.
Release Date: 07/01/2005
Ford Performance Racing
|
|
