Fortec Motorsports team owner Richard Dutton has been handed a prestigious accolade by the British Racing Drivers’ Club at its annual awards ceremony in Central London.
He was presented with the Colin Chapman Trophy, which is a special BRDC Award given to an individual who has shown great team spirit. Colin was the founder of Lotus cars and Team Lotus – a team that won seven Constructors’ titles, six Drivers’ championships and scored 73 Grand Prix victories.
Richard was a promising speedway racer, before an accident left him with two broken legs. Turning his hand to four wheels, he raced single seaters before forming Richard Dutton Racing in 1977, winning races and championships across Europe and even in North America.
Fortec Motorsports, meanwhile, was formed in the late 1980s by David Balfe, as a subsidiary to his construction business. Richard began working for the team in 1993 and, when David felt he had taken it as far as he could, bought it from him at the end of 1995.
Since then, it has grown to be one of the world’s leading single seater outfits, having success in Formula 3000, Formula Renault 2.0, Formula Renault 3.5, British Formula 3, FIA European F3, and Formula BMW, amongst others.
Its impressive list of alumni includes Juan-Pablo Montoya, Guy Smith, Gianmaria Bruni, Heikki Kovaleinen, Will Power, Alex Rossi, Jake Dennis, Marcus Ericsson, Mike Conway, and Charles Leclerc, among others.
Since taking over ownership of Fortec, Richard has helped deliver 16 Drivers’ and 10 Teams’ Championship titles and, with showing no signs of slowing down, there is no doubt more success is still to come.
Richard Dutton
“I am delighted to have received this award. The BRDC is such a special Club and it is a privilege to be able to call myself a Member, so to be given this recognition is unbelievable. We’ve only ever tried to do our best and give young drivers with us the best chance to succeed in their careers, so to be given the Colin Chapman Trophy means more than I can put into words.”
