PATRONS

Custodian of Stonor Park

William started his career in private equity before moving to the Foreign Office where he spent eight years working as a British Diplomat. This included three years living in India as well as extensive work throughout the Indian Subcontinent, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. After leaving the FCO William set up his own China focused financial advisory business which led to him living with his wife Ailsa and three young children in Beijing from 2010 to 2015.

William Stonor is the 29th generation of the Stonor family to have grown up and lived at Stonor Park. William and Ailsa took over the running of Stonor in 2016 and launched Stonor Supercar Sunday in 2018 as one of several exciting new events at Stonor. A love of beautiful cars runs through the family with his grandfather being the owner of many spectacular cars including one of the very first Jaguar E-Types off the production line. William spends his time between caring for Stonor and travelling back and forth to China.

Director of Motor Sports, Formula 1®

Ross is one of the most successful and innovative Technical Directors in Formula 1 history. He won 22 World FIA Championships and the Le Mans 24 Hours. His honours include 11 world titles with Ferrari and seven as part of Williams and Benetton.  He has an unparalled technical knowledge of the industry thanks to his 40-year engineering and management experience.

He won the 2009 F1 World Drivers and Constructors’ Championships with his own BrawnGP team, the Honda F1 team he rescued and renamed. He sold the team to Mercedes-Benz in 2010 and, over three years, as Team Principal, laid the foundation that enabled the team to win the 2014, 2015 and 2016 World Titles.

With unmatched experience and strong industry relationships, Ross Brawn will be working with Formula 1 teams and promoters to improve the competition and bring fans closer to the action.

Founder of Kidston SA

Simon Kidston is known around the world as a multilingual classic car commentator and columnist, consultant and entrepreneur, plus – more recently – a producer of short, intriguingly evocative films on the greatest classic cars. Above all, however, he is recognised as a deeply knowledgeable adviser on the purchase and sale of rare classics.

The company Simon founded in 2006, Kidston SA, has been responsible for the sale of some of the world’s highest-value motor cars. Simon developed this knowledge through an early working life in the auction world, co-founding Geneva-based Brooks (latterly Bonhams) Europe and staging some of the most glamourous classic car sales ever seen. More recently, with the aim of shedding light on the frequently obscure world of car collecting, Simon devised and launched K500 – an online resource that gives honest opinion and unbiased insight into the market. He is also working on the definitive book on the Lamborghini Miura. Simon is a judge at Pebble Beach and ‘the voice’ of the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este.

When asked what drives him, Simon replies that he’s keen to help record automotive history before it’s too late and, perhaps above all, encourage more people to get out and enjoy classic cars – along with the lifestyle that accompanies that passion.

co-founder of the British luxury watch brand, Bremont

The co-founder of the British luxury watch brand, Bremont, Nick English is not only a passionate advocate of manufacturing in the UK but also has a keen interest in classic cars and vintage aircraft.

Having been told it could never be done on British shores, and without a 100 year history behind the brand, Nick and his brother Giles battled the odds to set-up and grew a mechanical watch brand to become one of the most sought after in the industry. Bremont has two manufacturing facilities close to Henley-on-Thames.

Nick is not a great one for relaxation and he certainly lives the brand. When he is not full throttle with Bremont he can be found flying and displaying historic wartime aircraft, riding motorbikes across Africa, restoring cars in his workshop or just loving spending time with his wife Catherine and their three children in Oxfordshire.

Private Investor and Company Director

Richard is a a veteran of the private equity industry, having been a senior partner at the private equity firm Apax Partners for many years, leading its Tech & Telecom practice globally and latterly chairing the European industry’s association. He has since lectured in business schools, advised private equity and endowment funds and is a private investor in growth companies.

Richard also leads a very active life in historic motorsport, being both a collector and racer of important historical cars. Most of his cars are 1950s and 1960s sports cars and Grand Prix cars driven by famous drivers of the era, but he also collects pre-war and later examples. He enjoys travelling across Europe and the Southern Hemisphere to compete in historical racing events and rallies.

Richard lives near Henley with his wife, an active dressage competitor, and his three children. He is also a keen golfer.

Co-Founder – Autostorico

Cliff moved to Stonor in 1989 and has lived in the area ever since .He started his financial services career 40 years ago and in 2005 formed  Prosperity Financial Services which is a leading financial advice firm in the Thames Valley and Home Counties and was a founding firm of The Openwork Partnership, the U.K’s largest network of financial advisors.

His passion for classic sports and historic race cars started with his first Scalextric set  . His hobby of collecting and racing 50’s and 60’s GT and Grand Prix cars developed into a business and in 2018 together with Will Cullen they set up Autostorico . Since then we have sourced and found new homes for over 300  classic cars .  Due to the success of the new venture we are expanding and are opening a  new  showroom and separate storage facility based just outside Watlington 2 miles from Stonor.

Concours Consultant