East Valley Business - 03.28.21

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east valley

Volume 3 Issue 37 Mesa, AZ

March 28, 2021

Famed EV driving school takes new name BY PAUL MARYNIAK Tribune Executive Editor

T

IN THE BIZ

he Bondurant School of High Performance Driving is no more. The storied school on the Gila River Indian Community – just a stone’s throw from Chandler – has been renamed Radford Racing School by owner Stig Investments. The renaming, announced last week, not only brings a new storied name in automobiles to the site but also resolves a three-year legal fight that school founder Bob Bondurant and his wife Patricia waged in a desperate bid to hang on to the debt-ridden school. First, the Bondurants tried to keep the school from being sold at an auction in federal bankruptcy court to pay off some of its $3.5 million in debts. That effort failed when Stig Investments bought it in May 2019 for $1.7 million. Then Patricia Bondurant sued Stig in state Superior Court to stop it from using her husband’s name. That suit was resolved in a settlement three months ago, though the terms are sealed. In renaming the school, Stig has teamed up with another legendary name in the world of automobiles. Radford is a global luxury automotive coachbuilder “with a British heart and soul, creating on-trend vehicles based on classic timeless designs,” according to its website. It has a storied past that has been invoked by the new owners of the Radford brand – English television celebrity Ant Public Notices ............... page 3 © Copyright, 2021 East Valley Tribune

Owner Stig Investments says it has spent millions upgrading what is now called yjr Radford Racing School on Gila River Indian Community land just south of the I-10/Loop 202 Interchange. (Special to the Tribune) Anstead, F1 champion Jenson Button, car designer Mark Stubbs and business partner Roger Behle. Founded more than 75 years ago by Harold Radford, the company made the bodies for luxury cars like Rolls Royce and Bentley. According to autoweek.com, Radford & Co. was particularly famous in the 1960s, when it produced custom Minis for all four Beatles as well as model Twiggy and comic actor Peter Sellers. “The renaming marks the school’s new association with the team behind the Radford brand, a name legendary among auto enthusiasts for its coachbuilding legacy,” (USPS 004-616) is published weekly

Mailing Address: 1620 W. Fountainhead Pkwy., Suite 219, Tempe, AZ 85282

(480) 898-6500 Steven Strickbine, publisher Paul Maryniak, executive editor

Stig said in a release. The four are reviving the Radford name “into a modern lifestyle brand that celebrates auto design and performance, high-performing driving and racing,” it continued. The Radford partners also will be building and testing new vehicles at the school, located just south of the I-10’s intersection with the Loop 202 freeway. “The racetrack is the perfect environment for building and testing Radfordbuilt cars,” said Anstead. The Radford Racing School bills itself as “the only purpose-built driver training faSubscriptions are $26 for 2 years, $14 for one year. Periodicals postage paid at Phoenix, AZ 85026.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: East Valley Tribune, 1620 W. Fountainhead Pkwy., Suite 291, Tempe, AZ 85282


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