After studying accountancy, David spent eight years as a professional rally co-driver becoming British champion and concluded his competition career by winning the World Rally Championship as the co-driver to Ari Vatanen in 1981.

Following this title, David devoted his time to developing his business interests, which led to the formation of his own motor racing team and the creation of Prodrive in 1984. The company established its headquarters in Banbury, Oxfordshire, where, under David’s direction, it has grown into a world leading motorsport and advanced technology business employing over 600 staff with group annual sales in excess of £100m.

Since 1983, Prodrive has won six FIA World Rally titles; six Le Mans titles; four British Touring Car titles and eleven FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) titles. In 2004, with David as Team Principal, the BAR Honda F1 team finished runners-up in the Formula One Constructors’ Championship.

Prodrive has run the Aston Martin Racing GT programme since 2004. In 2021, the company debuted on the Dakar Rally with an all-new car, finishing second in both 2022 and 2023. In 2022 Prodrive managed Lewis Hamilton’s Extreme E Team winning this international off-road electric racing series.

Today the majority of Prodrive’s activities are outside motorsport where it has a growing reputation for developing advanced technology solutions in the automotive, aerospace, marine and defence industries with specific expertise in the development of electric/hybrid vehicles, lightweight composite structures and complex electro-hydraulic control systems.
In 2007, David led the consortium that purchased Aston Martin from Ford, resulting in him being appointed as Chairman of this iconic British sports car manufacturer, a role he fulfilled for six years until stepping down at the end of 2013.

In the same year, David and his wife Karen acquired The Idle Rocks Hotel in St Mawes, Cornwall which they completely refurbished. It is now a Relais and Chateaux Hotel receiving international acclaim as one of Britain’s top seaside destinations and recently Cornwall’s Hotel of the Year.

David is Chairman of Motorsport UK (the governing body for motorsport in the UK), a role he assumed in January 2018. He also represents the UK on the FIA World Motorsport Council and is Chairman of the FIA Foundation, an international road safety charity. He sits on the advisory board of Cranfield School of Management, is vice president of the automotive industry charity BEN and a patron of the schools’ initiative Greenpower. David is also Chair of Neuro UK a recently established medical charity and a non-executive director of BGC Partners Inc. (an American listed company). In December 2023 David joined the Advisory Council of the Aston Martin Heritage Trust.

In the 2005 Queen’s New Year’s honours, he was made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) for his services to motorsport and has honorary doctorates and fellowships from the Universities of Wales, Coventry, Warwick and Cranfield. In 2017 he was inducted into the Motor Sport Hall of Fame and presented with the Spirt of Le Mans award by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO). In 2019 Autocar presented him with their Outstanding Leader Award and in May 2022 the Sturmey Award for leadership in elevating and reshaping UK motorsport for the future. In December 2022, the Guild of Motoring Writers’ presented David with their highly coveted presidents’ trophy for his achievements in international automobilism. In the same month, he received the President’s award from the BRDC for his outstanding contribution as Head of Trustees for the BRDC Motor Sport Charity. In December 2023, David was awarded The Viscount Downe Aston Martin Heritage Award for his major contribution to enhancing the heritage of the Aston Martin Marque.