In 1968, when working as a mechanic at Barry Pointon Motors, he bought one of the newly released 1300cc Mark I Ford Escorts. The car was underpowered but it further allowed Richards to improve his race-craft. In 1969 the patronage of amateur racer and fellow competitor, Jim Carney, allowed him to upgrade to his first truly competitive car, a Ford Escort with a new high-performance 1600cc BDA twin-cam engine, capable of 140 bhp. The combination of Richards as driver and mechanic Carney with the funding, and Murray Bunn with reconditioning and tuning expertise, started to produce a number of victories.