FORD CAPRI

‘IDIOT-PROOF’ WINNER

In terms of outright wins, the three-litre V6 Capri was the car of the Group 1 (or 1.5 as the loose regulations were often dubbed) era. Once the big American V8s had been expunged at the end of 1975, the Capri II and then III set the pace until the bigger-engined Rover SD1 got into its stride in ’82.

Gordon Spice, Tom Walkinshaw and Andy Rouse helped rack up 61 victories, even though no Capri driver lifted the overall crown. The battling was just too fierce for anyone to stop dominators in the smaller-engined classes from taking the crown.

“Each year they got a bit better because Ford was quite good at homologating the bits we needed,” says

Capri king Spice, now 78. “It was a very easy car to drive – it was almost idiot-proof.”