1983: Opel Manta 400, 3rd

“Sitting on the start line of the stages on this rally, I used to watch the Audi quattros drop the clutch and go. It was pretty depressing really, immediately you knew you’d lost a load of time. We would pull our Opel Manta 400 up, the marshal counted us down and we sat there with a load of wheelspin.

“Back in those days, when you couldn’t compete with the quattros, the best thing you could aim for was to be top two-wheel-drive car and we got that in 1983 and finished third overall. That Manta was a great car, the best of the two-wheel-drive cars – so nicely balanced with plenty of power. Just a shame it didn’t have a front ’diff !”