Gordon Spice, the most successful Ford Capri racer of all time, died on 10 September at the age of 81, from cancer.
Born in Enfield, London, on 18 April 1940, he was christened Gordon Edward George Spice, then later found out he was registered George Gordon Spice, but it was Gordon that stuck and it was a name that in a 23-year professional driving career became one to reckon with.
Spice claimed class honours in the British Saloon Car Championship for six consecutive seasons from 1975, with 26 wins from ’75 to ’82 (although one was later chalked off for what he described as “post-race hassles”).
With more overall race victories than any other driver in the 1976, ’78, ’79 and 1980 seasons, he was the man to beat.
He applied for his provisional competition licence in 1962 and his first race was a five-lap sports-car handicap at Goodwood in an MG TF1500, but two laps into practice a blown head gasket stopped play. Indeed, out of the five races he entered that year, he failed to start three and didn’t finish the other two.
This left him disappointed, but also broke, which fired him into action – if he was going to race, he needed to earn.
