Wikipedia

Gordon Spice

Gordon Spice (18 April 1940 – 10 September 2021) was a British racing driver who competed in both sports cars and Touring Car racing in the 1960s and 1970s, before starting Spice Engineering with fellow racing driver Ray Bellm in the 1980s.[1]

Gordon Spice
NationalityUnited Kingdom British
Born(1940-04-18)18 April 1940
London, England
Died9 September 2021(2021-09-09) (aged 81)
Retiredca. 1989
World Endurance Championship
Years active1980–1989
TeamsSpice Engineering, Rondeau
Starts50
Wins0
Best finish1st in C2 class in 1988
10th in overall standings in 1987
Previous series
1960s–1980British Touring Car Championship
1980 Rondeau M379 B (chassis #002, built as M379 in 1979) - driven by Gordon Spice (GB)/Jean-Michel Martin (B)/Philippe Martin (B)

Racing career

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Spice was most notable for his involvement with the Ford Capri, both as a driver and as part of Spice Engineering. Starting off his British Saloon Car Championship career racing Minis in the late 1960s for Downton Engineering[2] Spice went on to paid drives in Minis for Jim Whitehouse’s Equipe Arden team in 1968 (winners of the British Saloon Car Championship title with a Mini the year later with Alec Poole) and raced John Cooper’s team Minis with Steve Neal in 1969 but despite Spice’s pace and occasional race win were outclassed by the 1300 Broadspeed Ford Escorts. Gordon eventually progressed to the works Ford team, CC Developments, co-run by Dave Cook, running the Capri 3.0S.[1] He won his class on five occasions between 1976 and 1980, but never won the championship outright. In all, he took 24 overall race victories.[3] In 1980, he took on Andy Rouse as teammate, and the two dominated their class, only losing out on the title to Win Percy.

In the 1980s, Spice competed in the World Endurance Championship with his own cars, under the banner Spice Engineering, or those of Jean Rondeau.[4] He won the C2 class in the World Championship in 1988.[5]

Spice, as well as running a car accessory shop in Ashford (Middlesex), in the early days of car accessory retailing, he co-founded in 1971, with his brother Derek, Gordon Spice Cash And Carry. They supplied motor accessories to trade customers and, at the peak of the business, they had cash and carry depots in Staines, Watford, Canning Town and Leicester.[6] Subsequent flotation as a PLC in 1986, and an over ambitious investment in a state-of-the-art central distribution centre, plus changing market conditions, led to the demise of the company.[7]

Personal life

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Spice died on 10 September 2021 from cancer, at the age of 81.[8][9]

Racing record

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Complete British Saloon Car Championship results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)

Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Pos. Pts Class
1965 Gordon Spice Austin Mini Cooper S B BRH OUL SNE GOO SIL CRY BRH
2 		OUL 25th 6 9th
1966 Gordon Spice Austin Mini Cooper S B SNE GOO SIL
16 		BRH
10 		19th 12 5th
Morris Mini Cooper S CRY
2† 		BRH
8 		OUL
5† 		BRH
DNS
1967 Gordon Spice Morris Mini Cooper S B BRH
5 		SNE
Ret 		SIL
? 		SIL
5 		MAL
3† 		SIL
? 		SIL
? 		BRH
Ret 		OUL
3† 		BRH
Ret 		10th 24 3rd
1968 Equipe Arden Austin Mini Cooper S A BRH
? 		THR
10 		SIL
13 		CRY
Ret† 		MAL
Ret† 		BRH
? 		SIL
23 		CRO
11 		OUL
15 		BRH
Ret 		BRH
14 		7th 40 1st
1969 Britax-Cooper-Downton Morris Mini Cooper S B BRH
4 		SIL
6 		SNE
Ret 		THR
6 		SIL
Ret 		CRY
1† 		MAL
1† 		CRO
7 		SIL
7 		OUL
14 		BRH
11 		BRH
14 		5th 47 2nd
1970 Equipe Arden Morris Mini Cooper S B BRH SNE THR SIL
5 		CRY
2† 		SIL
14 		SIL
18 		CRO BRH
12 		OUL
10 		BRH
10 		BRH
DNS 		6th 48 2nd
1974 Wisharts Garages Chrysler Hemi 'Cuda D MAL BRH SIL OUL THR SIL
Ret 		THR BRH ING BRH OUL SNE BRH NC 0 NC
1975 Wisharts Garages Ford Capri 3000 GT C MAL
3† 		BRH
Ret 		OUL
3† 		THR SIL
10 		BRH
6† 		THR
7 		SIL MAL
6† 		SNE
4 		SIL
Ret 		ING BRH OUL BRH 7th 46 1st
1976 Wisharts Garages Ford Capri II 3.0s D BRH
1 		SIL
1 		OUL
2† 		THR
2 		THR
6 		SIL
1 		BRH
Ret 		MAL
3† 		SNE
1† 		BRH
6 		4th 58 1st
1977 Gordon Spice Racing Ford Capri II 3.0s D SIL
1 		BRH
7 		OUL
2† 		THR
2 		SIL
5 		THR
Ret 		DON
3† 		SIL
8 		DON
Ret† 		BRH
7 		THR
2 		BRH
1 		5th 28 1st
1978 Gordon Spice Racing Ford Capri III 3.0s D SIL
3 		OUL
1† 		THR
1 		BRH
1† 		SIL
1† 		DON
2† 		MAL
1† 		BRH
9 		DON
DSQ† 		BRH
2 		THR
1 		OUL
2† 		4th 75 1st
1979 Gordon Spice Racing Ford Capri III 3.0s D SIL
1 		OUL
1† 		THR
1 		SIL
3 		DON
1† 		SIL
1 		MAL
4† 		DON
5 		BRH
Ret 		THR
1 		SNE OUL
4† 		4th 75 1st
1980 Gordon Spice Racing Ford Capri III 3.0s D MAL
2† 		OUL
1† 		THR
1 		SIL
Ret 		SIL
Ret 		BRH
5 		MAL
1† 		BRH
1 		THR
1 		SIL
1 		3rd 67 1st
1981 Gordon Spice Racing Ford Capri III 3.0s D MAL
11† 		SIL
2 		OUL
2† 		THR
2 		BRH SIL
2 		SIL
Ret 		DON
5† 		BRH
4 		THR
7 		SIL
Ret 		10th 38 4th
1982 Gordon Spice Racing Ford Capri III 3.0s D SIL
5 		MAL
3† 		OUL
1† 		THR
2 		THR
3 		SIL
4 		DON
Ret 		BRH
2 		DON
3 		BRH
Ret 		SIL
? 		11th 39 4th
1983 Gordon Spice Racing Rover Vitesse A SIL OUL THR BRH THR SIL
Ret 		DON SIL
28 		DON
4 		BRH
5 		SIL 21st 5 9th
1984 Team Toyota GB / Hughes of Beaconsfield Toyota Celica Supra A DON SIL OUL THR THR SIL
6 		SNE
4 		BRH BRH DON SIL 21st 4 13th
Source:[10]

† Events with 2 races staged for the different classes.

Complete Formula One non-championship results

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(key)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1970 Gordon Spice Kitchiner K3A Chevrolet 5.0 V8 ROC INT
14 		OUL
1971 Gordon Spice McLaren M10B Chevrolet 5.0 V8 ARG
NC 		ROC QUE SPR INT
16 		RIN OUL
15 		VIC
13
1972 Gordon Spice Kitchmac M10B Chevrolet 5.0 V8 ROC BRA INT
Ret 		OUL REP VIC

24 Hours of Le Mans results

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Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
1964   Lawrence Tune Engineering   Chris Lawrence Deep Sanderson 301 P 1.3 13 DNF DNF
1978   Charles Ivey Racing   Larry Perkins
  John Rulon-Miller 		Porsche 911 Carrera RSR IMSA GTX 278 14th 2nd
1979   Dome Co. Ltd.   Chris Craft
  Tony Trimmer 		Dome Zero RL S +2.0 40 DNF DNF
1980   Belga Jean Rondeau   Philippe Martin
  Jean-Michel Martin 		Rondeau M379 GTP 329 3rd 1st
1981   Otis Jean Rondeau   François Migault Rondeau M379 GTP 3.0 335 3rd 2nd
1982   Malardeau Automobiles Jean Rondeau   François Migault
  Xavier Lapeyre 		Rondeau M382 C 150 DNF DNF
1984   Spice-Tiga Racing   Ray Bellm
  Neil Crang 		Tiga GC84 C2 69 DNF DNF
1985   Spice Engineering   Ray Bellm
  Mark Galvin 		Spice-Tiga GC85 C2 312 14th 1st
1986   Spice Engineering   Ray Bellm
  Jean-Michel Martin 		Spice SE86C C2 257 19th 6th
1987   Spice Engineering   Fermín Velez
  Philippe de Henning 		Spice SE86C C2 321 6th 1st
1988   Spice Engineering   Ray Bellm
  Pierre de Thoisy 		Spice SE88C C2 351 13th 1st
1989   Spice Engineering   Ray Bellm
  Lyn St. James 		Spice SE89C C1 229 DNF DNF

References

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  1. ^ a b "Gordon Spice Racing Ford Capri driven at Goodwood - Autocar". Autocar.co.uk. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  2. ^ "Downton Engineering Works". Mk1-performance-conversions.co.uk. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  3. ^ "CC Racing Developments Group 1 Ford Capri Mk III's - Page 6 - TenTenths Motorsport Forum". Tentenths.com. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  4. ^ "Gordon Spice". Motor Sport magazine database. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  5. ^ "Gordon Spice". Driver Database. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  6. ^ "Variety: the life of Spice - Motor Sport Magazine Archive". Motor Sport Magazine. 7 July 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  7. ^ "the Spice trade - Motor Sport Magazine Archive". Motor Sport Magazine. 7 July 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  8. ^ Turner, Kevin (11 September 2021). "Touring car ace and Le Mans class winner Gordon Spice dies". Autosport.
  9. ^ "Gordon Spice 1940–2021". Daily Sports Car. 10 September 2021.
  10. ^ de Jong, Frank. "British Saloon Car Championship". History of Touring Car Racing 1952-1993. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
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Further reading

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