1980 Rondeau M379 B - Le Mans GTP Racing Car

Gordon Spice (18 April 1940 – 10 September 2021) was a British racing driver who competed in both

sports cars A sports car is a type of automobile that is designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving, and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1910s and ar ...

and

Touring Car Touring car and tourer are both terms for open cars (i.e. cars without a fixed roof). "Touring car" is a style of open car built in the United States which seats four or more people. The style was popular from the early 1900s to the 1930s. The ...

racing in the 1960s and 1970s, before starting Spice Engineering with fellow racing driver Ray Bellm in the 1980s.

Racing career

Spice was most notable for his involvement with the

Ford Capri The Ford Capri is a fastback coupé built by Ford of Europe and designed by Philip T. Clark, who had been involved in the design of the Ford Mustang. It used the mechanical components from the Mk2 Ford Cortina and was intended as the European ...

, 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 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. 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. In 1980, he took on

Andy Rouse Andrew Ernest Rouse (born 2 December 1947) is a British racing driver, most notably in the British Saloon Car Championship. He won the BSCC in 1975, 1983, 1984 and 1985. Andy Rouse is one of the most successful drivers ever to appear in the ...

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. He won the C2 class in the World Championship in 1988. 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. 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.

Personal life

Spice died on 10 September 2021 from cancer, at the age of 81.

Racing record

Complete British Saloon Car Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.) † Events with 2 races staged for the different classes.

Racing career

Personal life

Racing record

Complete British Saloon Car Championship results

Complete Formula One non-championship results

24 Hours of Le Mans results

References

External links

Further reading