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The 50th birthday of the Ford Capri will be marked at the Silverstone Classic with a special award from one of the greatest racers of the make in Gordon Spice.

Spice was the most successful Capri racer in the British Saloon Car Championship for five seasons in succession from 1976-80.

The 78-year-old will present the one-off Gordon Spice Trophy to the first Capri home in the Motor Racing Legends Historic Touring Car Challenge race at July 26-28's Silverstone Classic.

There will be an anniversary parade for the Ford Capri on the Sunday of the event for car club members joining in the festivities with their cars.

This will be fronted by the last Capri to roll off the production line in Cologne - a limited edition 280 Brooklands model owned by Ford's heritage workshop.

"The Capri was very important to me," said Spice, who turned to saloon car racing after a serious accident in a Formula 5000 single-seater at Mallory Park in 1975.

Spice went on to win the Group C2 World Endurance Championship crown in a sports-prototype built by his own Spice Engineering company.

"The Capri was by far the easiest car I ever raced," he added.

"There was absolutely nothing complicated about it - the rear-drive chassis was simple to tune, so it handled really, really well. It was just a brilliant motor car."

The Capri was first unveiled at the Brussels Motor Show in January 1969 and marketed by Ford as 'The Car You Always Promised Yourself'.

Nearly two million Capris were produced before the model's demise at the end of 1986.

The Historic Touring Car Challenge is home to saloon and touring cars of the 1970s and 80s and pits Capris against period rivals like the Rover Vitesse and Chevrolet Camaro.

Spice, in his famous red Capris, took 24 outright wins in the period.

"I'm absolutely delighted to have been given this honour," said Spice.

"I never miss the Classic; it's one of my favourite race meetings of the year and it is always wonderful to see so many Capris still racing today - 50 years is a long time!"