Spice SE90C #17 'The Pink Spice'
There's a new car in the stable...
*One of the last C1 cars built by Spice Engineering
*Ford-Cosworth DFR 3.5-litre V8 engine
*Excellent record of wins and podium finishes in more recent times
*Fully restored in 2011
*Eligible for the Le Mans Classic
This is one of the last C1 cars built by Spice Engineering at Silverstone. Owned by Tsunemasu Aoshima, the car was entered by Euro Racing for Le Mans in 1991 when, painted bright pink, it attracted a storm of publicity on account of its all-women driver line up. The team consisted of Lyn St James, Cathy Muller, and Desiré Wilson, the latter one of the tiny handful of women ever to have competed in Formula 1.
During qualifying, Lyn St James hit the safety barrier, severely damaging the car, which was hastily rebuilt around a chassis bought from GP Motorsport, who were selling a Spice in the paddock. With limited track time, only Wilson managed a lap fast enough to qualify; nevertheless the team was allowed to start, albeit from the back of the grid. Sadly there would be no fairytale ending for the team, the Spice being forced to retire after 47 laps following an accident.
In 2001 the Spice was purchased by David Mercer, who drove it in Group C Club races between 2002 and 2010. An experienced endurance racing driver, he won races outright at Magny Cours (2002), Donington Park (2003/2004), Brands Hatch GP (2005/2007/2010), Nürburgring (2006/2007) and Silverstone (2006). In his hands the Spice also had numerous other podium finishes (published results on file) and recorded fastest laps at Donington (2005), Brands Hatch (2006) and Silverstone (2006).
Listen as previous owner, David Mercer pilots this Group C Spice around Spa back in 2010.