As to be expected, 1974 couldn't match the classic 1973 season, despite both Ford and BMW developing 24-valve versions of their cars. Ford even had to change the paint schema, since the Capri II with its softer lines was now on the market so the RS 3100 had to look a bit like that. While BMW could update their car with the new engine, Ford had to homologate a different car to be able to use a rear spoiler and an engine stretched to 3400 cc.
But then the oil crisis came; we lost a number of races, BMW shrunk their program but kept the new engines for themselves - a mistake which would be corrected in 1975. Ford stuck to its program, and had some new exciting drivers with Hezemans and Lauda.
As so often, it worked out quite different than expected. Ford's new Capri was not ready for Monza, and the race was won by a private BMW. Salzburg was won by a works BMW, while Vallelunga was won by a private BMW as well since Ford didn't enter this race. The last three races were won by the Capri (at least it won its class) but by then it was clear that the champion would come from division 1: Zakspeed's Escort won its class each time and even had an overall win, and its pilot Hans Heyer got enough points to claim the driver title...
The races: |
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