Classic Ford – September 2019

The Capri birthday celebrations continue

with a weekend gathering Down Under.

CAPRICIATION

he biggest celebration in Australia for the

Mk1 Capri’s 50th birthday took place at

Capriciation 2019 in Albury. This also

coincided with 30th anniversary celebrations for

the Australian-assembled Capri Convertible so

this was a great opportunity to showcase the very

different cars that bore the Capri name.

Organised by the Capri Car Club (Victoria) this

was an event that Terry Walsh and Pete Barfoot

had begun working on a year before. They worked

hard to put together a very special weekend and

thankfully they had the support of the Albury City

Council and Indigo Shire Council. They also

received the support of other Capri and Ford clubs

from various states in Australia which contributed

to this event being a great success.

The event started with a meet-and-greet on the

Thursday night. For the Friday the participants got

to choose from two different cruises to take their

coupes on — either a winery tour or a visit to

Beechworth— then dinner and trivia night along

with a special guest speaker, Basil Van Rooyen.

Now a resident on Australia, Basil was a

successful race driver and engineer whose

accomplishments were largely unknown to most

of us. He had enjoyed plenty of success in sports

T

cars and saloons, raced in the Bathurst 1000 but

for the Capri enthusiasts that were present his

season in 1971 racing a Perana in South Africa

was particularly relevant.

On the Saturday there was an impressive

turnout of Capris at Hovell Tree Park in South

Albury. There you could see examples of all the

Capris that were sold in Australia. For the Mk1

that included the 1600, the 3-litre V6 GT, fi ve of

our 50 RS3100s and even one of the six Mk2

3-litre Ghias that Ford Australia imported here.

There was also a solitary Consul Capri plus a

line-up of the convertibles.

Not only was it a great weekend to celebrate

the Fords that bear the Capri name but also a rare

opportunity to see so many different models

being displayed together.

CONTACT

Capri Car Club (Victoria)

http://www.capricarclub.org.au

Words and Photos Stephen Roser

Sole Consul Capri joined in the fun.

RS2600 and RS3100 (below) turned out, too.

Mk2 3-litre Ghia is one of six imported by Ford Australia.

EVENT REPORT

CAPRI-

CIATION

48 September 2019