John Taylor

The first European Rallycross Champion. Having established himself as a star of the new sport of rallycross in Britain, Taylor was among those who led the invasion of Europe, landing its biggest prize in 1973.

Taylor, a jockey, discovered rallycross while in hospital recovering from an injury sustained in accident. Thinking the car racing he’d just seen on TV looked to be great fun, and probably safer than horses, he made his way into the sport at the wheel of a Volvo Amazon.

Quickly getting on terms with autocross, rally and race drivers who were becoming stars of the small screen, Taylor traded up to the first of many Ford Escorts and became a regular event winner.

Possibly the first professional rallycrosser, Taylor was a prolific racer both in the UK and europe.

The first European Championship, in 1973, would provide his greatest prize, but it was nail-biting finish to a hotly contested season, Taylor equal on points with close friend and rival Rod Chapman, but getting the title on the tie-break as he’d won three events to Chapman’s single event victory.

Success in rallying followed rallycross, but Taylor returned later when working for Ford, running a works development RS200 that was driven by Stig Blomqvist and Jonathan Palmer.