Thomas Ammerschläger - the Ford years

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Thomas Ammerschläger - the Ford years

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Created on February 5, 2020

Text:

Daniel Koch

Photos:

Daniel Reinhard

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Archiv Daniel und Josef Reinhard

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Thomas Ammerschläger

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Kräling

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Ferdi Kräling

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Kai Gattermann

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Förster

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Foto Reinhard

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Archiv Ford

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Ford Motorsport

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Rainer Braun

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McKlein

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Archiv

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Ford Capri RS (1973) - Hockenheim, with Günther Hein (of the company Bilstein Stossdämpfer)

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Ford Capri Turbo (1974) - Thomas Ammerschläger and the racing Capri

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Ford Capri RS (1974) - The front wheel on the inside of the corner is often in the air, here at the Norisring

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Ford Capri RS (1973) - Thomas Ammerschläger in Hockenheim

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Ford Capri RS (1974) - With the experimental radiator under the boot floor, this arrangement did not work

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Ford Capri RS (1974) - 6-hour race at the Nürburgring, wheel change with air jacks like those used for trucks

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Ford Capri 3 Liter (1978) - Zolder, Test for Group I with Klaus Niedzwiedz

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Ford Capri Turbo (1978) - Technical drawing

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Ford Capri Turbo (1979) - Rear wing as wide as the car

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Ford Capri Turbo (1980) - Vacuum cleaner effect thanks to diffuser and underbody

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Ford Escort Group II (1976) - test drives at the Nürburgring, this vehicle later became the "Europa Möbel Escort"

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Ford Fiesta (1978) - test for Group II, developed by Thomas Ammerschläger in just three months

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Ford Taunus (1979) - Dangers of Michael Werner

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Ford Fiesta (1979) - At the Monte Carlo Rally, the Escorts can be seen behind it

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Jackie Stewart, Thomas Ammerschläger, Emerson Fittipaldi, Mike Kranefuss (1973) at the 6-hour race at the Nürburgring

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Thomas Ammerschläger (1977) - 1:4 scale model in the FH Aachen wind tunnel

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Thomas Ammerschläger (1976) - Experiments in the wind tunnel

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The team at Ford Motorsport in Cologne-Niehl, including Jochen Mass, Michael Kranefuss, Thomas Ammerschläger, Dieter Glemser, Bruno Schutzbach and Ford General Director Hans Barthelmeh

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At Ford Motorsport in Cologne-Niehl, it rained through the roof in some places, so drawing tables were protected with an umbrella

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Ford Capri RS (1974) - racing ABS, which was only used for test drives

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Ford Capri (1974) - 3.4 liter Cosworth engine

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Ford Capri Turbo (1978) - The first finished model of the cage

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Ford Capri RS (1974) - Drawing of the new design of the rear axle, which was successfully tested but could never be built due to lack of money

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Thomas Ammerschläger - Press article (1972)

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Porsche 935 K3 (1980) - the Jägermeister Kremer 935 drives out of the left-hand bend in front of the Zakspeed Ford Capri

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Ford Capri (1978) - The tubes that form the safety cage of the racing Capri are around 70 m long

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Ford Capri (1978) - flat and fast is the racing Capri from Zakspeed

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Ford Capri (1978) - Hans Heyer in the Zakspeed Capri

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Ford Capri (1978) - the Capri line is still recognizable, but the Zakspeed is a pure racing car

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Ford Capri (1973) - Hans Heyer on the factory Capri

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Ford Capri (1974) - Glemser and Hezemans in the 3.4-liter Capri at the 1000 km Nürburgring

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Ford Capri (1974) - Rear view of the 74-series racing Capri with 3.4 liter displacement

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Ford Capri (1973) - successful races in the 1973 Touring Car Championship

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Ford Capri (1978) - Forced-breathing with a turbine that turns 80,000 times per minute, resulting in 360 hp on 1.4 liters of displacement

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Zakspeed Ford Capri Turbo (1980) - Harald Ertl drove one of the fast Turbo Capri

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Ford Capri Turbo (1980) - Klaus Ludwig in the Zakspeed Turbo Capri in the DTM

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Ford Capri (1979) - Klaus Ludwig in the Zakspeed Capri

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Ford Capri (1978) - Hans Heyer in the 1.4-liter Capri Turbo from Zakspeed

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Ford Capri (1978) - the Capri has to be beaten in the German Racing Championship

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Ford Capri (1979) - Harald Ertl's Capri with 380 hp for the 1979 racing season

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Ford Capri (1980) - The 1.7-liter engine in Klaus Ludwig's Capri produces 560 hp, the first time Ludwig competed against the Porsche 935 in the big division

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Ford Capri (1978) - 380 hp meets 760 kg in the racing Capri

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Ford Capri (1972) - Hans Heyer on the factory Capri

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Ford Capri (1974) - the 3.4-liter racing Capri

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Ford Capri (1980) - Klaus Ludwig in the Zakspeed Turbo Capri in the German Racing Championship

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Ford Capri (1979) - in the 1979 British Touring Car Championship

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Ford Capri (1978) - Hans Heyer wins the ADAC-Bilstein Supersprint in the Zakspeed Capri

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Ford Capri Turbo Zakspeed (1980) - the 600 hp super version of the Turbo Capri with Klaus Ludwig competes against Porsche in 1980

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Ford Capri (1979) - Hans Heyer wins the Division II race at Hockenheim in a Capri Turbo ahead of Winkelhock in a BMW 320 Schnitzer Turbo

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Hans Heyer on Lancia Beta Montecarlo against Ford Capri Zakspeed Turbo at the DRM in Hockenheim in 1981

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DRM Zolder 1980 - Zakspeed Ford Capri Turbo surrounded by Porsche 935 K3 (Jägermeister, Liqui Moly, Kremer, Joest)

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Ford Capri Turbo Zakspeed (1978) - the first victory of the new Turbo Capri at the DRM Final 78 at the Nürburgring

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Ford Capri Turbo Zakspeed (1978) - the new wonder weapon is called Zakspeed Turbo Capri - here at the maiden race in Hockenheim

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Zakspeed Ford Capri Turbo (1978) - the racing Capri for 1978

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Ford Capri (1973) - the racing cars were successful in many championships

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Ford Zakspeed Turbo Capri (1979) at the Nürburgring Classic 2019 - CanAm & 100 Mile Trophy

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Crowd puller and favorite for the throne: Ford Zakspeed Turbo Capri (1979) at the Nürburgring Classic 2019 - CanAm & 100 Mile Trophy

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Ford Capri Turbo Zakspeed (1980) - the Turbo Capri with Heyer and Ertl win almost at will

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Wet DRM season opener in Zolder - Ertl in the lead, Winkelhock and Heyer close behind

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Ford Capri Turbo Zakspeed (1981) - Harald Ertl and Klaus Niedzwiedz continue to win for Ford and Zakspeed in the normal Capri

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Victory in the rain - DRM title defender Ertl in the Zakspeed Turbo Capri

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Ford Capri Turbo Zakspeed (1981) - Klaus Ludwig in the Capri Turbo wins the 6th DRM title in 1981 with 10 victories

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Ford Turbo Capri Zakspeed (1981) - the big Capri, now with Manfred Winklehock, also wins in 1981 more

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Ford Capri Turbo (1978) - the tubular frame with roll cage of the 78-series racing Capri from Zakspeed

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Ford Capri (1974) - the 3.4-liter V6 engine of the racing Capri

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Ford Capri Turbo (1978) - Engine with turbocharger from KKK for the 78-series racing Capri from Zakspeed

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Snowball fight on the ring - lots of fun, no race. Ertl and Ludwig take it easy

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Interview in the hall due to snow and ice - Erich Zakowski gives information to reporter Braun

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Luxury problem with two top pilots - Zakowski and Kranefuss

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Title contenders, team-mates, rivals - Zakspeed-Capri drivers Ertl and Heyer

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Summary

After taking a closer look at the NSU years in the first part of our trilogy about graduate engineer Thomas Ammerschläger, in the second part we report on the years in which he played a key role in the successes of the Capri era as technical director at Ford. It was characterized by innovations, successes and disappointments, as motorsport goes. With the Turbo Capri in racing livery, Ford certainly brought an exceptional and pioneering winning car to the racetrack that still fascinates today.

This article contains the following chapters

Simple conditions
Focus on safety
Test passed
Making use of the air
Nevertheless,
Chassis specialty
Engine does not last through
Innovative braking aid and optimization of pit stops
Far from over
New regulations for the DRM in Group 5
Back to the Capriwith the art of persuasion
Sensational debut with Hans Heyer
Once the ambition is awakened...
Off the tarmac too
New year, new luck
Nervous competition
Aerodynamics from Formula 1
Successful conclusion
New group, new regulations

Estimated reading time: 14min

Preview (beginning of the article)

After the NSU years, which we reported on in the first part of our trilogy , Ford was the second formative station in Thomas Ammerschlaeger's eventful career. In the spring of 1972, motorsport boss Jochen Neerpasch left Ford for BMW in Munich, taking the technical director, Martin Braungart, with him. Ford's fate in motorsport was now in the hands of Michael "Mike" Kranefuss, who asked Ammerschläger whether he would like to take over Braungart's position. And if he wanted to, he took up his new position at Ford Motorsport on August 1, 1972. In Cologne-Niehl, he was by no means greeted by a luxurious new building; instead, the motorsport department was housed in a simple annex where it occasionally even dripped through the roof. Thomas Ammerschläger was not impressed by such trifles, however, and threw himself into the further development of the 1972 Ford Capri, which had been very successful in the past and was to compete in the German Touring Car Championship (DTM) again in 1973. The three engineers, the mechanics and the rest of the team were sure that BMW would add even more muscle to their equally powerful 3.0 CSL over the winter, and if they wanted to beat the Munich team, Ford also had to go the extra mile.

Welcome to Zwischengas!

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