IN A RACE between a Ferrari and a Ford you would think it would be easy to predict a winner.

But a mechanic from humble Maybush in Southampton pipped the Italian thoroughbred to the winning post when he scooped first prize in the most prestigious classic car competition in Britain.

Robert Strickland's 1988 Ford Fiesta XR2 took the chequered flag at the Autoglym Classic Concours competition, which was staged at Birmingham's NEC.

He won £500 for the best car in his class - beating on the way a 1974 Ferrari Dino and an open top Jaguar XJ6.

Robert's car, which took him five years to prepare for the competition, was declared the best contemporary car at the show as well as the winner of his class.

As well as bringing home the trophies, he was also presented with a car cover to keep his pride and joy under wraps.

Robert, 27, of Kennedy Road, bought the XR2, the car of choice for every boy racer, in 1993.

But he only decided to start showing the car when he attended another classic event.

He said: "I got involved with the XR2 Owner's Club. I took it to one of the shows and did not want to leave it in the car park so I entered it for the competition."

Since then, Robert has spent thousands of pounds and spent hundreds of hours restoring the car to its current - immaculate - state.

His attention to detail is so great that he even tracked down the original pink anti-freeze which was supplied with the cars when they were built.

Now that he has won the trophy, both Robert and his car are due to have a well deserved break.

He said: "The car is absolutely as it left the factory and completely original. I am so chuffed that I won. It took a few days to sink in. I really want to have a rest now. I will continue to show it but I can't say yet if I will take on another project in the future."