Robert David Thompson (born 28 July 1996 in Hornchurch, England) is a British racing driver who most recently competed in the 2023 British Touring Car Championship, driving for Autobrite Direct with Millers Oils.[1] He was the 2022 Jack Sears Trophy winner.
| Bobby Thompson | |
|---|---|
 Thompson at Thruxton Circuit in 2022 | |
| Nationality |  British |
| Born | Robert David Thompson 28 July 1996 Hornchurch, England |
| British Touring Car Championship career | |
| Debut season | 2018 |
| Current team | Zeus Cloud Racing with WSR |
| Car number | 19 |
| Former teams | AmD Essex, Tony Gilham Racing |
| Starts | 130 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 4 |
| Poles | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 1 |
| Best finish | 14th in 2022 |
| Previous series | |
| 2015–2017 2014 2012–2014 | VW Racing Cup British Formula Ford Championship Ford Fiesta Championship |
| Championship titles | |
| 2022 2017 | Jack Sears Trophy VW Racing Cup |
Career
editEarly career
editAfter competing in karting from 2006 to 2012 at a national level, Thompson made his car racing debut in 2012, competing in the Ford Fiesta Championship. He completed a full season in 2013, finishing 19th overall with one podium to his name.[2]
He competed as a guest driver for Meridian Motorsport in the second and third round of the 2014 British Formula Ford Championship, replacing Ashley Sutton.[3]
VW Racing Cup
editIn 2015 Thompson moved to the Volkswagen Racing Cup Great Britain, driving for Team HARD. Racing. He finished 10th overall in his debut season, with one win. He switched to Power Maxed Racing to contest the 2016 season, and came 5th overall. Returning to Team HARD. Racing for 2017, he won the championship with 6 wins.[4]
British Touring Car Championship
edit2018
editFollowing his VW Racing Cup championship win, Thompson signed a contract to drive a Volkswagen CC for Team HARD in the 2018 British Touring Car Championship.[5] He struggled in his debut season, finishing in the points just 3 times, at the sixth round of the season at Snetterton Circuit, and at the seventh at Rockingham Speedway. With 23 points, he finished 28th in the overall standings, and 10th in the Jack Sears Trophy.
2019
editIn October 2018, it was announced that Thompson had re-signed for Team HARD for the 2019 season, again driving a Volkswagen CC.[6] He had a strong opening round, finishing 6th with fastest lap in the first race, and scoring in the other two. With 10 points finishes throughout the season, he finished 22nd in the standings with 35 points, and 3rd in the Jack Sears Trophy.
2020
editFor 2020, Thompson switched to GKR TradePriceCars.com, driving an Audi A3 Saloon. He had a strong start to his campaign, finishing in the points 11 times out of the 17 races he finished in the opening 7 rounds. However, in the third race of the weekend during the seventh round at Croft Circuit, Thompson crashed and barrel-rolled his car whilst fighting over eight place with Senna Proctor.[7] He was ruled out of the following round due to a concussion sustained in the crash, and did not appear at the final round either.[8] As a result, Thompson came 5th and missed out on the title in the Jack Sears Trophy, which he was leading at the time of the crash. He came 18th in the overall standings, with 44 points.
2021
editDue to financial constraints following his crash the previous season, Thompson was forced to sit out from the 2021 season.[9] He made his racing return in October 2021, competing in the final two rounds of the 2021 Mini Challenge UK with JamSport Racing as a guest driver.[10]
2022
editThompson returned to the championship for the 2022 season, driving a Cupra León for Team HARD.[11] He had a strong season, achieving his first overall podium finish in the championship with a 3rd place in the reverse grid race during the second round at Brands Hatch. He scored 99 points across the season and came 14th in the standings, and after a long battle for the title with George Gamble, Thompson sealed the Jack Sears Trophy trophy title during the final round at Brands Hatch.[12]
2023
editThompson continued with Team HARD in the 2023 British Touring Car Championship, driving a new Cupra León.[1] In the second round of the season at Brands Hatch, he achieved his second podium finish in the championship, converting reverse-grid pole into second place in the reverse grid race.[13]
Prior to the sixth round of the season at Croft Circuit, Team HARD announced that Thompson would step down from the championship for the remainder of the season due to "financial circumstances faced by the team".[14] He was replaced by Michael Crees.[15]
Personal life
editThompson's cousin Aaron Thompson is also a racing driver, who won the 2015 BRSCC Fiesta Junior Championship[16] and the Clio Class of the 2021 Britcar Endurance Championship.
Racing record
editKarting career summary
edit| Season | Series | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Bayford Kart Club Summer Sprint Championship - Honda Cadet | 4th |
| 2007 | Bayford Kart Club Summer Sprint Championship - Honda Cadet | 9th |
| Super 1 National Honda Cadet Championship | 7th | |
| 2008 | BRDC Stars of Tomorrow Minimax Championship | 19th |
| 2009 | Formula Kart Stars - Minimax | 15th |
| Super 1 Series ABkC Minimax Championship | 27th | |
| MSA Kartmasters Grand Prix - Rotax Minimax | 17th | |
| 2010 | Super 1 National Rotax Minimax Championship | 10th |
| Kartmasters British Grand Prix - Rotax Minimax | 6th | |
| 2011 | Trent Valley Kart Club - Junior Rotax | 23rd |
| Formula Kart Stars - Junior Max | 11th | |
| 2012 | Kartmasters British Grand Prix - Rotax Junior | 18th |
| Formula Kart Stars - Junior Max | 3rd |
Racing career summary
edit| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | F/Laps | Podiums | Points | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Ford Fiesta Championship - Class C | N/A | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC† |
| 2013 | Ford Fiesta Championship - Class C | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 36 | 19th | |
| 2014 | Ford Fiesta Championship - Class C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 33rd | |
| British Formula Ford Championship | Meridian Motorsport | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | NC† | |
| 2015 | Volkswagen Racing Cup Great Britain | Team HARD. Racing | 15 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 356 | 10th |
| 2016 | Volkswagen Racing Cup Great Britain | Power Maxed Racing | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 430 | 5th |
| 2017 | Volkswagen Racing Cup Great Britain | Team HARD. Racing | 14 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 10 | 520 | 1st |
| 2018 | British Touring Car Championship | Team HARD. with Trade Price Cars | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 28th |
| 2019 | British Touring Car Championship | GKR Scaffolding with Autobrite Direct | 30 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 35 | 22nd |
| 2020 | British Touring Car Championship | GKR TradePriceCars.com | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 18th |
| 2021 | Mini Challenge UK - JCW | JamSport Racing | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | N/A | NC† |
| 2022 | 24 Hours of Dubai - TCX | CWS Engineering | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | N/A | 10th |
| 24H TCE Series - TCX | |||||||||
| British Touring Car Championship | Autobrite Direct with JourneyHero | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 99 | 14th | |
| 2023 | British Touring Car Championship | Autobrite Direct with Millers Oils | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 74 | 17th |
| Go-Fix with Autoaid Breakdown | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||||
| 2024 | British Touring Car Championship | Zeus Cloud Racing with WSR | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 34 | 20th |
† As Thompson was a guest driver, he was ineligible for championship points.
Complete British Touring Car Championship results
edit(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position – 1 point awarded just in first race; races in italics indicate fastest lap – 1 point awarded all races; * signifies that driver led race for at least one lap – 1 point given all races)
References
edit- ^ a b "Team HARD retains Bobby Thompson for 2023 BTCC". TouringCars.net. 2 December 2022. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
- ^ "Bobby Thompson | Racing career profile | Driver Database". Driver Database. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
- ^ Allen, Peter (19 April 2014). "Kruger edges out Brabham and Scott to top Donington qualifying". Formula Scout. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
- ^ Jackson, Connor (24 September 2017). "Thompson Clinches Championship in Final Race Decider". The Checkered Flag. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
- ^ James, Matt (3 November 2017). "BTCC 2018: Volkswagen Cup champion Thompson gets Team Hard drive". Autosport. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
- ^ "Bobby Thompson re-signs with Team HARD". TouringCarTimes. 31 October 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
- ^ Simmons, Marcus (12 October 2020). "Thompson requires medical clearance after huge Croft shunt". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
- ^ Simmons, Marcus (12 October 2020). "BTCC racer Thompson out of Snetterton round with concussion". Autosport. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
- ^ Simmons, Marcus (13 October 2022). "Jack Sears champion Thompson aims for overall BTCC success". Autosport. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
- ^ "BOBBY THOMPSON JOINS MINI CHALLENGE GRID AT DONINGTON PARK". Mini Challenge. 5 October 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
- ^ "Bobby Thompson makes BTCC return with Team HARD". TouringCars.Net. 11 March 2022. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
- ^ "Bobby Thompson left with mixed emotions despite Jack Sears success". TouringCarTimes. 13 October 2022. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
- ^ "BTCC Brands Hatch: Sutton takes thrilling Race 3 win after Collard penalty". Motorsport.com. 7 May 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
- ^ "Thompson to Step Down from Seat for Remainder of 2023". Team HARD. 19 July 2023. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
- ^ "Michael Crees rejoins Team HARD as Bobby Thompson steps down". TouringCarTimes. 19 July 2023. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
- ^ "Hatch end is perfect as Aaron has a Fiesta". Romford Recorder. 30 October 2015. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
External links
editBobby Thompson career summary at DriverDB.com