Dick Thompson
Richard Knight "Dick" Thompson (born July 9, 1920 - † September 4, 2014 ) was an American racing car driver .
Career
Dick Thompson worked as a dentist in Washington, DC , which earned him the nickname "The Flying Dentist" among his fellow racing drivers. Thompson was active from the late 1950s to the 1970s, winning several SCCA sports car championships.
In the USA he was popular as "the" Corvette driver and gave the now legendary racing car its first major successes. He won five SCCA championships in 1956, 1957, 1960, 1961 and 1962. In 1963 he won the sports car race at Watkins Glen with a Corvette .
Thompson, who was also a works driver for Briggs Cunningham , came to Europe with the US team in 1960 and made his debut in the 24 Hours of Le Mans . His best placement was fourth overall with Augie Pabst in a Maserati Tipo 63 in 1961. In 1967 he won the 1000 km race at Spa-Francorchamps with Jacky Ickx as a partner on a Mirage M1 .
Thompson never made enough money racing to make a living from. That is why he worked as a dentist well into old age. Thompson lived in Wellington until his death and enjoyed his retirement.
statistics
Le Mans results
year | team | vehicle | Teammate | placement | Failure reason |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1960 | Briggs Cunningham | Chevrolet Corvette | Fred Windbridge | failure | Engine failure |
1961 | Briggs Cunningham | Maserati Tipo 63 | Augie Pabst | Rank 4 | |
1962 | Briggs Cunningham | Maserati Tipo 151 | William Kimberly | failure | Engine failure |
1965 | AC Cars Ltd. | Shelby Coupe Daytona | Jack Sears | Rank 8 | |
1967 | John Wyer Automotive Engineering | Mirage M1 | David Piper | failure | Engine failure |
1968 | Howmet Corporation | Howmet TX | Ray Heppenstall | failure | malfunction |
Sebring results
year | team | vehicle | Teammate | Teammate | Teammate | Teammate | placement | Failure reason |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1952 | Dick Thompson | MG TD | Bill Kinchloe | Rank 8 | ||||
1955 | Jack Pry | Jaguar XK140 MC | Charles Wallace | Rank 10 | ||||
1957 | John Fitch | Chevrolet Corvette | Gaston Andrey | Rank 12 | ||||
1958 | Dick Thompson | Chevrolet Corvette | Fred Windridge | John Kilbourn | Rank 33 | |||
1959 | Briggs Cunningham | Lister | Walt Hansgen | Rank 12 | ||||
1960 | Jaguar Distributors of New York | Chevrolet Corvette | Fred Windridge | failure | Engine failure | |||
1961 | Momo Corporation | Maserati Tipo 61 | John Fitch | failure | Power transmission | |||
1962 | Briggs Cunningham | Maserati Tipo 64 | Walt Hansgen | failure | suspension | |||
1963 | Grady Davis | Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray | Ed Lowther | Donald Yenko | Duncan Black | M. Wyllie | failure | Engine failure |
1964 | NART | Ferrari 250 GTO LMB | Bob Grossman | Rank 14 | ||||
1965 | Shaw Racing Team | Shelby Cobra | Graham Shaw | Rank 19 | ||||
1966 | Roger Penske | Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport | Dick Guldstrand | failure | accident | |||
1967 | JW Engineering Ltd. | Ford GT40 | Ed Lowther | failure | Engine failure | |||
1968 | Howmet Corporation | Howmet TX Continental | Ed Lowther | Ray Heppenstall | failure | Engine failure |
Individual results in the sports car world championship
Web links
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Thompson, Dick |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Thompson, Richard |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American racing car driver |
DATE OF BIRTH | July 9, 1920 |
DATE OF DEATH | 4th September 2014 |