Eric Thompson (racing driver)
Nation: | United Kingdom | ||||||||
Automobile world championship | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
First start: | 1952 British Grand Prix | ||||||||
Last start: | 1952 British Grand Prix | ||||||||
Constructors | |||||||||
1952 Connaught Engineering | |||||||||
statistics | |||||||||
World Cup balance: | WM-18. ( 1952 ) | ||||||||
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World Cup points : | 2 | ||||||||
Podiums : | - | ||||||||
Leadership laps : | - |
Eric Thompson (born November 4, 1919 in Ditton Hill, Surrey , † August 22, 2015 ) was a British automobile racing driver .
Career
Thompson was a broker and the typical example of a casual racer. His only appearance in the automobile world championship he had at the Grand Prix of Great Britain in 1952 , where he finished fifth in a Connaught Type A. In smaller Formula 2 races in Great Britain he was able to celebrate two more victories in 1953 (at the AMOC (Aston Martin Owner's Club) race and at the Redex Trophy, both in Snetterton .)
Thompson achieved great success in sports car races. As a works driver for Aston Martin, he competed regularly in the Le Mans 24-hour race between 1950 and 1955 . He made his debut at this endurance race in 1949 on an HRG 1500 Lightweight Le Mans and achieved eighth place in the overall standings with his compatriot Jack Fairman . In 1951 he achieved a place on the podium with Lance Macklin on a factory Aston Martin DB2 with third place overall.
In 1953 he was in the World Sportscar Championship scoring RAC Tourist Trophy runner-up. Together with Reg Parnell , he only had to admit defeat to his Aston Martin teammates Peter Collins and Pat Griffith . Two weeks earlier he had with Kenneth McAlpine on a Aston Martin DB3S the 9-hour race at Goodwood won.
Thompson later worked for Aston Martin and was the editor of motorsport books. He lived in Guildford , Surrey until his death and was the first member of the Le Mans Hall of Fame.
statistics
Statistics in the automobile world championship
These statistics include all of the driver's participations in the World Automobile Championship, which is now known as the Formula 1 World Championship .
general overview
season | team | chassis | engine | run | Victories | Second | Third | Poles | nice Race laps |
Points | WM-Pos. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1952 | Connaught Engineering | Connaught Type A | Lea-Francis 2.0 L4 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | 18th |
total | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 2 |
Single results
season | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4th | 5 | 6th | 7th | 8th |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1952 | ||||||||
5 |
Legend | ||
---|---|---|
colour | abbreviation | meaning |
gold | - | victory |
silver | - | 2nd place |
bronze | - | 3rd place |
green | - | Placement in the points |
blue | - | Classified outside the point ranks |
violet | DNF | Race not finished (did not finish) |
NC | not classified | |
red | DNQ | did not qualify |
DNPQ | failed in pre-qualification (did not pre-qualify) | |
black | DSQ | disqualified |
White | DNS | not at the start (did not start) |
WD | withdrawn | |
Light Blue | PO | only participated in the training (practiced only) |
TD | Friday test driver | |
without | DNP | did not participate in the training (did not practice) |
INJ | injured or sick | |
EX | excluded | |
DNA | did not arrive | |
C. | Race canceled | |
no participation in the World Cup | ||
other | P / bold | Pole position |
SR / italic | Fastest race lap | |
* | not at the finish, but counted due to the distance covered |
|
() | Streak results | |
underlined | Leader in the overall standings |
Le Mans results
year | team | vehicle | Teammate | placement | Failure reason |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1949 | Ecurie Lapin Blanc | HRG 1500 Lightweight Le Mans | Jack Fairman | Rank 8 and class win | |
1950 | Aston Martin Ltd. | Aston Martin DB2 | John Gordon | failure | Engine failure |
1951 | Aston Martin Ltd. | Aston Martin DB2 | Lance Macklin | 3rd place and class win | |
1952 | Aston Martin Ltd. | Aston Martin DB3 Coupe | Reginald Parnell | failure | Power transmission |
1953 | Aston Martin Ltd. | Aston Martin DB3S | Dennis Poore | failure | Engine failure |
1954 | David Brown | Lagonda DP115 | Dennis Poore | failure | accident |
1955 | Connaught Engineering | Connaught AL / SR | Kenneth McAlpine | failure | Engine failure |
Individual results in the sports car world championship
season | team | race car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4th | 5 | 6th | 7th |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1953 | Aston Martin | Aston Martin DB3S | SEB | MIM | LEM | SPA | ONLY | RTT | CAP |
DNF | 2 | ||||||||
1954 | Aston Martin | Lagonda DP115 | BUA | SEB | MIM | LEM | RTT | CAP | |
DNF | |||||||||
1955 | Connaught | Connaught AL / SR | BUA | SEB | MIM | LEM | RTT | TAR | |
DNF |
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ In Memoriam: Eric Thompson (1919-2015). ( Memento of September 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Obituary on endurance-info.com of August 25, 2015 (French, accessed on August 26, 2015).
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Thompson, Eric |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British racing car driver |
DATE OF BIRTH | November 4, 1919 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Ditton Hill , UK |
DATE OF DEATH | 22nd August 2015 |