James Thompson (racing driver)
| James Thompson | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Thompson in 2008 in Valencia. |
|
| Nationality | British |
| Born | 26 April 1974 York (England) |
| 2012 British Touring Car Championship | |
| Debut season | 1994 |
| Current team | Team Dynamics |
| Car no. | 35 |
| Former teams | SEAT Sport UK Vauxhall Honda Boland Motorsport |
| Starts | 238 |
| Wins | 36 |
| Poles | 29 |
| Fastest laps | 27 |
| Best finish | 1st in 2002 & 2004 |
| Previous series | |
| 2005-09 2008-09 2003-04 2000 |
WTCC DTC ETCC Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters |
| Championship titles | |
| 2009/10 2002/04 |
European Touring Car Cup BTCC |
James Thompson (born 26 April 1974 in York, England) is a British auto racing driver and commentator for Eurosport's motorsport coverage. He has twice been champion of the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC), and was third in the 2007 World Touring Car Championship.
Contents |
[edit] Racing career
He started racing in the BTCC in a privately-entered Peugeot in 1994, his performances earning him a factory Vauxhall drive for 1995. He became the youngest ever race-winner that year, also taking 2 pole positions, before his season was cut short by a crash at Knockhill. 1996 was a transitional year with the new Vauxhall Vectra, although James took a victory at Snetterton, moving up from 5th in a 2-lap burst in which Roberto Ravaglia and Rickard Rydell collided, Joachim Winkelhock spun, and Alain Menu broke down.
In 1997, James joined Honda, finishing 5th in the championship in 1997, 3rd in 1998, and 4th in 1999. He missed two rounds through injury in 2000, but was able to finish 9th.
When Honda pulled out for 2001, James joined Team Egg Sport, racing their Vauxhall to 4 wins and 3rd overall - enough to earn him a return to the factory Vauxhall team for 2002, which featured a titanic 3-year battle with team-mate Yvan Muller in their dominant Astra. James was BTCC champion in both 2002 and 2004, and was 2nd in 2003.
For 2005, Thompson attempted a new challenge in the World Touring Car Championship, with Alfa Romeo. His first WTCC season opened with a win, but was not a huge success overall. For 2006, he moved to SEAT and competed in both the BTCC and the WTCC, although he had to miss some BTCC rounds when they clashed with World touring car events.
He competed in 18 of the 30 races of the BTCC that year. For most of the season he raced in the second SEAT Sport UK car, but at Silverstone for the final round he used his Red Bull-backed WTCC car. After competing in the first 9 races, he was actually ahead of BTCC team leader Jason Plato. Despite having to yield the victory to Plato at Croft, he finished 6th overall, scoring more points per entry than any other SEAT driver (although Plato failed to start 2 races due to accident damage). In 2007, Thompson rejoined Alfa Romeo in the WTCC run by N.Technology. Although his aged Alfa Romeo 156 was not as well developed as his works-backed rivals, he fought for the championship title until the final race and ended the season in 3rd place.
In 2008 he competed for N.Technology in a Honda Accord Euro R in the WTCC. He also drove an Accord in the Danish Touring Car Championship. After missing the first two WTCC meetings, the team struggled to develop the car competitively. However, the team steadily worked on the car over the season and scored their first win of the season at Imola. However, N.Technology announced its withdrawal at the end of the year, leaving James without a drive.
.JPG)
For 2009, rumours had placed James Thompson with a possible return to the BTCC after discussions with Team Dynamics to race one of their Honda Civics. He also tested a Tempus Sport Chevrolet Lacetti and a Motorbase Performance BMW 320si. However, his name was missing from the pre-season entry list, and it was later announced he would spend another year in the Danish series. It was then announced in April, prior to the Thruxton round that he would return to the BTCC, replacing Gordon Shedden. He collected a double win at Donington Park, and added a third win at Oulton Park.He currently leads the Danish championship after a win at Padborg Park.[1] He also returned to the WTCC with LADA Sport in July 2009, driving their new Priora model.[2]
He won the 2009 European Touring Car Cup at the Circuito Vasco Sameiro near Braga in Portugal, driving a Honda Accord for Hartmann Honda Racing.
In 2010 he revealed a schedule of ETCC, the new-for-2010 Scandinavian Touring Car Cup and DTC, Danish Touring Car Championship. He won the season opener of ETCC and led the championship, but a few days before the Scandinavian season kicked off, he parted ways with Danish team Hartmann Honda Racing.[3] The two are now back together heading for the second round of ETCC.[4] Thompson successfully defended his ETCC title in 2010.[5]
In 2011, he will be racing for Volvo Olsbergs Green Racing in the STCC.
[edit] Race of Champions
After Jenson Button pulled out of the 2006 Race of Champions, Thompson was announced as his replacement on 13 December 2006. He competed for the English team with fellow touring car driver Andy Priaulx on 16 December 2006.
[edit] Racing record
[edit] Complete DTM results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Audi | HOC 1 |
HOC 2 |
OSC 1 17 |
OSC 2 DNS |
NOR 1 |
NOR 2 |
SAC 1 |
SAC 2 |
NÜR 1 12 |
NÜR 2 16 |
OSC 1 9 |
OSC 2 Ret |
NÜR 1 15 |
NÜR 2 Ret |
HOC 1 13 |
HOC 2 9 |
18th | 4 |
[edit] Complete BTCC results
(key) Races in bold indicate pole position (1 point awarded - 1996-2002 all races, 2003-present just for first race) Races in italics indicate fastest lap (1 point awarded - 2001-present all races) * signifies that driver lead race for at least one lap (1 point given - 1998-2002 just for feature race, 2003-present all races)
[edit] Complete WTCC results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Position | Points | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Alfa Romeo Racing Team | Alfa Romeo 156 | MON  |
MGN  |
SLV  |
IMO |
PUE  |
SPA  |
OSC  |
IST  |
VAL  |
MAC  |
8th | 53 | ||||||||||||||
| 7 | 1 | 11 | 9 | 2 | Ret | 7 | 21 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 19 | Ret | 2 | 4 | Ret | 15 | 7 | Ret | |||||||||
| 2006 | SEAT Sport UK | SEAT León | MON |
MGN |
BRA |
OSC |
CUR  |
PUE |
BRN  |
IST |
VAL |
MAC |
8th | 54 | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 14 | 24 | 17 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 10 | 4 | |||||||||
| 2007 | N.Technology | Alfa Romeo 156 | CUR |
ZAN  |
VAL |
PAU |
BRN |
POR  |
AND  |
OSC |
BRA |
MON |
MAC |
3rd | 79 | |||||||||||||
| Ret | 11 | 13 | 19 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 3 | |||||||
| 2008 | N.Technology | Honda Accord Euro R | CUR |
PUE |
VAL |
PAU |
BRN |
EST |
BRA |
OSC |
IMO |
MON |
OKA  |
MAC |
15th | 25 | ||||||||||||
| 11 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 14 | 15 | Ret | 3 | 1 | Ret | 11 | 17 | 4 | 8 | 14 | |||||||||||
| 2009 | LADA Sport | LADA Priora | CUR |
PUE |
MAR  |
PAU |
VAL |
BRN |
POR |
BRA |
OSC |
IMO |
OKA |
MAC |
17th | 6 | ||||||||||||
| 18 | 15 | 18 | 22 | 6 | 6 | 11 | Ret | DNS | DNS | |||||||||||||||||||
[edit] References
- ^ "Thompson warms up with Danish win". crash.net (Crash Media Group). 2009-05-26. http://www.crash.net/BTCC/News/147417/1/thompson_warms_up_with_danish_win.html. Retrieved 2009-06-03.
- ^ http://www.fiawtcc.com/Read_News.asp?idnews=230 James Thompson joins LADA Sport
- ^ http://racemag.dk/2010/04/21/thompson-og-hartmann-gar-hver-til-sit/
- ^ http://racemag.dk/2010/07/02/hartmann-og-thompson-atter-sammen/
- ^ Allen, Peter (17 October 2010). "Thompson Retains European Crown As Nykjaer Wins Again Thompson". TheCheckeredFlag.co.uk. http://www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk/2010/10/thomson-retains-european-crown-as-nykjaer-wins-again/. Retrieved 17 October 2010.
[edit] External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: |
- Profile from btccinfo.co.uk
- James Thompson's Official Site- Catch up with the latest news
- btcc:action profile
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Nelson Piquet, Jr. |
Autosport National Racing Driver of the Year 2004 |
Succeeded by Matt Neal |
| Sporting positions | ||
| Preceded by Jason Plato |
British Touring Car Champion 2002 |
Succeeded by Yvan Muller |
| Preceded by Yvan Muller |
British Touring Car Champion 2004 |
Succeeded by Matt Neal |
| Preceded by Michel Nykjær |
European Touring Car Cup Champion 2009-2010 |
Succeeded by Fabrizio Giovanardi |
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