Bobby Thompson (racing driver)

Robert David Thompson (born 27 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. He was the 2022 Jack Sears Trophy winner.

Early career
After 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.

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.

VW Racing Cup
In 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.

2018
Following 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. 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
In October 2018, it was announced that Thompson had re-signed for Team HARD for the 2019 season, again driving a Volkswagen CC. 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
For 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. 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. 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
Due to financial constraints following his crash the previous season, Thompson was forced to sit out from the 2021 season. 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.

2022
Thompson returned to the championship for the 2022 season, driving a Cupra León for Team HARD. 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.

2023
Thompson continued with Team HARD in the 2023 British Touring Car Championship, driving a new Cupra León. 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.

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". He was replaced by Michael Crees.

Personal life
Thompson's cousin Aaron Thompson is also a racing driver, who won the 2015 BRSCC Fiesta Junior Championship and the Clio Class of the 2021 Britcar Endurance Championship.

Racing career summary
† As Thompson was a guest driver, he was ineligible for championship points. * Season still in progress.

Complete British Touring Car Championship results
(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)


 * Season still in progress.