Bobby Thompson endured a rough weekend at Croft, but still leads the Jack Sears Trophy standings as the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship reaches the seasons’ climax.
After qualifying in a season-best seventh position, a penalty for Tom Ingram and Senna Proctor boosted the London-based driver up to fifth.
Racing on a greasy track due to overnight rain, Thompson raced hard with former champions Matt Neal and Ashley Sutton before crossing the line in eighth position – his best result in 2020 to date.
Another eighth-place finish in race two saw Thompson further extend his advantage at the top of the Jack Sears Trophy, but his brilliant weekend was about to end on a rather sour note.
It Just Kept On Going
After a strong start in the third and final race of the day, the GKR Trade Price Cars Racing Audi S3 of Thompson was in the middle of a titanic battle with the Excelr8 Motorsport Hyundai of Proctor.
As the pair went through the Jim Clark Esses – one of the fastest parts of the track – Thompson ran wide and onto the very wet and slippery grass. The car spun and as it did, dug into the turf, pitching it into a roll that just kept on going.
Thankfully, he was able to climb out unharmed after a scary looking incident.
‘Nothing I Could Do’
Thompson and his team must now repair their Audi S3 before the next round of the series at Snetterton later this month.
Thompson admitted: “Obviously what happened there is really disappointing, but once the car was on the grass there was nothing I could do. When it dug in and started to roll, it was just a case of holding on and waiting for it to stop. I’ve been told it looked dramatic on TV, and it certainly felt like it was where I was sitting!
“I’m feeling a bit battered and bruised but I have to give a huge amount of thanks to the team for providing me with such a strong car, and I have every confidence that they can get the damage repaired so we can try to defend our lead in the rounds to come.”
Thompson’s margin in the Jack Sears Trophy now sits at just 37-points from Carl Boardley with just six races reaming in this highly competitive and dramatic season.
Header image courtesy of BTCC/Jakob Ebrey
