Hailing from Hornchurch, Bobby Thompson has always been determined that he would become a seasoned racing driver.
He started karting back in 2006 and worked his way up through various series until he finally reached the British Touring Car Championship – a series which many believe to be the pinnacle of British motorsport.
Thompson earned his promotion to the BTCC in 2018 after becoming the champion of the Milltek Sport Volkswagen Racing Cup in 2017, racing with Team HARD.
He remained with the Kent-based outfit for his first two years in the BTCC, before signing with GKR Trade Price Cars Racing ahead of last season’s campaign. Thompson had been part of Team HARD for four years in total, starting out with them in the 2016 MSV Racing Cup.
Not The Way He Wanted It To End
The 2020 season proved to be a good one for the Hornchurch-based driver, although it didn’t quite have the ending he would have wanted.
Going into the Croft Thompson has his hand firmly on the Jack Sears Trophy, leading the way on 280 points with a 27-point lead over his nearest competitor, Carl Boardley.
Thompson was going strong during the Croft weekend, describing it as ‘his best weekend in BTCC.’
However, the weekend soon took a turn for the worst during the third and final race of the weekend. He and Senna Proctor came into contact on the run out of tower with the collision sending Thompson’s car skidding along the grass, before it was propelled into the air and into a series of barrel rolls.
His Audi S3 GKR Trade Price Cars Racing Touring Car eventually stopped rolling and Thompson clambered out.
He was immediately taken to hospital where his condition was assessed. Luckily, Thompson was all ok, having gained no substantial injuries other than feeling ‘battered and bruised’.
He was determined to re-join the BTCC circus when the series headed to Snetterton just two weeks later.
However, he was still suffering with concussion and his season unfortunately ended after he was ruled out the final two weekends of the competition on medical grounds.
Despite missing the final two race weekends, Thompson still managed to achieve his highest points tally since joining the BTCC in 2018, with 101 points. He missed out on the Jack Sears Trophy but still managed to finish fifth out of 17 competitors.
‘We Have Struggled To Secure The Budget’
He had hoped to be on the grid for the forthcoming campaign, but due to sponsorship issues, he couldn’t secure the budget required to compete in the series.
Like a look of racing disciplines, the Coronavirus pandemic has taken its toll on the drivers and has left a few of them without a seat for 2021.
Thompson said: “It’s unfortunate to announce that I will not be competing in the BTCC for the 2021 season. Due to the hardship that COVID has brought to businesses, we have struggled to secure the budget required to compete for the full season.
“We will continue to work with our current sponsors who will have a visual presence this season with a BTCC team, and there are opportunities for me to compete in other race series as a guest driver for one or two rounds throughout the year.
“With the good news that we are slowly coming out of this lockdown, I hope to see more sponsors and guests trackside this year.
Thank you to everyone that’s supported me over the last few seasons – I look forward to meeting up with you BTCC fans and being back in a BTCC car for 2022.”
Although he is missing out on a drive this year, he is hoping to have a few races as a guest driver in other racing competitions.
Thompson hasn’t explicitly announced what he wants to do in the near future but hopes to be back on the BTCC grid in 2022.
Without A Seat
Since his announcement, Thompson has dabbled in the virtual world of racing, competing in the VCO ProSIM Series, coming up against the likes of Max Verstappen. He came sixth in the most recent round at Spa-Francorchamps.
So, what do all these issues mean for BTCC going forward? Already this year, we’ve seen a high-profile figures in the BTCC world find themselves without a seat. Dan Cammish, who finished the last two seasons in third place, will seemingly not be continuing in the series this year and will instead be racing in the Porsche Carerra Cup Great Britain.
It still hasn’t been fully confirmed at the time of writing as to why Cammish won’t be continuing with the Halfords Yuasa Racing squad, but it’s a big shock to the BTCC fan base.
Due to ongoing Covid-19 restrictions, the start of the 2021 season has been delayed from its usual early April start date, with the first round getting underway at Thruxton on the 9th of May.
Under current government guidelines, the event won’t be able to have any spectators, but the competition is hoping to welcome back fans trackside later in the year.
