| This biography was written by Richard Jenkins. |
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| Last updated: 22-September-2002 | |
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Background
Lloyd's man Thompson took his 2 points in just one F1 title race |
Eric Thompson was the archetypal amateur driver for whom racing was just fun, but there was a stark difference between Eric and many of the others who turned up for a 'nice Sunday afternoon drive': Eric wasn't paying for the privilege. Had he made more than the one Grand Prix appearance, there would be no doubt that Eric Thompson would have amassed enough points to stay out of F1 Rejects' '3 points rule'. But 2 points was his total, and at least it gives us a chance to remember him in a bit more detail.
Born in the affluent area of Ditton Hill, near Surbiton in Surrey, Thompson had nothing to do with motor sport before the war except for being a fan, in particular of the exploits of Richard Seaman. But Eric was far from muddling around with nothing to do. Working his way through the educational system, he became an extremely competent stockbroker, and was taken on by Lloyds' of London, the historic shipping company. It was a job that paid fantastically well, but also required a commitment to long hours and undivided loyalty. |
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1948
Takes every third weekend off to indulge the racing bug! |
Thompson was indeed a first rate broker who enjoyed the superb social standing and the many rewards of his job. And although he continued to serve the company during World War Two when business stepped up as opposed to shutting down altogether, he also fought for his country in battle. But after the war had ended, Britain was changed forever in many ways. One of them was that men of a certain age realised how precious their lives now were after seeing friends and comrades die, and now they wanted to make the most of it.
Eric was one such person. Fit and well and with a fair few bob in his pocket, he now had the chance to divulge in his favourite pastime and made his racing debut in 1948, at the relatively late age of 28. (To look at him, you might think he was older than that, but Eric had receding hair early on, doubtless due to stress from the war and his hectic day job.) He was still working at Lloyds', but he was able to get two weeks holiday a year, plus every third weekend off, and so for the next eight years those were the times he went racing. |
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1948-50
Takes class victory at Le Mans 24hrs in just his second race |
Making his racing debut in the Paris 12 Hours at Montlhery in 1948, he finished 4th in the 1.5 litre class and 17th overall sharing Robin Richard's HRG, which whet his appetite for more. In 1949, he would make his first start in the Le Mans 24hrs in another HRG entered by Ecurie Lapin Blanc. Paired with sports car veteran and WWII hero Jack Fairman, Thompson won his class, finishing 8th overall in what was only his second race. They then also won their class at the Spa 24 Hours.
Competing also in national events in his own HRG, Eric won two Goodwood Handicaps, took 11th overall and a class win at the Silverstone International Trophy, and also came 6th in class at a Prescott Hillclimb. In 1950, he joined Aston Martin, where he stayed until 1954. There Eric knew his role: he, Dennis Poore and Pat Griffiths were to support the trio of works pros, Peter Collins, Reg Parnell and Roy Salvadori. But Eric was not just a middling middle stint driver; more often than not, he made the difference to the race result. |
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1950-51
Reliable Aston Martin pilot takes to single seaters in F3 and FLibre |
His first race for Aston was in a one hour production race at Silverstone where he came 14th overall, finishing 4th in his class. But at Le Mans, where he shared an Aston Martin DB2 with American John Gordon, he was forced out with an engine problem after only 9 laps. Thompson also continued to campaign his HRG and took a class win (and 2nd overall) at Blandford, 3rd in a Goodwood Handicap and another class win (and 3rd overall) in the Cambridge University Sprint at Bedwell Hey.
Also that year, in his single-seater outing, he retired an F3 Cooper Vincent at Castle Combe. He had more open-wheeler races in 1951, taking the Cooper to 5th in the Goodwood Lavant Cup, and finishing 5th in a Bugatti T51 in Boreham Libre event. He also competed in Rob Walker's ERA/Delage and Delahaye in other Libre races, and in sports cars drove Walker's Aston Martin DB2 to 8th, 3rd in class, at the Tourist Trophy. For the works team, he shared a DB2 at Le Mans with Lance Macklin, where they came 3rd overall, winning the 3 litre class. |
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1952
Close shave with Parnell saving Eric from an erupting fireball |
1952 was then perhaps Thompson's busiest year behind the wheel. In the works Aston Martin DB3, he teamed up with Parnell at Le Mans, but retired from transmission problems. The pair also retired from the Goodwood 9 Hours, but that was somewhat more spectacular. At one stage Thompson came into the pits with smoke pouring from the tail of the car, and was surprised to see no sign of Parnell in the pit bay, ready to take over the car in a quick driver change.
Instead, Parnell grabbed Eric by the arm and dragged him out, leading him out of the way in front of the car. The car then blew up into a ball of flame. Parnell had just saved Thompson's life. "We had planned to do short stints, the idea to keep the drivers fresh and the cars light, but it wasn't working and we changed strategy. Because of this there was confusion with a fuel churn and they overfilled the car. And whoosh! A red-hot seized rear brake calliper was the spark." |
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1952
Wins at Goodwood and Snetterton; takes the helm of 'A6' Connaught |
Elsewhere he also drove a DB2 entered by Walker, winning two handicap events at Goodwood and one at Snetterton. He also came 7th and 8th in other races at Snetterton, and also finished 3rd in class at the CUAC Bottisham Sprint. In single-seater events, where he also drove for Rob Walker, he placed 2nd, 7th and 10th in races at Snetterton, and 3rd at Boreham and Castle Combe, in an ERA/Delage, and in the Delahaye he was 5th in the Goodwood handicap. In his own ERA Eric was also 10th in the British Grand Prix Libre event.
Perhaps more importantly, Thompson took a step up in terms of single seater machinery, doing several races in a Connaught A-Type, chassis 'A6'. He was superb in qualifying for the Madgwick Cup at Goodwood, taking pole position, but he crashed out of the race. He made up for it somewhat, though, at Charterhall, where he piloted the car to 6th. And it would also be in that car that he made his one and only World Championship Grand Prix appearance at the British GP at Silverstone on the weekend of 17-19 July, 1952. |
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1952 Connaught Sensational performance sees Eric in 9th spot in a field of 31 |
While the Connaught Thompson had at his disposal for the British GP, complete with its Lea Francis engine, was a works car that was fast and capable, it was by no means the top line machine that weekend. Of the grid of 31, the works Ferraris were the class of the field, with Giuseppe Farina, Alberto Ascari and Piero Taruffi miles ahead of everyone else. They were joined on the front row by Robert Manzon in the Gordini, followed by Ken Downing in an incredible 5th in the first of the Connaughts.
Parnell and Mike Hawthorn were next in the Coopers, with Poore 8th in another Connaught, and then Thompson in a sensational 9th spot, 7 seconds off Farina's pole time. To gauge Eric's achievement, just look at some of the drivers he out-qualified. They included Prince B Bira, Duncan Hamilton, Peter Collins, Rudi Fischer, Connaught maestro Ken McAlpine, a youngster called Stirling Moss, Roy Salvadori, Peter Whitehead, Maurice Trintignant, Baron Emmanuel de Graffenried and Harry Schell. |
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1952
Beats out Farina in a straight fight for 5th, and 2 points |
When the race started, Thompson got off to a solid getaway, and Manzon's retirement early on moved him up a spot. Eric kept it clean and tidy, hoping that the leaders would drop out. They didn't. Ascari breezed to victory, Taruffi was an easy 2nd and Hawthorn came 3rd. But Downing had been unable to match his qualifying pace, and both 1950 World Champion Farina and Parnell dropped back. That left, in 4th and 5th places, the two Connaughts of Poore and Thompson, even though Eric was three laps down!
Had there been more retirements, then maybe Eric might have even taken a podium, but it was still a great effort nonetheless. Not only could Thompson take away two World Championship points, leaving him equal 16th in the 1952 title, he also had the huge satisfaction that he had beaten Farina in a straight fight for the last points finish by 13 seconds. With a performance like this, it still seems amazing, and perhaps even a bit of a pity, that this was Thompson's only World Championship Grand Prix start. |
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1953
Stunning final stint to win at Goodwood 9 hours with Parnell |
If his one GP start had been a highlight, then so was 1953. Despite retiring at Le Mans in an Aston Martin DB3S with Poore after 182 laps with ignition failure, Parnell and Thompson returned to the scene of their drama at the Goodwood 9 Hours. Parnell took the first stint, handing over to Eric after 70 laps at full pace. Thompson blitzed the next 77 laps, then Parnell took over again, but after just 22 laps Reg was back in the pits, having suffered a puncture. A new Avon tyre was on in seconds and Reg roared off for another 53 laps.
The last change was at 9.45pm. As Eric took over, Parnell explained that the clutch was refusing to disengage. Using the starter motor, Eric rejoined the race in the dark, with 2 hours, 15 minutes to go. He was 4th, some 4 laps behind the leading Jaguar. But Thompson refused to give up, and put his foot down. With a bit of good fortune, at midnight he passed the chequered flag as the winner. The pair then also took 2nd place in the Tourist Trophy behind the other team car of Collins and Griffiths. |
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1953-54
Plenty of success, but Thompson soon winds down the racing focus |
In other sports car races, Thompson finished 2nd at Thruxton, 5th in the Goodwood Easter Handicap in an Aston Martin DB2, and 6th in a Libre race with a DB3, but retired from the 6 hour relay at Silverstone in a Riley. But in single-seaters, further outings in a Connaught (the A-Type chassis 'A3' this time) brought two F2 wins at Snetterton in April and September, and 2nd in a Libre race. He also had the opportunity to race Stirling Moss's Cooper Alta in an event at Silverstone.
Eric had always been a modest man and this seemed to show as he raced less frequently. In his mind he had achieved all he set out to do, with his victory at Goodwood and his fine performance at the 1952 British GP. Most other observers didn't see it that way but Eric was happy enough, knowing that the more races he did, the more he risked his life and career. 1954 was spent largely on the national scene racing an Aston Martin DB2, although he did contest Le Mans in a Lagonda DP115 with Poore, but the car crashed out after only 25 laps. |
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1955-2002
Last hurrahs at Goodwood and Le Mans before retiring to Lloyds |
In 1955, now 34, Eric announced his retirement from top line driving but not before one last Le Mans effort and one last hurrah at the Goodwood 9 Hours in a Connaught AL/SR Lea Francis with McAlpine. The pair retired from the former with engine problems after 60 laps, and came 16th in the latter, despite Thompson having to push the car to the finish in the dead of the night. His last competitive drive came a year later, when he finished 2nd in his class at the CUAC Speed Trials with a 498cc Jason.
From there on, Lloyd's came first and Thompson never raced again. Eric retired from Lloyd's in the 1980s has since become well known for his superb motoring bookshop, run from near his home in Guildford. Virtually any book on motor racing is available there - Eric is only too aware of which publications featured him in profile, naming for us the magazines, volumes and publication dates! His business is one of the best, successful and highly rated in its field. Despite now being in his eighties, he shows no sign of slowing down. |
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Personal
Regularly attends historic festivals, often as unrivalled bookseller |
Aside from "answering about 10 letters a day from German autograph collectors for signed photos!", he still makes as many historic festivals as he can, either as a bookseller or as a highly valued guest. He attended the Ancien Pilotes annual meeting in Monaco this year, and a photo of him there appears in our picture index. His typically cheery and witty comment with the photo was, "As you can see, my hair style has not changed much in the last 60 years!"
A true gentleman, Eric Thompson. One who kept a healthy sense of perspective when he raced, who knew that he "had a living to make and there was no money in racing in those days". He has few mementoes from his time especially with Aston Martin "The prize money went to the team as did the trophies - I haven't got a single pot from any of my exploits with Aston Martin" - but who is humble enough not to really seem to care too much about the trappings of racing success. |
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Personal
Eric a gentleman and a team player (with Aston playing the team game!) |
Very much a team player too, who whilst driving for Aston Martin never failed to thank legendary team manager John Wyer for a "very enjoyable weekend" after every race, before slipping his jacket back on and preparing to go to work the next day. And, considering the current furore about F1 team orders, I wrote to him just after the Ferrari debacle at the Austrian GP, 2002, asking him about any team orders laid down to him and whether or not he accepted them without question - this was his reply:
"None were given when driving for Connaught - only don't exceed 6,300 revs which wasn't very helpful as the rev counter broke after 5 laps!! John Wyer at Astons was always quite specific. He orchestrated lap times and everyone was happy. At Le Mans, Moss went out to break the opposition with no prospect of finishing; Reg Parnell and I won the Goodwood 9 Hour race, so it was Peter Collins & Pat Griffiths' turn for the TT. Ferrari made the mistake of doing it so publicly!" |
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