Эрик Томпсон: Британский гонщик и книжный дилер

British racing driver (1919–2015)

Eric David Thompson (4 November 1919 – 22 August 2015) was a British racing driver, book dealer and insurance broker. He participated in sports car racing between 1949 and 1955 taking his greatest success by finishing third in the 1951 Les 24 Heures du Mans and took part in the 1952 RAC British Grand Prix. Thompson worked as a broker for Lloyd's of London. His racing career started in 1948, racing cars for HRG. He won the 1.5 litre class in the Les 24 Heures du Mans in 1949 and drove for Aston Martin driving a DB2 to third place in the 1951 24 Hours of Le Mans. He also drove in Formula Libre, RAC Tourist Trophy and Formula Two achieving minor success. He took part in his only Formula One race in the 1952 RAC British Grand Prix finishing fifth, and later spent more time working at Lloyd's. He retired from motor racing at the end of 1955. Thompson resigned from Lloyd's in the 1980s and became a dealer of rare books on motorsport.

Thompson was born on 4 November 1919 in Ditton Hill, Surrey. In his childhood he developed an interest in motorsport, becoming a fan of Richard Seaman. After leaving secondary school, Thompson found a job at Lloyd's of London as a broker. The work was well paid and required commitment, loyalty and long hours of work. Thompson won many awards for his effort and during the Second World War saw active service.

After the war ended Thompson decided to pursue his passion of motor racing. He began his racing career in 1948 at the age of 28 and was well funded. Thompson continued to work at Lloyd's of London and was entitled to two weeks of holiday, with every third weekend off, when he raced. In 1949 Thompson made his debut in the Les 24 Heures du Mans with HRG sharing his drive with Jack Fairman. The pairing won the 1.5 litre class and finished eighth overall. Thompson later took a class win in the Silverstone International Trophy and finished sixth in his class in the Prescott Hillclimb. In 1950 he joined Aston Martin and gave support to three drivers: Reg Parnell, Peter Collins and Roy Salvadori. In 1952 Thompson took part in his third Les 24 Heures du Mans driving an Aston Martin DB3 alongside Parnell but retired from transmission problems. The pair suffered a further retirement from the Goodwood Nine Hours when, during the race, the car being driven by Thompson entered the pitlane with smoke coming out of the car and Parnell was not prepared to take over the seat. Parnell grabbed Thompson by the arm and dragged him out before the car caught fire. In the race he made up a position when Gordini driver Robert Manzon was forced to retire with a clutch problem. He managed to finish in fifth place, three laps behind race winner Alberto Ascari and ahead of 1950 World Drivers' Champion Giuseppe Farina, and behind teammate Dennis Poore.

Thompson participated in the 1953 Les 24 Heures du Mans in an Aston Martin DB3S with Poore with the pairing retiring with ignition failure after 182 laps. In 1955 Thompson announced his retirement from motor racing due to pressure from his job and drove in his final Les 24 Heures du Mans where he retired with engine problems after 60 laps.

Year Team Co Drivers Car Class Laps 1949 Ecurie Lapin Blanc Jack Fairman HRG Lightweight S1.5 202 8th 1st 1950 Aston Martin Ltd. John Gordon Aston Martin DB2 S3.0 8DNFEngine 1951 Aston Martin Ltd. Lance Macklin Aston Martin DB2 S3.0 257 3rd 1st 1955 Aston Martin Ltd. Reg Parnell Aston Martin DB3S S3.0 DNFTransmission 1953 Aston Martin Ltd. Dennis Poore Aston Martin DB3S S3.0 182DNFIgnition 1954 David Brown Dennis Poore Lagonda DP115 S5.0 26DNFAccident 1955 Connaught Engineering Kenneth McAlpine Connaught AL/SR S1.5 60DNFEngine

Year Team Co Drivers Car Class Laps 1949 Ecurie Lapin Blanc Jack Fairman HRG Lightweight S1.5 10th 1st

Year Team Co Drivers Car Class 1948 Ecurie Lapin Blanc Robin Richards HRG Singer 1100 1.1 17th 4th