Former Le Mans star Eric Thompson died on August 22. He was 95. Self-deprecating and quick to smile, he epitomised the gentleman driver. Racing was something he did during his downtime and he did it well. And not for him mere ten lap club thrashes between hay bales.
Growing up in Cobham, Surrey, the nearby Brooklands circuit was a regular haunt as a boy although his first-ever competitive event was off-piste: he competed on the 1939 Exeter Trial where he recorded a Premier Award. He would not venture trackside until he was 28-years-old: he finished fourth in class in the 1948 Paris 12 Hours at Monthléry, sharing a HRG 1100 with Robin Richards.
Thompson subsequently acquired a ‘shop-soiled’ HRG 1500 chassis which was prepared by Monaco Motors under the watchful eye of MD John Wyer. Thompson and co-driver Jack Fairman claimed a class win in the 1949 Le Mans 24 Hours. Two weeks later, they recorded category honours in the Spa 24 Hours. Thompson became a works Aston Martin driver the following year, and in 1951 took another class win at Le Mans alongside Lance Macklin. His biggest win was the 1953 Goodwood Nine Hours alongside Aston stalwart, Reg Parnell, Thompson having finished fifth during his sole World Championship Grand Prix outing a year earlier at Silverstone aboard an untried Connaught. Behind him was former world champion, ‘Nino’ Farina. “My reward was £83.6s.8d,” he recalled. “Naturally I was delighted. My retainer at Aston Martin was £25 for the season.”
