28/04/2003

Defending BTCC champion, James Thompson, will reach an exciting milestone when he takes to the grid for the first race of the weekend at Brands Hatch. The Yorkshireman, who celebrated his 29th birthday on April 26, will be taking part in his 200th BTCC race.

Having made his BTCC debut in a Privateer Peugeot 405 in 1994 at Thruxton, Thompson went on to secure a works drive in a Vauxhall Motorsport Cavalier the following year. He took two pole positions and one race win in 1995, before a violent crash during testing at Knockhill saw him miss the remainder of the season through injury.

‘Thommo’, as he is nicknamed, won one more race in 1996 before switching to the Prodrive-run Honda team in ’97, where he took his third victory and another pole position. He remained with Honda until the end of the 2000 season, finishing 3rd, 4th and 9th overall in the championship standings. Another high-speed impact in 2000, this time on the Brands Hatch GP circuit, once again saw him sidelined for part of the season.

In 2001, Thompson returned to his Vauxhall roots, driving an Egg Sport Astra Coupe in the new look BTCC. He took five race victories on his way to 3rd position in the championship, behind Jason Plato and Yvan Muller. 2002 was to prove the most successful season to date for Thompson, winning a season-long battle with team-mate Muller to claim his long-awaited first championship title.

Thompson combines defending his crown with a full assault on the British Rally Championship in 2003, where he drives a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6.5. He will be hoping to celebrate his 200th race in style by extending his championship lead at Brands Hatch on Bank Holiday Monday when the BTCC shares top billing with the American Champ Car series.

Year-by-year breakdown of Thompson’s BTCC starts:
1994 - 16
1995 - 15
1996 - 24
1997 - 24
1998 - 26
1999 - 26
2000 - 20
2001 - 26
2002 - 20
2003 - 2
Total: 199