Andrew Thompson (born 3 November 1987 in

Byron Bay, New South Wales Byron Bay ( Minjungbal: ''Cavvanbah)'' is a beachside town located in the far-northeastern corner of the state of New South Wales, Australia on Bundjalung Country. It is located north of Sydney and south of Brisbane. Cape Byron, a hea ...

), is an Australian racing driver.

Racing career

Karts

He has a successful career in junior karting. His biggest win was the Australian National Sprint Kart Championship - Junior Piston Port in 2002.

Formula Ford

Thompson's circuit racing career began in

Formula Ford Formula Ford, also known as F1600 and Formula F, is an entry-level class of single seater, open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held across the world form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. Formula For ...

where in the 2004 season placed him into the then new

Spectrum A spectrum (plural ''spectra'' or ''spectrums'') is a condition that is not limited to a specific set of values but can vary, without gaps, across a continuum. The word was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of colors i ...

010 chassis and finished eleventh in his only full-time season in the

Australian Formula Ford Championship The Australian Formula Ford Championship is an Australian motor racing competition for drivers of Formula Ford racing cars, held annually since 1970. From 1970 until 1992 it was a national series and from 1993 until 2013 the series was sanctione ...

V8 Supercar

Dick Johnson Racing

2005 saw a partial season in Formula Ford as he focused on making the transition to V8 Supercar. 2006 saw his V8 Supercar debut racing in

Dick Johnson Racing Dick Johnson Racing (formerly DJR Team Penske), is Australia's oldest motor racing team competing in the Supercars Championship. The team currently fields the #11 and #17 Ford Mustang (sixth generation), Ford Mustang GTs for Anton de Pasqu ...

's three car team in the second tier Fujitsu V8 Supercars Series alongside teammates

Grant Denyer Grant Craig Denyer (born 12 September 1977) is an Australian television and radio presenter and motor racing driver, who has worked for several television networks, including Seven Network and Network 10, mostly serving as a presenter. In 2018 ...

and Marcus La Delle. Thompson finished the season in eighth position, one spot ahead of Denyer. His season highlight was winning the sixth round of the series at

Mount Panorama Mount Panorama Circuit is a motor racing track located in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It is situated on Mount Panorama (Wahluu) and is best known as the home of the Bathurst 1000 motor race held each October, and the Bathurst 12 Hour ...

, winning both races at the meeting where Mark Porter was killed. DJR did not run a team in the Fujitsu series in 2007 but Thompson moved across to the series champions, Howard Racing but only completed a partial season with the team. Thompson did however take two further wins at the third round of the series at

Winton Motor Raceway Winton Motor Raceway is a motor racing track in Winton, near Benalla, Victoria, Australia. History The Benalla Auto Club began planning for a permanent racing track around 1958, as a replacement for their existing track at Barjarg. In 1960 i ...

. Thompson returned to Dick Johnson Racing for the endurance race season where he co-drove with

Alex Davison Alexander Davison (born 3 November 1979) is an Australian racing driver. He won the 2004 Australian Carrera Cup Championship. As part of the Davison motorsport family, he is the older brother of Will Davison, grandson of Lex Davison and cousin ...

in the team's second car. While no points were received at the

Sandown 500 The Sandown 500 (formally known as the Penrite Oil Sandown 500) is an annual endurance motor race which is staged at the Sandown Raceway, near Melbourne, Victoria, Australia from 1964. The event's name, distance – and the category of cars co ...

, Bathurst was a different story with the #18 Falcon racing well all day with Davison on the fringe of the fight for the lead at races end. Eighth was an excellent reward for the duo, backing up team leaders Steven Johnson and

Will Davison William 'THE SOOK' Davison (born 30 August 1982) is an Australian professional racing driver. He currently drives the No.17 Ford Mustang GT for Dick Johnson Racing in the Repco Supercars Championship. Davison is a two-time winner of the Bathur ...

who finished third.

Paul Weel Racing

There was much speculation about Thompson joining Ford Rising Stars Racing full-time for season 2008, so it was a slight surprise when

Paul Weel Racing Paul Weel Racing was an Australian motor racing team which competed in the V8 Supercars Championship Series between 1998 and 2008. Ford Years After some brief appearances in 1997 in minor events, Paul Weel Racing debuted in the 1998 Australi ...

announcedAndrew Thompson signs with PWR Racing
Official Site of the Australian V8 Supercar Championship Series retrieved on 25 January 2008 Thompson would drive for the team in 2008 after the team had previously announced it would be closing and selling its franchises.Weel He Or Not? Auto Action, No. 1272 January 09–15, 2008

Rod Nash Racing

In 2009, Thompson joined

Tony D'Alberto Antonio 'Tony' D'Alberto (born 9 December 1985) is an Australian professional racing driver. He currently drives the No.11 Ford Mustang GT for Dick Johnson Racing as a co-driver in the Bathurst 1000. Racing career Formula Ford D'Alberto began ...

in the #55 The Bottle-O Racing Commodore for the endurance events at Phillip Island and Bathurst. At Phillip Island, the team finished in 15th Position and Bathurst the team finished in the top 10, in 10th Position.

Bundaberg Red Racing Team

Thompson rejoined the series full-time for the 2010 Season, joining

Walkinshaw Racing Walkinshaw Andretti United is an Australian motor racing team based in the Melbourne suburb of Clayton. The team currently fields two Holden ZB Commodores in the Supercars Championship for Nick Percat and Chaz Mostert, along with a Porsche ...

to drive the team's #10 Bundaberg Red Commodore. The year was extremely disappointing, with Thompson finishing 30th, behind numerous part-time drivers. Thompson left the team at season's end.

Triple Eight Race Engineering

For 2011, Thompson joined

Team Vodafone Triple Eight Race Engineering, (branded as Red Bull Ampol Racing) is an Australian motor racing team competing in the Supercars Championship. The team has been the only Brisbane based V8 Supercar team since its formation, originally operating ...

for the endurance events. This led to the team entering a

Monster Energy Monster Energy is an energy drink that was created by Hansen Natural Company (now Monster Beverage Corporation) in April 2002. As of March 2019, Monster Energy had a 35% share of the energy drink market, the second highest share after Red Bull ...

backed car in the Fujitsu V8 series. At the endurance events, Thompson was paired with two-time V8 Supercar champion,

Jamie Whincup Jamie Whincup (born 6 February 1983) is an Australian professional racing driver competing in the Supercars Championship. He currently is team principal for Triple Eight Race Engineering. He has driven the No. 88 Holden Commodore (ZB), Holden Z ...

. At Phillip Island, the #88 Commodore finished in 2nd Place, behind the team's #888 Commodore of

Craig Lowndes Craig Andrew Lowndes (born 21 June 1974) is an Australian racing driver in the Repco Supercars Championship competing in the Holden ZB Commodore for Triple Eight Race Engineering. He is also a TV commentator. Lowndes is a three-time V8 Sup ...

and

Mark Skaife Mark Skaife (born 3 April 1967) is a retired Australian motor racing driver. Skaife is a five-time champion of the V8 Supercar Championship Series, including its predecessor, the Australian Touring Car Championship, as well as a six-time Bath ...

, however at Bathurst Thompson and Whincup finished in 21st position due to Electrical issues. Thompson however won the Fujitsu Series for the team.

Career results

Complete Bathurst 1000 results

References

External links

Driver Database profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Andrew Supercars Championship drivers 1987 births Living people Formula Ford drivers Racing drivers from New South Wales Racing drivers from Queensland Sportspeople from the Gold Coast, Queensland Dick Johnson Racing drivers