Hillsborough lad back into racing

The promising racing driver broke his back in SIX places at the start of the last season but just a year on, he’s gearing up for another title bid.

The accident happened in his third race of the 2015 campaign as his throttle stuck open, causing a major crash and all but ending Thompson’s season.

He even managed to get back into the driver’s seat before the end of the year and showed his injury had done nothing to hamper his talents.

The 17 year-old regained his usual spot on the podium, in a saloon car he had never driven before on slick tyres that he had never used before at a circuit he had never seen before. Not bad.

And now Thompson is preparing for the British GT4 Series with Team Hard Racing.

He will be competing in a new Ginetta G55 GT4 car which only weighs 1000kg, has 360 BHP, 6 speed paddle shift gearbox & no ABS or traction control.

When that is combined with the fact that he will be racing milometres away from his competitors at speeds of up to 180MPH on circuits he has never raced on before, it will surely prove quite a challenge.

The British GT Championship is a world-renowned race series, the F1 of saloon car racing.

It will be a new experience for Thompson, who was the 2014 Ginetta Junior Ireland Championship winner.

The GT Series involved long two to three hour races and Thompson will have to get used to racing with a team-mate. The drives take stints in the car no less than 50 minutes, meaning the race strategy is a massive part of the competition.

Physical fitness and mental concentration are key in such enduring races.

Wilson will head to England for every race bar one, a trip to Belgium in July. He will begin at Brands Hatch next month for round one as he looks to get his racing career back on track.

The series will certainly provide a challenge for the local racer but one he is relishing and will be ready to go come 16th April at Brands Hatch.