Thundersports Series

Last updated
Thundersports Series
Category Sportscar
Country United Kingdom
Inaugural season 1983
Folded 1989

The Thundersports Series was a domestic championship which took place in mainly at Brands Hatch ran circuits, for prototype sportcars and also featured cars that were eligible for Can-Am and Group C2 racing. To bring some real excitement, noise and spectacle back into British motor racing, after the demise of the British Formula One Championship, the BRSCC invented Thundersports. The new series had its debut on Easter Monday 1983 and the country's first major sport car race since the mid-1970s was a resounding success. [1] [2]

The series began in 1983, starting out as a seven race series, five of them being raced at either Brands Hatch, or one of the tracks they operated. By the end of series it remained at Brands Hatch only. Come 1989, the series was down to just nine cars for its final race. The BRDC C2 Championship was meant as a replacement for the dwindling Thundersports series, whilst the C2 Championship would serve to bring international sports car racing seen in the World Sportscar Championship to Britain. [1]

Related Research Articles

The European Grand Prix was a Formula One event that was introduced during the mid-1980s and was held every year from 1993 to 2012, except in 1998. During these years, the European Grand Prix was held in a country that hosted its own national Grand Prix at a different point in the same season, at a different circuit. The race returned as a one-off in 2016, being held on a street circuit in Baku, Azerbaijan; this event was renamed to the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in 2017.

British Grand Prix auto race held in the United Kingdom

The British Grand Prix is a grand prix motor race organised in Great Britain by the Royal Automobile Club. First held in 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 and has been a round of the FIA Formula One World Championship every year since 1950. In 1952, following the transfer of the lease of the Silverstone Circuit to the British Racing Drivers' Club, the RAC delegated the organisation of the race to the BRDC for the first time, and this arrangement has continued for all British Grands Prix held at Silverstone since then.

Brands Hatch race track

Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently hosts many British and International racing events. The venue is owned and operated by Jonathan Palmer's MotorSport Vision organisation.

Zakspeed Auto racing team

Zakspeed is a motor racing team from Germany, founded in 1968 by Erich Zakowski and after that run by his son Peter Zakowski. It is based in Niederzissen, Rhineland-Palatinate, around 25 kilometres (16 mi) from the Nürburgring circuit.

Jonathan Palmer racecar driver

Jonathan Charles Palmer is a British businessman and former Formula One racing driver. Before opting for a career in motor racing, Palmer trained as a physician at London’s Guys Hospital. He also worked as a junior physician at Cuckfield and Brighton hospitals.

Desiré Randall Wilson is a former racing driver from South Africa and one of only five women to have competed in Formula One. Born in Brakpan, she entered one Formula One World Championship Grand Prix in 1980 with a non-works RAM Racing-prepared Williams FW07, but failed to qualify. She also raced in the 1981 non-world championship South African Grand Prix in a one off deal with Tyrrell Racing. This race was not part of the 1981 world championship due, in part, to the FISA–FOCA war. She qualified 16th and, after a disastrous start where the car stalled, she moved up through the field in wet conditions, as conditions dried she fell back and damaged the car when it touched a wall while she was letting the race leader through.

Gary Thomas Brabham is a former professional racing driver from Australia and a British Formula 3000 champion.

British Touring Car Championship auto racing championship in the United Kingdom

The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom, currently organised and administered by TOCA. It was established in 1958 as the British Saloon Car Championship and was renamed as the British Touring Car Championship for the 1987 season. The championship, currently running Next Generation Touring Car regulations, has been run to various national and international regulations over the years including FIA Group 2, FIA Group 5, FIA Group 1, FIA Group A, FIA Super Touring and FIA Super 2000. A lower-key Group N class for production cars ran from 2000 until 2003.

Formula Ford race car class

Formula Ford 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 Ford has traditionally been regarded as the first major stepping stone into formula racing after karting. The series typically sees professional career minded drivers enter alongside amateurs and enthusiasts. Success in Formula F can lead directly to other junior formulae such as a Formula Renault 2.0 and Formula Three.

Thundersports was a variety of sports car racing introduced by John Webb of Brands Hatch fame.

The Kumho BMW Championship is a single make racing series based in the UK. Exclusively for BMWs, the championship is run by the BMW Racing Drivers Club in conjunction with the British Automobile Racing Club (BARC). The championship is a BARC registered, BMW-exclusive motorsport series.

The BRDC C2 Championship was a short lived sports car racing series which ran from 1988 to 1990. The series was for Group C cars which fit into the smaller, less powerful, and cheaper C2 category. All races were run in the United Kingdom. The British Racing Drivers' Club ran the series during its lifetime.

Motorsport in the United Kingdom

Motorsport is a popular sport in the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom is a key player in the world of motorsport, hosting rounds of the Formula One World Championship, World Rally Championship and Grand Prix motorcycle racing, amongst others. It is also the home of many of the current teams in Formula One, such as McLaren and Williams, while teams such as Red Bull Racing, Mercedes and Renault are also based in England. There are also a range of popular national series held such as the British Touring Car Championship. The Motor Sports Association is the official governing body of motorsport in the United Kingdom.

Formula Ford Festival auto race in the United Kingdom

The Formula Ford Festival is an annual meeting of Ford powered single seat racing cars which is held at the end of the British racing season, at the Brands Hatch motor racing circuit in the county of Kent, in Southern England. The events are held over the course of a weekend and although various classes of past and present Formula Fords are present, the high point for many is the championship in which young but skilled drivers from Ford competitions in Europe and beyond race against one another. Often it is a rare chance to compare the skills of drivers who take part in different Ford competitions across the world. Many winners of the festival have gone on to enjoy professional careers in various branches of motorsport - including fourteen who have raced in Formula One.

MotorSport Vision motorsport promoting company

MotorSport Vision (MSV) is a motorsport organisations and an operator of six UK venues. MSV has a portfolio ranging from major two and four wheel championships to organising the PalmerSport corporate driving event.

Robin Donovan British former racing driver

Robin Donovan is a British former racing driver. He is best known for competing in 14 editions of the Le Mans 24 hours race; his best result there being 6th overall, 3rd in class (LMP1) and 1st privateer home driving with 5 x Le Mans winner Derek Bell MBE and Daytona 24 hours winner Jurgen Lassig in 1994 with the Gulf Racing entered and sponsored Kremer Porsche K8.

2013 Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain

The 2013 Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain was a multi-event, one make motor racing championship held across England and Scotland. The championship featured a mix of professional motor racing teams and privately funded drivers, competing in Porsche 911 GT3 cars that conform to the technical regulations for the championship. It is a multi class championship, with drivers grouped based on their ability and experience into three classes: Professional, Professional-Amateur 1 and Professional-Amateur 2. It forms part of the extensive program of support categories built up around the BTCC centrepiece.

Ford C100

The Ford C100 is a sports racing car, initially built and run as a Group 6 car, but later as a Group C car. The C100 was built by Ford in 1981, and initially featured a 4-litre Cosworth DFL V8 engine, which was replaced by a 3.3-litre version of the same engine in 1983, after the car had passed to private hands. Five cars are known to have been built. Although the cars were often very quick in qualifying, reliability problems plagued them, and restricted their successes to two Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft victories in 1982, and a single Thundersports victory in 1983. Following the end of Ford's involvement in the C100 project in 1983, Zakspeed modified one of the chassis into the C1/4, which used a 1.8-litre turbocharged in-line 4 from their Group 5 Ford Capri. The C100 was also evolved into the Zakspeed C1/8, which used the 4-litre Cosworth DFL in a C1/4 chassis. The Zakspeed cars would prove to be far more successful than the C100 had ever been, and Klaus Niedzwiedz used a C1/8 to win the Interserie in 1984.

Royale Race Cars was a British constructor of race cars in the 20th century. The company produced single seaters as well as sports cars.

Michael Thomas Salmon was a British racing driver from England who competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans between 1962 and 1984. He was also active in the British Saloon Car Championship and the World and European Endurance championships.

References

  1. 1 2 "Thundersports". Classicscars.com. Retrieved 2013-10-28.
  2. Swinger, Peter (2008), Motor Racing Circuits in England: Then & Now, Ian Allan Publishing, ISBN   0711031045