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Mike Thackwell

Mike Thackwell
  • Surname
    Thackwell
  • First name
    Michael Christopher "Mike"
  • Date of birth
    30.03.1961

At the end of the 1970s, many observers saw this New Zealander from Papakura near Auckland, who stood in the great tradition of his compatriots Bruce McLaren and Denny Hulme, as a future Formula 1 star. After beginnings in motocross, he won the Western Australian Championship in karting in 1975, at the age of 14. In 1978, Thackwell had moved to Great Britain in the meantime, he took part in the British Formula Ford, winning five races at the first attempt and finishing third in the championship in the final standings.

The following year he contested the British Formula 3 Championship, again winning five rounds and finishing third in the championship, as he had done the year before. At the same time, he also competed in the Formula 3 European Championship and finished the year in eighth place overall.

In 1980, he took part in a number of races in the Formula 2 European Championship and finished the season in 8th place in the drivers' championship.

In the same year, Thackwell was offered a test driver contract with Ken Tyrrell's Formula 1 team and made his racing debut – albeit a short one – at the Canadian Grand Prix in the same season. After a permanent cockpit in the premier class could not be realised, the New Zealander concentrated on Formula 2 again in the following year 1981 and suffered severe head injuries and a complicated foot fracture in a serious accident during testing at Thruxton. Nevertheless, he won the title in this category in superior style in 1984.

In 1984 and 1985, Thackwell also competed in the Group C World Sports Car Championship and Formula 3000. From 1986, he competed in the Sauber-Mercedes C 8 as a team-mate of Henri Pescarolo and John Nielsen. Together with the Frenchman, he won the 1000-kilometre race at the Nürburgring in the C 8.

Contrary to expectations, the following season in the Sauber-Mercedes team was extremely disappointing for Thackwell and, apart from a seventh place alongside Jean-Louis Schlesser in the new Sauber-Mercedes C 9 at the 1000-kilometre race in Spa-Francorchamps, he had no notable success. After that, Thackwell only competed once more in a Formula 3000 race and, despite being only 26 years old, turned his back on motorsport in frustration at the end of 1988.

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