Tom Bridger

{{Short description|British racing driver (1934{{ndash}}1991)}}

{{Infobox F1 driver|

name = Tommy Bridger |

nationality = {{flagicon|GBR}} British |

birth_date = {{birth date|1934|6|24|df=y}} |

birth_place = Woolmer Green, Hertfordshire, England, UK |

death_date = {{death date and age|1991|7|30|1934|6|24|df=y}} |

death_place = Logie Coldstone, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, UK |

Years = {{F1|1958}} |

Team(s) = British Racing Partnership |

Races = 1 |

Championships = 0 |

Wins = 0 |

Podiums = 0 |

Points = 0 |

Poles = 0 |

Fastest laps = 0 |

First race = 1958 Moroccan Grand Prix |

}}

Thomas Bridger (24 June 1934 – 30 July 1991) was a British racing driver from England. He participated in one Formula One World Championship Grand Prix, on 19 October 1958, scoring no championship points. His greatest success came in Formula Three, where he won 15 races.{{cite web|last=Jenkins|first=Richard|title=Where are they now: Tommy Bridger|url=http://www.oldracingcars.com/driver/Tommy_Bridger|work=Old Racing Cars|accessdate=3 June 2012}}

Career

Born in Woolmer Green, Hertfordshire, Bridger started racing in Formula Three in 1953,{{cite web|last=Williamson|first=Martin|title=Tom Bridger profile|url=http://en.espnf1.com/f1/motorsport/driver/753.html|work=ESPN F1|publisher=ESPN|accessdate=3 June 2012}} initially competing minor events in a Kieft-Norton before moving to a Cooper to compete full-time in Formula Three in 1957.{{cite web|title=Statistics: Tommy Bridger|url=http://www.autocoursegpa.com/driver.asp?driver_id=11629|work=Grand Prix Archive|publisher=Crash Media Group|accessdate=3 June 2012|url-status=usurped|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20130117141708/http://www.autocoursegpa.com/driver.asp?driver_id=11629|archivedate=17 January 2013|df=dmy-all}} He achieved some success racing with Jim Russell, one of the more successful drivers in the category.{{cite web|title=Tommy Bridger profile|url=http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/drv-britom.html|work=GrandPrix.com|publisher=Inside F1|accessdate=3 June 2012}} He moved up to Formula Two in 1958, finishing second in the Crystal Palace Trophy race, and eighth in the Coupe de Vitesse at Reims.

Bridger raced in the 1958 Moroccan Grand Prix with British Racing Partnership, driving a Formula Two-class Cooper T45. He qualified in 22nd place, and Bridger got up to 14th before his race was ended by a collision on lap 30. The crash involved three vehicles, but Bridger emerged unharmed.

He returned to Formula Three in 1959 with the Cooper-Norton car, winning four races throughout the year. In 1960, he raced in Formula Junior, competing in a works Lotus at the British Grand Prix.

Bridger died at Logie Coldstone, Aberdeenshire in 1991 at the age of 57 years.{{Cite web|url=http://www.statsf1.com/en/tom-bridger.aspx|title=Tom BRIDGER • STATS F1|last=F1|first=STATS|website=www.statsf1.com|language=en|access-date=2017-12-18}}

Racing record

=Complete Formula One World Championship results=

(key)

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%"

! Year

! Entrant

! Chassis

! Engine

! 1

! 2

! 3

! 4

! 5

! 6

! 7

! 8

! 9

! 10

! 11

! WDC

! Points

1958

! British Racing Partnership

! Cooper T45 (F2)

! Climax Straight-4

| ARG

| MON

| NED

| 500

| BEL

| FRA

| GBR

| GER

| POR

| ITA

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| MOR
{{small|Ret}}

! NC

! 0

=Complete British Saloon Car Championship results=

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:85%" ! Year ! Team ! Car ! Class ! 1 ! 2 ! 3 ! 4 ! 5 ! 6 ! 7 ! 8 ! 9 ! DC ! Pts ! Class
1958 ! Metcalfe & Munday ! Borgward Isabella TS ! {{Tooltip\|B\|Class B}} \| BRH \|style="background:#FFFFBF;"\| BRH 1‡ \|style="background:#DFDFDF;"\| MAL 6† \|style="background:#FFFFBF;"\| BRH ?† \|style="background:#FFFFBF;"\| BRH 4† \| CRY \| BRH \| BRH \| BRH ! NC ! 0 ! NC
1959 ! Tom Bridger ! Borgward Isabella TS ! {{Tooltip\|B\|Class B}} \| GOO \| AIN \| SIL \| CRY \|style="background:#EFCFFF;"\| SNE Ret \| BRH \| BRH \| \| ! NC ! 0 ! NC
colspan="16"\|{{center\|{{small\|Source:{{cite web \|last1=de Jong \|first1=Frank \|title=British Saloon Car Championship \|url=http://www.touringcarracing.net/Pages/BSCC.html \|website=History of Touring Car Racing 1952-1993 \|access-date=7 October 2022}}}}}}

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:85%"

! Year

! Team

! Car

! Class

! 1

! 2

! 3

! 4

! 5

! 6

! 7

! 8

! 9

! DC

! Pts

! Class

1958

! Metcalfe & Munday

! Borgward Isabella TS

! {{Tooltip|B|Class B}}

| BRH

|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| BRH
1‡

|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| MAL
6†

|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| BRH
?†

|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| BRH
4†

| CRY

| BRH

! NC

! 0

! NC

1959

! Tom Bridger

! Borgward Isabella TS

! {{Tooltip|B|Class B}}

| GOO

| AIN

| SIL

| CRY

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| SNE
Ret

| BRH

! NC

! 0

! NC

colspan="16"|{{center|{{small|Source:{{cite web |last1=de Jong |first1=Frank |title=British Saloon Car Championship |url=http://www.touringcarracing.net/Pages/BSCC.html |website=History of Touring Car Racing 1952-1993 |access-date=7 October 2022}}}}}}

† Events with 2 races staged for the different classes.

‡ Event with 3 races staged for the different classes.

References

Category:1934 births

Category:People from Welwyn Hatfield (district)

Category:1991 deaths

Category:English racing drivers

Category:English Formula One drivers

Category:British Racing Partnership Formula One drivers

Category:24 Hours of Le Mans drivers

Category:World Sportscar Championship drivers

Category:20th-century English sportsmen