Jochen Rindt was king of Thruxton, Bernie Ecclestone’s protege winning the super-fast Hampshire airfield track’s first three European Formula 2 Championship rounds from 1968-1970. Fittingly, the ill-starred Austrian’s prowess is recalled in the centrepiece of the venue’s annual summer historic racing, music and lifestyle event, rebranded Thruxton Retro last year.
Originated by Rob Manger, the 2026 Rindt Trophy contests featured thrilling duels between previous unrelated victors Rory Smith and Tom Smith, driving 1600cc FAtlantic chassis harnessing technology a decade apart. Both won a leg, 2023 winner Rory taking the aggregate verdict by 1.043 seconds in his ex-Charlie Batka/Jeff Krosnoff Ralt RT4/82 wing car over 2024 victor Tom aboard his conventional flat-bottomed ex-Bruce Jensen March 74B.