Neil Crompton
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Neil Crompton (born 30 July 1960) is a well-known V8 Supercars presenter and commentator for Australia's Channel Seven, having previously worked in a similar role at Network Ten. Neil ("Cromley" to his friends and colleagues) has more than 15 years of professional racing car driving under his belt which allows him to "speak from experience" when commentating. He currently co-manages (with British Touring Car Championship series director Alan Gow) ex-British Formula Three driver and V8 Supercar rising star, James Courtney.
Contents |
[edit] Racing career
[edit] Highlights
According to the official V8 Supercars website[1], Crompton has competed in 345 car racing events, finishing in the first three places on 57 occasions. 230 of those races were with the V8 Supercars series or its progenitors, including three second places and ten thirds.
He has raced at the famous Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales on more than 20 occasions, with his best results being two third placings in the Bathurst 1000 — in 1992 with Anders Olofsson in a Gibson Motor Sport Nissan GT-R and in 1995 with Wayne Gardner in a Wayne Gardner Racing Holden Commodore in addition to winning the 1994 12 Hour endurance race with Gregg Hansford in a factory supported Mazda RX-7.
[edit] Early years
Crompton started racing in 1972 at age eleven on a Honda minibike before graduating to motocross where he had some success.
In 1985 he moved into racing cars and has raced in various, mostly sedan-based, initially a series production specification Mitsubishi Cordia. Categories contested included V8 Supercars, Super Touring Cars, and Group A Touring Cars, as well as the open-wheel categories of Formula Holden and Formula 3000.
In 1989 and 1990 Crompton was a season driver for Special Vehicles Racing (now known as the Holden Racing Team). He finished third in the Australian Drivers' Championship in 1989 and fifteenth in 1990. Although he did not have a regular seat with HRT after that, he would co-drive in the endurance races (which require two drivers per vehicle).
In 1997 Crompton headed to the US to compete in the new North American Touring Car Championship in a Honda Accord run by the Tasman Motorsports team. Crompton was quickly on the pace, and won several races and was in contention for the championship, before a disqualification that he still disputes took the title away from him. Crompton also tested one of Tasman's Champ Cars at Gingerman Raceway.
[edit] Later years
In 1998 Crompton started with Glenn Seton Racing, continuing with the team in its new identity as Ford Tickford Racing in 1999. He then moved to Gibson Motor Sport, later renamed 00 Motorsport, in 2001 where he was teamed with Craig Lowndes before leaving at the end of the 2002 season.
Despite being a full-time television commentator, Crompton continues to compete in races when he can, particularly endurance races. Most recently he finished fifth in the 2007 Bathurst 12 Hour race, completing 248 laps (1,540 km / 957 miles) driving a Subaru Impreza WRX STI with Grant Denyer and Chris Alajajian. Crompton is currently competing sporadically in the Aussie Racing Cars series and also has competed in the Australian Rally Championship.
Crompton also works on the organisational side of V8 Supercar contributing to TEGA's Parity Board, which works to ensure that neither of the competing marques gains a significant advantage over the other.
[edit] Media career
Neil started commentating at motorcross events for Network Ten, then known as the 0/10 Network. He then worked for the ABC, the Triple M radio network and Channel Seven, before returning to Network Ten in 1997 to commentate the V8 Supercar, Formula One, and Champ Car races. Neil was a regular presenter of Ten's popular motoring magazine program, RPM, until the end of 2006.
When the Seven Network bought the television broadcasting rights for the V8 Supercars from 2007 onwards Neil, along with a majority of the production team, moved to Seven. Neil's detailed technical knowledge, combined with his racing and commentating experience, ensures that he is considered an extremely valuable part of the Seven Network's coverage of the series.
Neil also hosts the highly popular web show "The Panelbeaters", which is co-hosted by long time friend Brad Jones. The show runs every Friday evening before a V8 Supercar meeting, and the Wednesday after. The show begun as a radio programme in 2003 on Victorian station SEN 1116, before being taken on by Telstra Bigpond, and made into a video web show. The show has grown in popularity over the 5 seasons that it has run.
[edit] Personal life
Has a daughter named Emma.
Is married to Sarah Mathewson. [2]
[edit] Trivia
 |
Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
He is left-handed.
He failed his first attempt for his driving exam. (Revealed (albeit reluctantly) after being asked whether he passed his exam by a fellow commentator, when the commentator had finished promoting Last Chance Learners, a show on Channel 7 in Australia.)
He first met Peter Brock when he asked him to write a column for his school newspaper in the 1970s
The Honda Accord in which he won races in the NATCC in 1997 was campaigned the year before in Britain by David Leslie
His favourite circuit is the Cleveland Burke Lakefront circuit in the US
