still considered to be one of stars of the future and was signed by Ralt to partner Geoff Lees. After winning the International Trophy at Silverstone, and a third place at Hockenheim, he suffered a massive testing accident driving the works Ralt-Honda at Thruxton that left him with a shattered heel and head injuries. According to Autosport he hit a bank head on and stopped from 140 mph to 0 mph in under 2 feet. Within weeks, although still on crutches, he completed the rest of the season and finished 6th in the Championship. Unable to secure any works drive in 1982 owing to belief of team owners that he had still not recovered from his accident the previous year. With finance from family, friends and small sponsors, he managed to obtain a drive for the 1982 season in the small under-financed and privately run Horag Racing and Bertram Schäfer Racing Teams; he still managed two top three results at Pau and Spa-Francorchamps. He rejoined the works Ralt team for 1983, coming second in that year's F2 championship to Jonathan Palmer, after a win at Jarama with another eight visits to the podium. The following season he remained at Ralt, and despite having Roberto Moreno as teammate Thackwell went one better, dominating the championship, taking the title on the back of seven victories out of eleven races, including another success in the International Trophy race at Silverstone. By the end of the season he had taken another six pole positions and nine fastest laps. He led a total of 408 of the 580 laps. Return to Formula One Suddenly in the middle of his season of dominance, Thackwell was back in demand again. However, this only amounted to two more fill-in one-off drives, the last of his career in F1. For the Canadian Grand Prix, he replaced Palmer at the RAM team. He duly qualified in 25th place, one place higher than teammate Philippe Alliot, faster by 1.556 seconds. His race lasted until lap 30, when a broken turbo wastegate forced him into retirement. Palmer would reclaim his seat for the next race. Tyrrell wanted him to race in Germany, as Stefan Bellof was unavailable. Once again Thackwell failed to qualify for the German Grand Prix by just 0.055secs. He also tested for Williams during the season. After Formula One The opportunity to sample other racing categories arose. He drove