Sam and Richard Neary enjoyed another weekend of success with three pole positions and three race wins at Donington in GT Cup Championship last weekend (21st/22nd September).
The Team Abba Racing duo picked up where they left off at Brands Hatch with a fine performance in qualifying; Sam Neary grabbing pole position and GTO honours by 1.3s over John Seale’s JMH Automotive Lamborghini Huracan.
Sam Neary then went on to add more silverware for Team Abba in the opening 25-minute sprint race of the weekend, winning by 12.7s from John Seale and Grahame Tilley for GTO honours.
Team Abba Racing’s second win of the day was much tougher to come by. A rare moment through the gravel for Richard Neary at the first corner on the opening lap put the Mercedes duo on the back foot.
Down to eighth, the fightback began for Neary as he chased and passed the GTC frontrunners and picked off the GTO rivals one by one, eventually taking Tom Webb’s Huracan for the overall lead as pit stops took place. Sam Neary took over the lead car and extended his advantage despite Jamie Stanley and Will Tregurtha’s best efforts. Second win of the day for Team Abba Racing and a glorious late summer’s day to boot.
Day two and Sam Neary added another pole position to his name in the 15-minute qualifying session, which was hampered by rain and oil on the circuit throughout. Neary topped the times from a battling John Seale to take overall and GTO pole.
Rain came back with a vengeance for the 25-minute sprint, which started and ended behind the safety car. A restart was required when the pole-sitting Mercedes of Sam Neary rotated into the gravel trap with Seale joining the Team Abba car.
The weather improved, and so did the luck of Team Abba Racing as Richard Neary charged by the fast-starting Webb into the race lead by the end of lap two, having started fifth in the Mercedes GT3.
Handing the car over to Sam Neary with just over 25s in hand, the latter resisted the potential pressure of a rapid Jamie Stanley on slick tyres in the JMH Automotive Lamborghini Huracan to win Team Abba Racing’s third race of the weekend by just under 30s for overall and GTO spoils.