Team Abba Racing’s Richard and Sam Neary had their best result of the season in the 2020 Intelligent Money British GT Championship last weekend (19th/20th September) finishing second in the Pro/Am class in a three-hour race at Donington Park.
In the fourth round of the championship the Neary pairing qualified mid pack in another `edge of seat’ session; both drivers were less than four tenths of a second off the pole sitting time.
During the race both drivers delivered consistent pace. In a race very much about pit stop strategy, the team stuck with their plans despite a safety car incident in the first lap which saw some teams pitting early. Richard also managed to avoid early incidents despite being pushed into the pit lane at the start.
The final driver change left 18-year-old Sam Neary to bring the car home in 8th place, but not before he spent the final 15 minutes keeping Mercedes factory driver Yelmer Buurman at bay and in his mirrors in the new Evo Mercedes. The result leaves Team Abba fourth in the Pro/Am title race.
Commenting on the weekend, Richard Neary said: “Today was a great result for us and it’s clear that despite being a first-generation Mercedes we still have the pace to be competitive. We are once again really pleased with the result and how we are improving each time as a pairing.
“It is great to come away with second place in the Pro-Am class and we will continue to have our eye on the prize and see where improvements can be made. Sam is just growing as a driver each time and it’s a real pleasure being able to compete at this level together.”
The next race will be at Snetterton on 3rd and 4th October.
Sam is the iZone Motorsport UK AASE Young Driver of the Year. Last year, Sam who only started racing at the age 16, competed in Team Abba Racing’s BMW M3 GTR in the Britcar Dunlop Endurance Championship and the Creventic 24-hour series. SMXL
By June 2019 he was testing the Mercedes AMG GT3. He competed successfully in the Mercedes in the Britcar Dunlop Endurance Championship and GT Cup (taking several pole positions, several firsts and Sunoco Driver of the Day twice).
Thanks to Ian Cutting Photography for photos.
Website: www.teamabbaracing.com and www.samnearyracing.com