1st February 2024
Father-son duo Richard and Sam Neary have announced their return to British GT this season for their fifth and Team Abba Racing’s tenth year.
Racing the teams Evo-spec Mercedes-AMG, Richard and Sam will contest Silver-AM title but will once again be hoping to secure an overall win.
The family-run team has become a staple of the series since Richard Neary debuted in 2015. Alongside Sam the team won overall in 2021 and will continue to press for further giant-killing acts when it again goes up against the factory-supported crews in 2024. The team also took overall pole position at last year’s Silverstone 500 in May.
However, the primary focus is on finally winning the Silver-Am title – something that has eluded Richard and Sam since its inauguration in 2021.
“Obviously we want to win overall and we proved that we could a couple of years ago. But British GT is a very different beast now and looks set to be full of factory drivers once again,” said Richard. “That makes things tough for Sam and I who have full-time jobs away from the racetrack. So, for us, Silver-Am is something worth winning.
“And I’m expecting it to be stronger than ever this year. For starters, several crews are stepping up from GT4. So, we’ll have to bring our A games every weekend. We know we have the speed to contend for class wins and overall podiums. It’s just putting that potential into practice consistently enough across the campaign.”
Sam Neary, meanwhile, brings with him a season’s worth of European experience after dovetailing his British GT programme with Fanatec GT Europe last year.
“Racing the new Lamborghini really underlined how good our Mercedes-AMG is,” he said. “That was a latest-gen GT3 car but no better than our Merc, which is essentially the same as the previous model barring a facelift and some aero tweaks. It’s a great all-rounder and well suited to the British circuits.
“Last year wasn’t our best season and a couple slipped through the net; to be successful in British GT a team like ours must maximise every opportunity. Of course, we are always looking towards the very front, but prioritising Silver-Am is also a major consideration this year.”
Oulton Park hosts British GT’s season opener on March 30 + April 1.