British GT: Team Abba and Nearys target regular podiums in 2022

Team Abba will return to the Intelligent Money British GT Championship with the now-established father-and-son duo of Richard and Sam Neary sharing the driving duties.

The #8 Team Abba Mercedes-AMG GT3 partnership finished second in the GT3 Silver-Am drivers standings in a season that saw the Nearys take victory at Donington Park.

For 2022 Team Abba has their sights set on visiting the podium on a regular basis and competing for the overall GT3 title along with Silver-Am success.

“That’s certainly the aim,” said Richard Neary. “Last year I think our performances made a few people sit up and take notice of what a family team can achieve in British GT. We don’t have the time or budget to test as much as some of the other guys so it’s always really satisfying when we turn up on a race weekend and achieve good results.

“We had a few too many peaks and troughs last year, which we need to iron out. But if we can do that and grab a win or two along the way then we can certainly aim for a top-three championship success.”

Sam Neary, who this weekend competes in the Hankook 24H Dubai in the #102 Holgaard Motorsport VW Golf GTi TCR, is hungry to build on the team’s 2021 success in the new season.

“Last year’s achievements opened a few doors for me outside of British GT,” he said. “That was always the hope – I’m young and naturally have ambitions to race elsewhere – so it’s nice that our performances haven’t gone unnoticed. I’ll be at the Dubai 24 Hours this weekend and had opportunities to do the Spa 24 as well as the Indy 8 Hours, amongst others, last season.

“British GT is a big deal for us and definitely my priority this year. 2021’s results marked us out as race winners and regular podium contenders which is absolutely the level we should be targeting each and every weekend.”

The 2022 Intelligent Money British GT Championship gets underway at Oulton Park on April 16 – 18.