Sam Neary

Neary is the son of Team ABBA Racing founder Richard Neary,^[2] who he has driven with in the British GT Championship since his debut in 2020.^[3]

Neary made his car racing debut in late 2017, racing in the Ginetta Junior Winter Series for TCR.^[4] After finishing third in the SP3 class at the 2018 12 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps for Team ABBA,^[5] Neary returned to his family's team to compete in the 2019 Britcar Endurance Championship.^[6] Racing primarily in the Class 4, Neary scored three wins in the six races he contested to end the season fifth in points.^[7] During 2019, Neary also won the 12 Hours of Brno in the SP3 class for the same team.^[8]

In 2020, Neary continued with the family team to make his debut in the British GT Championship alongside his father, driving a Mercedes-AMG GT3.^[9] In his first season in the series, Neary scored a best outright result of sixth at Donington Park and three Pro-Am podiums to end the year fifth in points.^[10] Returning to the series for the following year,^[11] the father-son duo became the first in series history to win a race, doing so at the first Donington Park enduro.^[12] Across the rest of the season, Neary scored Silver-Am wins at Brands Hatch and the second Donington Park, with the latter also being an overall podium, to secure runner-up honors in class.^[13] During 2021, Neary also raced with the same team in the GT Cup Championship,^[14] in which he won both the GT3 and overall titles.^[15]

Continuing with the team for a third season in the British GT Championship,^[16] Neary scored a best overall result of third at Snetterton, which was also a Silver-Am win, as well as another class win at Oulton Park to round out the year fifth in points.^[17] During 2022, Neary also made select appearances in the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie for various teams,^[18] as well as racing in the Dubai 24 Hour for Holmgaard Motorsport in the TCR class.^[19] Towards the end of the year, Neary was also drafted in as a last-minute subsitute for Chris Froggatt at the FIA Motorsport Games GT Cup,^[20] in which he finished third for Team UK.^[21]

Remaining with Team Abba for 2023,^[22] Neary clinched four Silver-Am podiums and a best result of fifth four rounds into the season at Snetterton, in the team's first race with the AMG GT3 Evo spec.^[23] In parallel, Neary joined Lamborghini-linked GRT Grasser Racing Team to race in the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup,^[24] scoring a Silver Cup win at Barcelona and a further class podium at Monza to finish sixth in points.^[25]

The following year, Neary stayed with Team Abba for their first full season with the AMG GT3 Evo,^[26] securing two Silver-Am class wins and a best overall result of second at Silverstone en route to runner-up honors in the class standings.^[27][28] During 2024, Neary also raced at the 24 Hours of Spa for McLaren-fielding Optimum Motorsport.^[29] After being upgraded to an FIA Gold Categorisation,^[30] Neary only returned to the British GT Championship with Team Abba the following year,^[31] taking a best result of fourth at Oulton Park and a Pro-Am podium at the first Donington Park enduro.^[32]