| Sam Neary | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Neary in 2023 | |
| Nationality |  British |
| Born | 27 April 2002 Liverpool, England |
| Relatives | Richard Neary (father) |
| Categorisation |  FIA Silver (until 2024) FIA Gold (2025–) |
| Championship titles | |
| 2021 | GT Cup Championship – GT3 |
Sam Neary (born 27 April 2002) is a British racing driver who last competed in the British GT Championship for Team Abba Racing.
Neary is the son of Team ABBA Racing founder Richard Neary, who he has driven with in the British GT Championship since his debut in 2020.
Neary made his car racing debut in late 2017, racing in the Ginetta Junior Winter Series for TCR. After finishing third in the SP3 class at the 2018 12 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps for Team ABBA, Neary returned to his family's team to compete in the 2019 Britcar Endurance Championship. Racing primarily in the Class 4, Neary scored three wins in the six races he contested to end the season fifth in points. During 2019, Neary also won the 12 Hours of Brno in the SP3 class for the same team.
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. 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. Returning to the series for the following year, the father-son duo became the first in series history to win a race, doing so at the first Donington Park enduro. 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. During 2021, Neary also raced with the same team in the GT Cup Championship, in which he won both the GT3 and overall titles.
Continuing with the team for a third season in the British GT Championship, 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. During 2022, Neary also made select appearances in the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie for various teams, as well as racing in the Dubai 24 Hour for Holmgaard Motorsport in the TCR class. Towards the end of the year, Neary was also drafted in as a last-minute substitute for Chris Froggatt at the FIA Motorsport Games GT Cup, in which he finished third for Team UK.
Remaining with Team Abba for 2023, 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. In parallel, Neary joined Lamborghini-linked GRT Grasser Racing Team to race in the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup, scoring a Silver Cup win at Barcelona and a further class podium at Monza to finish sixth in points.
The following year, Neary stayed with Team Abba for their first full season with the AMG GT3 Evo, 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. During 2024, Neary also raced at the 24 Hours of Spa for McLaren-fielding Optimum Motorsport. After being upgraded to an FIA Gold Categorisation, Neary only returned to the British GT Championship with Team Abba the following year, taking a best result of fourth at Oulton Park and a Pro-Am podium at the first Donington Park enduro.
| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | F/Laps | Podiums | Points | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Ginetta Junior Winter Series | TCR | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 13th |
| 2018 | 24H TCE Series – SP3 | Team ABBA with Rollcentre Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 17 | NC |
| 2019 | Britcar Endurance Championship – Class 4 | Team Abba Racing | 6 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 97‡ | 5th‡ |
| Britcar Endurance Championship – Class 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | NC† | ||
| Britcar Endurance Championship – Class 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC† | ||
| 24H TCE Series Europe – SP3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 18 | NC | ||
| 2020 | British GT Championship – GT3 | Team Abba Racing | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 11th |
| GT Cup Championship – GT3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | NC† | ||
| Tecserv UK | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 72‡ | 2nd‡ | ||
| 2021 | British GT Championship – GT3 | Team Abba Racing | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 75 | 8th |
| GT Cup Championship – GT3 | 1st | ||||||||
| 2022 | 24H TCE Series Continents – TCR | Holmgaard Motorsport | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | NC |
| British GT Championship – GT3 | Team Abba Racing | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 31 | 19th | |
| GT Cup Championship – GT3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||||
| GT Cup Championship – GTH | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| FIA Motorsport Games GT Cup | Team United Kingdom | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | N/a | 3rd | |
| Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie – BMW M2 CS | Walkenhorst Motorsport | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC | |
| Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie – BMW M240i | Adrenalin Motorsport Team Alzner Automotive | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC | |
| Schnitzelalm Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie – VT2 R+4 | Team Sorg Rennsport | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC | |
| 2023 | British GT Championship – GT3 | Team Abba Racing | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 23rd |
| GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup | GRT Grasser Racing Team | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC | |
| GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup – Silver | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 53 | 6th | |||
| GT Cup Championship – GTC | Topcats Racing | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 432‡ | 1st‡ | |
| 2024 | British GT Championship – GT3 | Team Abba Racing | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 74.5 | 8th |
| GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup | Optimum Motorsport | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC | |
| GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup – Bronze | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 36th | |||
| 2025 | British GT Championship – GT3 | Team Abba Racing | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 12th |
| Sources: | |||||||||
† As Neary was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.
‡ Team standings.
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Team ABBA Racing | Mercedes-AMG GT3 | GT3 Pro-Am | OUL 1 8 |
OUL 2 Ret |
DON1 1 6 |
DON1 2 20 |
BRH 7 |
DON2 8 |
SNE 1 DNS |
SNE 2 DNS |
SIL 11 |
5th | 106.5 |
| 2021 | Team ABBA Racing | Mercedes-AMG GT3 | GT3 Silver-Am | BRH 5 |
SIL Ret |
DON1 1 |
SPA Ret |
SNE 1 |
SNE 2 |
OUL 1 DSQ |
OUL 2 DSQ |
DON2 3 |
2nd | 75 |
| 2022 | Team ABBA Racing | Mercedes-AMG GT3 | GT3 Silver-Am | OUL 1 13 |
OUL 2 4 |
SIL DSQ |
DON1 13 |
SNE 1 3 |
SNE 2 11 |
SPA |
BRH 9 |
DON2 Ret |
5th | 119 |
| 2023 | Team Abba Racing | Mercedes-AMG GT3 | GT3 Silver-Am | OUL 1 Ret |
OUL 2 13 |
SIL 13 |
DON1 Ret |
5th | 91.5 | |||||
| Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | SNE 1 5 |
SNE 2 14 |
ALG |
BRH Ret |
DON2 14 | |||||||||
| 2024 | Team Abba Racing | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | GT3 Silver-Am | OUL 1 11 |
OUL 2 8 |
SIL 2 |
DON1 13 |
SPA Ret |
SNE 1 3 |
SNE 2 7 |
DON2 DSQ |
BRH 4 |
2nd | 158.5 |
| 2025 | Team Abba Racing | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | GT3 Pro-Am | DON1 5 |
SIL 10 |
OUL 1 4 |
OUL 2 Ret |
SPA Ret |
SNE 1 |
SNE 2 |
BRH |
DON2 9 |
12th | 45 |
| Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Pos. | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | GRT Grasser Racing Team | Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2 | Silver | MNZ 27 |
LEC Ret |
SPA 6H 28 |
SPA 12H 62† |
SPA 24H Ret |
NÜR 47 |
CAT 16 |
6th | 53 |
| 2024 | Optimum Motorsport | McLaren 720S GT3 Evo | Bronze | LEC | SPA 6H 45 |
SPA 12H 39 |
SPA 24H 23 |
NÜR | MNZ | JED | 36th | 4 |