Ronan Pearson storms to maiden BTCC victory
Scottish rising star Ronan Pearson secured the biggest victory of his racing career to date after storming to a stunning win during the second meeting of the 2024 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship at Brands Hatch.
The Macklin Motors-backed racer was looking to replicate the strong pace he had displayed during the opening meeting of the campaign at Donington Park, where he scored his best qualifying result to date and set a new lap record - although an unfortunate power steering issue restricted him to a single top ten finish.
Qualifying saw Ronan set the ninth fastest time at the wheel of his Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS Hyundai i30 Fastback N and he was firmly in contention for a top ten finish in race one despite running the slower medium compound tyre before being forced off track whilst fighting for position on lap seven.
That forced Ronan into the pits for an unscheduled stop and meant he ended the race outside the points in 19th place.
Running the medium tyre again in race two, Ronan showed his pace as he worked his way through the field in fine style to cross the line in P11 and score valuable points, with further reward coming when he was drawn on pole for race three.
Having saved the quicker, but less durable, soft compound tyre for the weekend finale, Ronan took his place on the grid for the start but bogged down when the lights went out to slip back to second behind the Vauxhall of Aron Taylor-Smith.
However, Ronan wasted little time in reclaiming the lead with a fine move at Clearways and quickly started to pull away, extending his advantage at the front to more than three seconds within ten laps.
Settling into a rhythm, Ronan continued to ease clear of the pack behind despite being aware of the need to manage his tyres as other suffered issues in the sweltering conditions and crossed the line amidst emotional scenes on pitlane to take his first touring car victory, with team-mate Tom Chilton following him home in a 1-2 finish.
“My god, that last race was the longest 24 laps of my life!” Ronan admitted. “On the one hand it was like a free practice session and I was able to drive off into the sunset, but on the other hand it was really tricky because I didn’t want to push too hard and take too much out of the tyres.
“The decision to keep the soft tyre for race three really paid off and the car was absolutely brilliant. Although I managed to fluff the start, I knew I’d be able to get back ahead of Aron and as soon as I had a chance, I made sure I took it.
“I was getting updates from my engineer about the gap and when he told me it was up to four seconds, I felt I could start to relax a little - although I was praying that no-one would throw it off and cause a safety car that would undo all my work!
“Half-way through the opening race of the weekend, I was in the wall on the exit of Paddock Hill Bend and by the end of the weekend, I’m on top of the podium so it just shows how you have to stay positive and should never give up.
“It’s difficult to try and put into words what this means to me because it has always been my goal to win in the BTCC, and it hasn’t always been the easiest journey to get to this point. There are so many people who I need to thank - more than I could possibly name - and I wouldn’t have got to this point without all of their support.
“The important thing now is to build on this victory and take the momentum forward to Snetterton and the rounds still to come. Now I’ve got this win under my belt, I hope there will be plenty more to come!”
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