BTCC starlet Pearson taken under Huff’s wing

British Touring Car Championship up-and-comer Ronan Pearson has been taken under the wing of his childhood hero Rob Huff under a new management deal.

The 23-year-old Scot has joined the stable of Fewkes Sport Management, where 2012 World Touring Car Championship title winner Huff is a director.

Pearson has always been open that he was obsessive about touring car racing as a child, and even has a photo of himself as a nine-year-old with Huff at the 2011 WTCC round at Donington Park.

“I’ve been a massive fan of Rob’s, from the times of being up at stupid o’clock in the morning to watch him racing around Macau,” said Pearson.

“Now it’s gone full circle. As we walked into Brands Hatch [for the most recent round of the BTCC], he was carrying my helmet into the paddock, which is a bit different!”

Pearson raced against Huff for the first seven rounds of the 2024 BTCC season before his split with the Excelr8 Motorsport Hyundai team. Huff had returned to UK racing for his first full campaign in the series for 20 years with the Speedworks Motorsport Toyota squad, which Pearson has joined for 2025.

“In this environment it really is important to have a support mechanism,” Pearson added.

“We had a day testing together at Donington with Speedworks in 2024. Rob was doing some testing for 2025 with a few developments they had in progress, and I was getting my first run-out in the car in what was its 2024 spec.

“Obviously it’s not panned out enough for Rob to race this year, but he’s helped me a significant amount.”

Huff, who joined FSM founder Will Fewkes’s company after the 2023 season, added: “Having had the pleasure of racing against Ronan in the BTCC last year I know just how talented he is and the potential he possesses is huge.

“He’s got a fantastic attitude and is a pleasure to work with; I’m looking forward to what promises to be an exciting future working together.”

Pearson has outpaced all three of his Speedworks team-mates – three-time champion Gordon Shedden, the experienced Aron Taylor-Smith and rookie James Dorlin – in the two qualifying sessions to date, making Q3 at the Donington Park opener and Q2 at Brands.

But racedays have not gone so well. A best result of 10th at Brands has left him 14th in the standings, although still the highest-placed of the Speedworks quartet.

“The first highlight and the first goal is to beat your team-mates,” said Pearson.

“I’ve been working on my qualifying for the past two seasons, and I’m chuffed that I’ve maximised that, but we’re not here to celebrate qualifying 10th at Brands Hatch.

“There’s a lot of work going on between events, which can only be a good thing. The chassis is fantastic – it works very well for me, and both my engineer and I have been gelling fast.

“But it’s plain to see that the straight-line speed has not been there, and that’s hindered us massively. It’s been a case of playing catch-up.

“Have we hit the ground with the car set-up? Yes. But it’s the thing under the bonnet which makes a huge difference.”