Scots motorsport stars are in it to win it

SCOTS endurance racers enjoyed victories in the Middle East as home-grown rally talent showed their mettle in Fife last weekend.

Adding to the build-up for the rest of 2022, two exciting racers – one a seasoned winner and the other a relative newcomer – have announced their battle plans for the year ahead.

Getting things off to a flying start, experienced Scots racer Paul Di Resta helped ensure his United Autosports team dominated the second weekend of the 2022 Asian Le Mans Series.

He and American teenager Josh Pierson scored a clean sweep in their LMP2 Oreca 07, topping the timing sheets in every session before taking two pole positions, two race wins and scoring two fastest laps.

Despite incident-packed encounters, 16-year-old Josh kept his cool in Abu Dhabi in both the final two contests of the four-race series, building up a healthy lead in each of them.

Although the team were not eligible for championship points, 35-year-old Di Resta, from West Lothian, was full of praise for the young American after two emphatic victories.

And the pair will race together again in the FIA World Endurance Championship/IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race weekend at Sebring, Florida, on March 17-19. The Scot said: “Josh has done a good job, he’s progressed the right way and hasn’t put a foot wrong.

“For me, it was about familiarising myself with the LMP2 car again after Le Mans last year. The WEC Sebring round is going to be pretty tough but I think the whole team feels much better prepared after this.”

Meanwhile, Motherwell’s Ian Loggie and his SPS Automotive Performance Mercedes-AMG GT3 team-mates were crowned ALMS GT Am champions after two second-place finishes followed two wins in Dubai the week before.

Midlothian’s Colin