21 March 2025 / By DAVID FERGUSON
The family business has grown from a local coal merchant into a flourishing fuel supplier and garden centre business.
But there is nothing that Garry Pearson likes better than swiftly emptying fuel on some of the UK’s most twisting roads and forest tracks.
Still in Duns, where his father and rally enthusiast Monty Pearson remains a well-known figure, Garry is gearing up for a tilt at this year’s British Rally Championship with Hannah McKillop alongside.
It didn’t start well in round one of the 2025 championship at East Riding in Yorkshire, but he is more hopeful of getting back on track at the Carlisle Stages after a winning run in Cumbria in March.
“No, it didn’t quite go to plan at East Riding,” Pearson admits. “It was first run out of the season and we were going quite well until we slid off.
“But we planned to add the Malcolm Wilson Rally on to our British Championship programme, because it’s the team’s home event and it was a perfect chance to get some seat time, and a first run back on the gravel surface in October.
“And, thankfully, we got some good seat time, good development and came away with a nice cup as well.”
Just. Pearson and McKillop went into the final stage dead level with Meirion Evans and Dale Furness, another crew back on Pirelli tyres this year, and the final stage could not have been closer.
‘It was pretty tight for sure’
“Yeah, we took it by a second,” recalls Garry, “which was pretty tight for sure. “I’ve been close before, but never gone into a final stage level. We basically we gave it absolutely everything in the last stage and pipped Meirion to bring the result home.
“But credit has to go to the team. After we unfortunately slipped off the road two weeks ago, they incredibly turned the car around and it’s nice to reward them by winning.”
Pearson and his team believe a key element in their success has been the Pirelli tyres.
“I’ve been with Pirelli for just about 10 years now and you just know that you’re driving on a fantastic product and it’s only getting better, which gives you confidence.
“It’s something that’s probably underrated, that reliability you have on the only surface that’s touching the ground, but every driver needs the grip and the Pirellis work brilliantly in all conditions.
“Also having Andrew Wood with Pirelli, and at events being a sounding board, is great. The fact he’s been there and done it helps as well. You’re talking to somebody you’ll know because you’re from the Borders.
“He supports and even helps with recces, so I know that you get more from the Pirelli partnership than you do with other manufacturers. With Andrew, it’s more than just a tyre supplier, so it’s invaluable in a lot of respects.”