RONAN PEARSON was happy to "end the weekend with a strong result" after enduring a trying time at his home Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) fixture.

The 22-year-old lined up on the grid at Knockhill Racing Circuit for rounds 19, 20 and 21 of the 2024 season, with aspirations of bouncing back from a tough outing at Croft last time out.

In North Yorkshire, the Dunfermline-based driver, formerly of Kelty, was 16th in race one before being forced to retire in the second, but ended the weekend with a 10th-place finish.

In front of thousands of fans at Scotland's home of motorsport, Team Bristol Street Motors competitor Ronan fared in similar fashion to that of Croft.

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He guided his EXCELR8 Motorsport-run Hyundai i30 Fastback N car to 16th on the grid for race one after qualifying, in which he crossed the line in 17th, having elected to run on the slower, medium compound tyre.

In the second race of the weekend, Ronan appeared well-placed to make his way up the order and into the top 12 - and the points - but a power steering issue forced him into the pits and an early finish.

He was, however, to end with a bit of a flourish in race three.

From the back of the grid, Ronan, who placed fourth in race three at Knockhill in 2023, showed what might have been with a fine drive through the pack to take 10th position.

He remains second in the Jack Sears Trophy, a championship for competitors who, at the start of the season, had not achieved a top three finish in an individual race. 

The next event is at Donington Park over the weekend of August 24-25.

"It’s almost like a copy and paste from Croft a few weeks ago, where we’ve had a positive end to what was a difficult weekend," Ronan said.

"I’d hoped to qualify higher up the order than we did and having got the medium tyre out of the way, was keen to see if we could get forwards into the points in race two and hopefully push towards the reverse grid.

"To then have to pit with a problem was frustrating as it meant we were right at the back again with most of the field on the same tyre, so to come through the pack to tenth was really good – particularly at a circuit like this where it isn’t easy to overtake.

"Without the issue in race two, we could have had another Jack Sears Trophy win here, which would have been great for a second year in a row, but at least we were able to end the weekend with a strong result."

Meanwhile, prior to the event at Knockhill, Ronan received a boost as Scottish automotive retailer, Macklin Motors, increased its backing for the EXCELR8 team.

The firm, which has a dealership on Halbeath Road in Dunfermline, is part of the same wider group as team title partner Bristol Street Motors.

Prior to Knockhill, they announced more backing for Ronan, who carried additional branding for the firm on his car alongside the Scottish saltire, as well as a flash of the Pearson family tartan.

Robert Forrester, chief executive of Macklin Motors, said: “Our relationship with EXCELR8 Motorsport has been a huge success for the Macklin Motors brand, and Ronan has been a fantastic ambassador both on and off track since he joined Team Bristol Street Motors last season."