Former Ginetta Junior and British F4 driver Joel Pearson demonstrated incredible perseverance and passion for racing after a diagnosis of osteosarcoma just over three years ago. His passing from the disease on 22 February at the age of 19 has left a hole in the collective heart of the racing community.

By Gavin Guthrie

Taking the step up from karts to cars midway through 2018, Pearson joined the 2018 Ginetta Junior Championship as a privateer entry with four rounds to go and produced promising results for a late debutant, achieving a 12th place in his first event at Rockingham Motor Speedway. The Leeds-based teenager achieved this result, his best of the season, twice more that year at Silverstone and Brands Hatch. There was evidence to suggest that, with more time behind the wheel, Pearson could prove to be a very talented driver.

Pearson made a big step up in performance in his first full season of Ginetta Juniors in 2019, which he started with Elite Motorsport before switching to R Racing with two rounds to go. The Yorkshire-based driver made frequent appearances in the top 10, managing a best finishing position of fourth on two occasions. His efforts were rewarded with 10th in the standings, making him the fourth-highest rookie that season.

He also participated in the one-round Ginetta Junior Winter Championship at Brands Hatch Indy in both 2018 and 2019, taking two podiums in the latter year and being just 0.166 seconds behind the winner in the final race.

Pearson wouldn’t have to wait long into the main championship’s 2020 season for the podium that had eluded him the previous year. After an already impressive fourth and fifth in the first two races of the season at Donington Park, Pearson clinched a second-place finish in the third. It was his first of two podiums that season on his way to eight overall in the championship, though he would have likely finished higher if not for a race two incident at Silverstone that left him unable to compete in the final race of the weekend. Regardless, this was another promising step forwards for the young driver as he prepared to take the next step in his career.

British F4 signing and cancer diagnosis

After his success in Ginetta Juniors, Pearson decided to pivot to single-seaters, signing with Argenti Motorsport to enter the 2021 British F4 Championship. After a test at Donington Park in December, Pearson seemed set for his formula racing debut.

On 26 January 2021, Pearson and his family released a statement revealing his diagnosis of bone cancer. Understandably, Pearson, then 16, also announced his withdrawal from British F4 in order to pursue treatment in Germany before a planned return before the end of 2021. He remained in high spirits, however, racing on a simulator while undergoing treatment for pelvic osteoblastic osteosarcoma as well as taking to social media to promote awareness for cancer research charities.

Return to racing

After almost exactly a year away from the track, Pearson returned with Argenti for a pre-season British F4 test in January 2022 before ultimately signing with Chris Dittmann Racing for the 2022 season. In five rounds, he demonstrated several flashes of talent, most notably his wet-weather charge from 14th to fourth at Brands Hatch Indy.

Sadly, in race three of the fifth round at Croft, Pearson broke his thumb in a crash, forcing him out of the car. He did not return to the cockpit in 2022 and ended the season 16th in the standings with 30 points.

In the wake of this injury, his cancer worsened, to the point that Pearson found it ‘harder and more painful to walk because of the osteosarcoma’.

Testing with Team BRIT

With a return to British F4 out of the question because of the damage to his legs and his reliance on crutches or a wheelchair, it seemed the door had shut on Pearson’s racing career – that is, until October 2023, when Team BRIT, an endurance racing team dedicated to supporting disabled drivers, offered Pearson a test in a McLaren 570S GT4 modified with hand controls for throttle and braking.

Discussing the experience, Pearson said, “I started to think I’ll never be able to race again, but seeing what Team BRIT is doing and how their hand controls work gave me some hope. Having this second chance is fantastic. We’ll be talking with the team about future opportunities and I hope to be back on the track again soon.”

This was Pearson’s last time behind the wheel. He continued to fight the cancer, but it continued to advance. On the morning of 23 February, Edge Sporting Management, which had overseen his career, announced that Pearson had lost his battle with osteosarcoma the previous day, surrounded by family members and loved ones. Tributes from R Racing, Ginetta, British F4 and other figures in the motorsport world quickly followed.

Feeder Series mourns Joel Pearson’s passing and offers its sincere condolences to his family, his friends, and those who supported him throughout his career.

Header photo credit: Jakob Ebrey Photography