Gary Cameron

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Gary Cameron
Nationality Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png British
Born 22 January 1979
Sunderland, England
Former Teams Flag of Jamaica svg.png Team Calinetic
Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png Prospec
Races 69 (58 starts)
Championships 1
Victories 2
Podiums 7
Points 123
Pole Positions 4
Fastest Laps 3
First Race 2010 German Grand Prix
First Victory 2011 Dutch Grand Prix
Last Victory 2012 Surfers SuperPrix
Last Race 2014 Mediterranean Grand Prix
Best Finish 1st (2010)

Gary Cameron (born 22 January 1979 in Sunderland, England) is a former British racing driver known for winning the inaugural season of the Formula 1 Rejects World Race Series, a title he won without scoring a single race victory. Cameron became a veteran of the sport, before retiring part-way through the 2014 season in order to allow him to focus on the management of the Prospec team which was taken over by a consortium led by Cameron earlier in the year.

Cameron's first year in the F1RWRS, with the Jamaican Team Calinetic was a highly successful one, with measured consistency earning him the title. He scored points in eight of the nine races that made up the F1RWRS' first season, and stood on the podium three times, with a best result of second place at the British Grand Prix. He edged out Frank Zimmer and Dan BH for the title in what proved to be a highly competitive field, winning the championship by just two points.

Gary stayed with Calinetic for 2011 in anticipation of further success, but his challenge faltered soon on, and despite winning his first race at the Dutch GP, he finished well behind eventual champion Nathanael Spencer and runner-up Daniel Melrose, thus having to settle for third overall.

The 2012 season marked the start of the decline in Cameron's fortunes, initially he decided to remain with Team Calinetic for a third season, but it soon became apparent that the team had lost their way, and he left the team after the sixth race of the year at Zandvoort. He moved across to the Prospec team which up until that point had been in the unusual situation of running a single car for reigning champion Spencer. Cameron slotted straight in and whilst he qualified for all the remaining races of the year, he rarely scored points. The high point was his second, and last career victory in the Surfers SuperPrix, and Cameron ended the year 16th overall with 22 points.

Unfortunately for Cameron it appeared that Prospec themselves were on an irreversible decline, and although Gary remained with the by now legendary British team for 2013, it was clear from the outset that ambitions would have to be set low. Ultimately Cameron struggled to just a single points finish all year at the French Grand Prix and failed to make the grid at all in The Netherlands and Portugal. The management at Prospec, a group of mostly hobbyist engineers and mechanics, had been left behind by the ever-increasing professionalism of the F1RWRS, evidenced by the resorting in 2013 to Lamborghini engines in desperation after their own in-house unit had proven to be off the pace the previous year. Cameron could see that the team was headed for oblivion unless someone stepped in, and prior to the 2014 season, he led a consortium of business leaders under the moniker of the Pemberton Group in a buy out of the Prospec team.

As the public face of the Group, Cameron took over the reins at the team and began to implement a series of changes to try and turn Prospec around. He started the season driving alongside fellow veteran Dave Simpson but the Australian agreed to move aside after only three races to allow pay driver Jean-Luc Schiller to come in. Schiller himself was not without talent as he scored the team's only points of the year with a sixth place in Italy, but Cameron struggled with the burden of team management alongside driving duties and he reluctantly announced his retirement from professional driving following the North Sea GP. Another pay driver, Chinese female Du Lei filled the vacated seat and Cameron retreated to the pit wall in order to focus his efforts on a better 2015 campaign.

Complete F1RWRS Results

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 DC Points
2010 Team Calinetic Calinetic CAL1 Ford Boss 302 V8 GER
4
LUX
3
SAX
5
CHN
15
TAS
4
BHR
3
BEL
4
GBR
2
AUS
10
1st 53
2011 Team Calinetic Calinetic CAL2 Ford Boss 302 V8 BAV
3
GER
8
SAX
DNPQ
LUX
4
BEL
NC
GBR
13
ENG
2
KEN
10
NED
1
TAS
17
AUS
10
NSW
8
SUR
Ret
CHN
7
USA
18
=3rd 46
2012 Team Calinetic Calinetic CAL3 Ford Boss 302 V8 BAV
DNPQ
SAX
6
GER
DNPQ
LUX
Ret
BEL
DNPQ
NED
18
16th 22
Prospec Prospec PRS 281 Prospec PT-2012 V8 GBR
8
KEN
12
ENG
11
TAS
14
SUR
1
NSW
9
AUS
Ret
CHN
6
USA
13
500
26†
2013 Prospec Prospec PRS 291 Lamborghini 3512 TAS
9
AUS
Ret
MEX
7
USA
Ret
MON
8†
FRA
5
GBR
7
GER
7
NED
DNQ
BEL
8
POR
DNQ
MED
7
MAC
Ret
CHN
14
JPN
11
BRA
Ret
=24th 2
2014 Pemberton Prospec Racing Prospec PRS 301 Lamborghini 3512 TAS
11
AUS
8
BRA
Ret
MEX
DNPQ
USA
Ret
MON
DNQ
FRA
DNPQ
GBR
DNPQ
GER
17
BEL
DNPQ
ITA
11
MED
Ret
NED
Ret
MAC CHN JPN =26th 0
  • † Driver did not finish the Grand Prix, but was classified as they completed over 90% of the race distance.
Sporting Accolades
Preceded by:
None
F1RWRS Champion
2010
Succeeded by:
Nathanael Spencer
2011