While most 16-year-olds are in the early stages of imagining what they want to do as young adults, Josh Pearson has already started making history in motorsports. Last year, he won the 1,000 Miles of Sebring, his first race—making him the youngest winner of an FIA World Endurance Championship race.
In June, he became the youngest driver ever to compete in the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans motor race. Signed to United Autosports and with the PR 1/ Mathiasen team, Pierson has five wins and 15 podiums under his belt. The Wilsonville, Ore., native may have reason to rekindle American interest in endurance racing, or test his skills in other areas of racing. Just be sure you’ll be hearing his name for years to come.
Pearson recently opened up about some of his race-day essentials for muscle and fitness as he prepares for this weekend’s Bahrain 8 Hours. From his Ogio Rig 9800, we reviewed everything from his peanut butter M&M’s to what he plays on his travel guitar during his downtime.
- Ogio Gear Bag: This is a must for me to travel to the race. It has over 200k air miles on it!
- Haynes Device: This is the neck brace for my protection aka my guardian angel. The goose harness attaches to my helmet and the belts go over the goose. Your head may still shake a little, but it stops at some point. The gooseneck, belt and seat you’re in are taking a lot of force, unlike your neck. He has saved many drivers and now he needs to race.
- Knne pad: My knee pads are new and also fire proof. I was physically struggling in the car and the knee pads are the best way to get support in the car. Formula cars usually have a cutout in the center to hold your legs in place, so your legs don’t move around. With prototypes during endurance races, we have to make driver changes. With the cutouts in the seat, your legs rotate a lot and almost float in the car and bounce around. The knee pads help support the legs and keep them in place which is beneficial. It helps physically and my knees no longer hurt. I use them most of the time now and it’s always nice to have them with me.
- HRX Fireproof Undershirt and Pants: Luckily, I’ve never had a problem with it catching fire and it’s rare, but it feels good to put on and I’m happy to wear it.
- HRX Fireproof Head Socks: A fireproof head sock that goes under my helmet in case of fire. It makes my helmet last longer because I sweat more in the head sock
- Sparco Gloves: These are my fireproof gloves. As you can tell by now, we have a high fire hazard in our line of work! These are one of my many pairs of gloves.
- Radio Ear Buds: TThose earbuds plug directly into my helmet which plugs into my car so I can communicate with my team throughout the race. This is an important line of communication that many fans don’t know about.
- Travel Guitar: I have always loved music and I always play with my guitar during my downtime. I personally enjoyed playing in bands when I was in school, and since I’m now in online school, it’s something I can’t continue, so I’m learning and playing solo. Was looking for a tool. I picked up the guitar and started teaching myself to play. I travel with him so I can continue to practice and learn. We spend a lot of time in our trailers while we wait for our sessions, so this is a great way to pass the time and learn a new skill! I’ve started putting together some of the chords and patterns that I’ve learned, so it’s been really interesting to play with these techniques. I try to emulate Marcin Petrzlik, who plays fingerstyle guitar, and a few other guitarists like Edward Ong and Eddie van der Meer. I think that voice is really unique and cool.
- Additional Suits, Gloves and Boots: I have about seven pairs of gloves and three pairs of shoes for each race.
- OMP Racing Shoes: I love my OMP racing shoes. They are fireproof and very thin so I can feel the pedal. Feeling your feet is very important when racing.
- Checkered Bucket Hat: It has become my trademark over the years. I always wear a hat around pits to protect myself from the sun. The checkered hat is very out there, and it looks like something, but it always comes with me. I have this hat and a wide-brimmed fishing hat that I always wear.
- Peanut Butter M&M’s: These are my favorite Sugar Voices and I always have a bag with me.
- JP Racing Stickers: I always pack stickers and cards to sign autographs and send to young fans because it always makes them smile. It’s amazing to see the next generation of fans. Small people don’t even realize how small I am compared to other racers.
- EOS Lip Balm: I bring lip balm because I sit in the car for hours trying to stay hydrated. You’d be surprised how dehydrated your body can become while sitting in a car.
- Sparco and HRX racing suits
- Stilo helmet with my trademark globe on top.
You can follow Josh on Instagram. @josh_pierson_racing
0 Comments