Gears and Tears was a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 television documentary series that originally aired on the Northern Ireland variation of BBC One

BBC One

BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...

 in 2010. It followed the story behind a BriSCA Formula One Stock Car Racing season and followed a bitter battle between two dominant clans in the sport: the Wainmans from Yorkshire

Yorkshire

Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...

 and the Smiths from Lancashire

Lancashire

Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...

. Over the nine-month season, the film makers got unprecedented access to this world of everyday heroes, who come from all walks of life.

Although the Wainmans and the Smiths are the central characters, other drivers who appear in the series included Nuneaton-based father and son Rob and Chris Cowley (race number 73 and 37 respectively), and Leicestershire double glazing company manager Paul Hines (race number 259).

The programme was narrated by Ralph Ineson

Ralph Ineson

Ralph Ineson is an English actor best known for playing the character of Chris Finch on the BBC television programme The Office. He has a rich Yorkshire accent and is an avid supporter of Leeds United A.F.C. Ralph Ineson was educated at Woodleigh School, North Yorkshire...

 (who was in Harry Potter

Harry Potter

Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...

and The Office

The Office (UK TV series)

The Office is a British sitcom television series that was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 9 July 2001. Created, written, and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the programme is about the day-to-day lives of office employees in the Slough branch of the fictitious...

) and produced by Charlie Clay who also produced Trawlermen

Trawlermen (TV series)

Trawlermen is a BBC television documentary programme focusing on the work of a number of trawler crews based in Peterhead and Fraserburgh. The programme is narrated by the actors Ken Stott and Peter Capaldi. Four series and a special have been broadcast, totalling 20 episodes. The first series of 5...

. It was initiated by lifelong stock car fan and assistant producer on the show John Lakey who has worked on other BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 shows such as Top Gear, Wrong Car Right Car, and Panic Mechanics.

A large amount of on board mini-cameras that were used in the series brought stock car racing to life in a way that had never been seen before.

The series was recently repeated on Dave.