THREE PODIUM FINISHES AND A CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD FOR DOUGLAS MOTORSPORT AFTER GINETTA GT4 SUPERCUP OPENING WEEKEND AT BRANDS HATCH

Nineteen-year-old Andrew Watson’s challenge for the Ginetta GT4 Supercup title got off to the best possible start this weekend when he won the first race and then followed that up with a second and third spot in the following two races in his Douglas motorsport run machine.

The three podium finishes across the weekend gives the young driver an impressive 93 points from the opening weekend; 21 points clear of Charlie Robertson in second.

The first race saw Watson claim his first ever victory in the Supercup. Watson, who started in pole after setting an impressive pace in qualifying, was in second place from the start after Pepe Massot, second on the grid, jumped the start. Massot was later handed a drivers’ penalty, but he didn’t take it, meaning he remained out in front on the track. Watson, however, passed him on lap 13 and lead from the front from then on.

The weekend wasn’t without its moments of drama for Watson. In the second race an incident Watson described as a ‘freak oversteer’ in lap twelve saw him end up in the grass, causing damage to his front splitter and bumper. Watson said; “At that point, I just had to get the car home, so me and the guys at Douglas Motorsport were all pretty chuffed that we managed to hold on to second place.”

In the third race of the weekend the grid is reversed, which meant Watson started in fifth. On the second corner he stormed up to second and stayed there until a challenge from third place saw him drop back in to fifth. However an incident late in the race further up the field saw first and second place both suffer damage. Watson explains; “I made a couple of challenges but I didn’t want to do anything stupid. I had a go at the guy in fourth, but then dropped down in to fifth again. Then up ahead the guy who was challenging for the lead made contact with the car in front, and they both had to come in, which put me in third.”

Speaking about the weekend’s success, Watson said; “That is without doubt the best weekend of racing I have ever had. We literally couldn’t have gotten off to a better start. Winning my first ever Supercup race in race one of the series was pretty sublime, and to follow that up with two further podium spots was just fantastic. I’ll be looking for more of the same at Donington Park in April.”

Watson, originally from County Tyrone in Northern Ireland, races as part of the Douglas Motorsport Team and is sponsored by Donnelly Group and Westland, amongst others. This is his second season racing in the Ginetta Supercup, following an impressive debut last year. He has his sights firmly set on the title, an ambition looking all the more possible after the series opener.