by admin | Jan 27, 2016 | Ginetta GT Supercup News, News
Michelin Ginetta GT4 Supercup ace Will Burns will switch to the Douglas Motorsport squad to mount a full-scale assault on the 2016 championship title, it is announced today.
Weston-super-Mare-based Burns, 25, will compete in his third season in the Michelin GT4 Supercup, in which he has regularly progressed. Burns scored multiple podium finishes throughout the 2015 season, including hat-trick of podiums at Thruxton and Knockhill, on the way to a fifth place finish in the standings.
Burns’ switch to Douglas Motorsport, run by eponymous team head Wayne Douglas, will enable the Eurocams Ltd and Cases Ltd-sponsored racer to embark on a full challenge for this season’s crown over the eight scheduled race weekends, supporting the British Touring Car Championship.
“I’m looking forward to enjoying this latest venture with Douglas Motorsport,” Burns said. “My eyes are focused on using the two years of Supercup experience to date, to fight for the title in year three.
“Having [former Ginetta Supercup champion] Carl Breeze as a team-mate in 2015 helped me to learn that consistency is key to a title fight in this championship. So although I’ll be looking to take the maximum number of points available from each weekend, racking up regular race wins aren’t always the key to winning a title.”
Burns said he has been impressed by the approach of Douglas Motorsport throughout its years competing in the championship: “It’s always been noticeable how Wayne’s previous drivers, Andrew Watson and Harry Woodhead, were so strong from the off and the set-up knowledge that Wayne and the team have is outstanding.
“I’m excited to work with the whole Douglas Motorsport team so we can be at the front of the grid and battle for the title. I’d like to say thank you to HHC Motorsport for their help in 2015 as they exit the Supercup to focus on other racing commitments.”
by admin | Oct 13, 2014 | Ginetta GT Supercup News
Racing driver Andrew Watson, from County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, finished the 2014 Michelin Ginetta GT4 SuperCup Championship in fourth place, after another action packed weekend of racing at Brands Hatch brought the season to a close.
Putting in his performance of the season on Saturday, Watson, racing for Douglas Motorsport, secured back-to-back wins on the opening day of the weekend. However, a tricky third race for the 19 year old Northern Irishman on Sunday saw Watson cross the line in 7th, meaning a fourth place finish overall.Fellow driver, Charlie Robertson, had done enough by race two on Saturday – securing podium finishes in the first and second race of the weekend – to secure the Championship title. Carl Breeze ended the season in second, followed by David Pittard in third.
At the start of the weekend, Watson qualified second for the first race, behind David Pittard in pole. Watson then overtook Pittard on lap 8 of race one. From there he held the lead to the finish, taking his first win of the weekend by a comfortable 2.81 seconds.
Watson then started race two from pole. Leading from the off, he reached the chequered flag an impressive 7.26 seconds ahead of Pittard in second place.
For the final race of the weekend Watson was fourth on the grid. However, after moving up to third at the start, he was then pushed out wide as a result of a driving error from Pittard. Dropping back in to 13th, he managed to climb back to 7th before crossing the finish line. Pittard was given a penalty, but not enough to change things on the leader board.
Watson, whose sponsors include Woking Shopping Centre, Westland, Donnelly Group and Adoreboard, said on Sunday afternoon; “We dominated the weekend and of course Saturday was incredible for us. But in race three I was completely taken out by Pittard on the third lap. He took me off the track as a result of really poor driving, which hugely effected my race. I clawed back up to 7th, but I should have finished that race higher up, which would have meant finishing third in the Championship overall. Myself and the team feel a bit robbed, but we can also take away a lot of positives from this weekend, and the Championship as a whole, too.”
by admin | Sep 29, 2014 | Ginetta GT Supercup News
Racing driver Andrew Watson secured another two podium finishes this weekend in an action packed day of racing at Silverstone.
The Northern Irishman, from County Tyrone, twice crossed the finish line in second place in the ninth round of the Ginetta GT4 Super Cup. He was beaten to the line in both races by David Pittard, but managed to hold Charlie Robertson, who currently sits top of the Championship leader board, into third during both outings on the track.
Watson’s weekend got off to a promising start when he qualified third on the grid after a very close battle for pole. Just 0.132 seconds separated Watson in third and Pittard up front.On the opening lap of race one Watson took second position on the first corner and after 27 laps of impressive racing, crossed the finish line in second, 2.289 seconds behind winner Pittard.
Starting second on the grid for race two on Sunday afternoon, Watson held his position for the entire race, but not before a tussle on the track between third place Robertson. Watson responded by picking up the pace to close down leader Pittard. However, the chequered flag came too soon for Watson who crossed the finish line a mere 0.324 seconds behind the leader.
Watson, whose sponsors include Woking Shopping Centre, Westland, Donnelly Group and Adoreboard, said; “We had a good weekend, but I really wanted the win in that second race. I kept trading fastest laps with David, and was keeping the pressure on, hoping that he might make a mistake that I could take advantage of. Unfortunately he didn’t make any mistakes, and credit to him for that. I couldn’t find a way past him and had to settle for a very close second.”
Watson added; “It’s mathematically still possible that I could come out on top after the last weekend of racing at Brands Hatch in a couple of weeks’ time, but realistically, I have to accept that that is too much of a stretch. I’ll be going in to that weekend looking to win on the day and aiming for a second place finish in the Championship.”
Watson and his Douglas Motorsport team will be back in action for the final weekend of the Ginetta GT4 Super Cup Championships on 11th and 12th October at Brands Hatch.
by admin | Aug 25, 2014 | Ginetta GT Supercup News
Nineteen-year old Andrew Watson and his Douglas Motorsport Team remain in contention for the Ginetta GT4 SuperCup title after another weekend in action. The young driver sits in third place in the drivers championship, chasing down a 92 point lead enjoyed by race leader Charlie Robertson, with just three race weekends remaining.
On Saturday, after a close quaifying session, Watson qualified in third place. However, an early incident on the first lap of race one meant that the safety car had to be deployed. The race was later disrupted for a second time due to heavy rainfall, with the safety car returning to the track again. After some exciting tussles for position on the track, Watson finished up in 6th place.Talking about the day’s racing, Watson said: “Qualifying was very close. It shows how competitive all of the drivers are so I was happy to qualify third. The race itself was very stop start and we followed the safety car for 6-7 laps due to the bad weather and therefore there wasn’t much of an opportunity for us to race.”
Watson started race two on Sunday morning in sixth place. After 10 laps Andrew had climbed to fourth place and was pushing hard for a podium position. But despite his best efforts to finish on the podium, Will Burns held onto third place, with Andrew taking fourth.
Watson said: “It’s not an easy track to overtake on so I was very happy to finish in fourth place.”Race three on Sunday afternoon was an enthralling one, in which Watson started in third place. The race ended in disappointment for the young driver though.
Up until lap 11, a five car train of Watson in second, Breeze, Robertson and Burns were on the tail of the leader Davenport. Watson put the leader under immense pressure but the United Autosport driver held on for the victory.
However, a five second penalty for exceeding track limits meant that despite finishing in second place on the track, Watson had to settle for seventh position.
Speaking about the final race of the weekend, Watson, whose sponsors include Woking Shopping Centre, Westland, Donnelly Group and Adoreboard, said: I’m very disappointed, but that’s racing.”
He added: “It was a very competitive weekend. I’m still in with a chance of winning the championship and whilst not everything went our way this weekend, we will keep trying our hardest and will come back fighting.”
Watson, originally from County Tyrone in Northern Ireland, races as part of the Douglas Motorsport team. This is his second season racing in the Ginetta Supercup, following an impressive debut last year.
Watson and his Douglas Motorsport Team will next be in action at Rockingham on the 6th and 7th September.
by admin | Aug 4, 2014 | Ginetta GT Supercup News
Racing driver Andrew Watson was in action again this weekend in the Ginetta GT4 SuperCup.
The nineteen-year-old Douglas Motorsport driver battled his way through three races at Snetterton Circuit in Norfolk, to end the weekend in third place in the table.
On Saturday, Watson, originally from County Tyrone in Northern Ireland, qualified in second place, but was later handed a penalty for exceeding track limits, which left him in fourth place going into race one.
Watson, who was this week named a Rising Star by the British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC), was handed a drive through penalty in the early stages of race one for a false start, which left him down in 10th.
Unbeknown to spectators, Watson had suffered a broken clutch in the warm up lap prior to the race, which left him with little choice but to hold tight and complete the race.
But the young driver somehow found a way to move up into ninth position, where he finished the race.
He said: “We had the pace to fight for wins this weekend but it just didn’t work out that way. We were unlucky with the clutch in race one and it was disappointing to finish the race that way.”Overnight repair work to replace the broken clutch on Watson’s car was needed in order to give him the best possible chance on day two at Snetterton.
Race one on Sunday saw Watson get off to an impressive start, gaining two places in the first lap alone. A hard fought battle ensued and Watson finished the race in sixth.
A reverse grid then left Watson in P7 where he began what was easily the driver’s strongest race of the weekend. Demonstrating an impressive level of tenacity, Watson moved through the grid up into fourth place.Meanwhile an ambitious overtake attempt saw championship leader Charlie Robertson, who had been up in second place, run off the track, losing his position. This, in turn, allowed Watson to move his Douglas Motorsport tended machine up to third place, where he ended the race, providing him with a much-needed podium finish to safeguard his overall championship third position.
Reflecting on the weekend, Watson said: “We fought hard for the podium in the last race. I really did enjoy that last race!
“It’s make or break time in the championship now, and we can still win it. There are no doubts there. We qualified on pole last year in Knockhill in our first year so we will be fighting for wins there in a couple of weeks!”
Watson and his Douglas Motorsport Team will be back in action at Knockhill circuit in Scotland on 24th and 25th August.
by admin | Jun 30, 2014 | Ginetta GT Supercup News
Andrew Watson & Douglas Motorsport in third place after another weekend in action in the Ginetta GT 4 Supercup, this time at Croft Circuit
Nineteen year old Andrew Watson was in action again this weekend in the Ginetta GT 4 Supercup.
In what was the fifth weekend of the competition, the young racing driver faced a challenging two days of racing at Croft Circuit in Yorkshire. Watson finished the weekend in third place, 30 points behind championship leader Charlie Robertson.
The Douglas Motorsport driver began the weekend by qualifying in fourth place, just 0.524 seconds behind Robertson who took pole position: “We didn’t test the track before the official practice on Friday, unlike my other rivals, so we were pleased that on Friday we showed some real pace and were quickest on the first session. So we had felt good going into the weekend.”
In the first race of the weekend, Watson held on to fourth place for some time, before making a bold move, which didn’t go the way he had hoped, leaving him to finish the race in ninth place: “I made a clean move for third place but Davenport made contact with my left rear wheel, trying to get the spot back. That left me with a lot of damage to limp home with. We felt really hard done by, as we should have finished in third and that would certainly have set us up for a much better weekend, as it’s a really hard track to pass on.”
The young driver, from County Tyrone in Northern Ireland, got off to a good start on Sunday, though. Despite beginning race two down in ninth, he powered his way up into sixth place to finish the race, but was later handed a 0.5 second penalty for gaining an unfair advantage. The penalty left the driver in seventh place, where he was forced to begin the final race of the weekend.
The final race was a frustrating one for Watson, as he quickly found himself in P9. But, fighting hard, he managed to regain seventh position, where he finished up the final race of the weekend.
Watson said: “For the second and third races my tyres were very worn from the damage in the earlier race so we really just had to try and limit the damage all weekend. But there is still a long, long way to go in the championship and it’s still very tight.”
The results leave Watson in third place in the Ginetta GT Supercup championship. He, and his Douglas Motorsport team, will be looking to make up the lost ground at Snetterton Circuit, where Watson will be back in action on 2nd and 3rd August.
