Andrew Watson, one of the most impressive newcomers to the 2012 Ginetta Junior Championship is aiming to finish his 2012 season on a high as he enters the highly competitive Ginetta Junior Winter Series event at Rockingham.
The annual event which has seen the likes of former Ginetta Junior Champion Seb Morris and Brands Hatch British Touring Car debutant Aaron Williamson take outright victory, proves that the series is a proven platform for showcasing stars of the future.
In his maiden season in Ginetta Junior with rookie Team Douglas Motorsport, Andrew made his debut on the podium at round four in Donington Park. Despite some bad luck during the middle of the season, Watson returned from the summer break a re-energised driver taking another podium in Snetterton. However Watson’s highlight of the season was his performances at Silverstone where he was clearly the class of the field during the weekend. Undeterred by the intense championship battle around him involving teammate Niall Murray, Charlie Robertson and Sennan Fielding, Watson worked his way up the order from starting fifth on the grid. Now in second, Andrew closed down a gap of almost two seconds to pass championship leader Charlie Robertson for the lead, which he would go on to secure, and with it, take his debut win of the season.
Finishing the season fifth in the championship, with six podiums including a win and two series lap records, a clearly delighted Watson spoke about how much he enjoyed the year, “starting out this year I knew it was certainly going to be a tough championship. I was lucky to have Niall as my teammate to share his experience from the previous season and it certainly helped. Donington was great to get my first podium so early on, but it was really the second half of the season where it all clicked for me. Silverstone is a weekend I will remember for a long time! Despite a slightly disappointing weekend results wise in Rockingham as part of the championship this year, I know exactly where I could have improved. I had the pace in both races but was hampered by a bit of bad luck, and maybe the odd bit of over exuberance! However I’m confident that I can return with that pace again and I’m aiming to finish the season on a high by adding my name to the impressive list of previous winners.”
The Ginetta Junior Winter Series supported by ATL Racing Fuel Cells will run around the ISS
configuration circuit at Rockingham in Corby on Saturday 10th November.