Andrew Watson claimed yet more success in the round eight of the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship at Donington Park, as the Northern-Irishman showcased stellar race-craft to claim a Jack Sears Trophy win which catapulted him to the top of the standings with two rounds to go.
Arriving fresh from podium success at Knockhill in the previous round, Andrew was raring to get going as the championship made it's highly anticipated return to the GP layout of the circuit for the first time since 2002.
Saturday would see mixed conditions for Andrew and his Car Store Power Maxed Racing team, as the changing weather would see varied conditions for the two free practice sessions of the weekend. However, Andrew would secure a good position for the opening race of the weekend with P12 in qualifying on Saturday afternoon.
Race day dawned, and with it came the rain that had been predicted, forcing the entire field to begin the first race of the day on wet weather tyres. Andrew would drop back slightly at the start, but he would mount an impressive charge back through the field, gaining five positions in just two laps to take P9 at the fall of the chequered flag.
Race two would follow, with Andrew starting from P9 on the grid, but with the now dry conditions, he would secure P16 at the races conclusion after an exciting inter-team battle with Mikey Doble.
For the final race of the weekend, Andrew would battle valiantly with those around him lap after lap, eventually taking the chequered flag in P11 and with it, Jack Sears Trophy honours, sharing them with Sam Osborne at the end of the weekends action.
This saw Andrew leap-frog teammate, Mikey Doble to the top of the Jack Sears Trophy standings on 359 points, continuing his successful maiden season in the championship as the final two rounds at Silverstone and Brands Hatch await.
The results from the weekend see Andrew remain P16 in the drivers' standings on 66 points and rise to P3 in the Indepedant standings on 277 points respectively.
Up next for Andrew is Silverstone on the 24-25 of September as he looks to continue his ongoing pursuit for the Jack Sears Trophy with another positive weekend at the home of British motorsport.
Reflecting back on another successful weekend, Andrew said:
“It’s been a really solid weekend. The headline is we’re back in the lead of the Jack Sears Trophy, which is great."
“Race 1, we had really positive pace in the wet again, and made some great progress to P9. Race 2 was a bit of a struggle in the dry, we had a poor start and fell back a bit. But again, the car was really fast in Race 3, and we got back into the points in P11."
“It follows up such a strong weekend at Knockhill and shows where the Vauxhall Astra is at the moment. Aron’s result was great for everybody as well, the team are doing a tremendous job at the moment."
“I’m chomping at the bit now to get to Silverstone!”