Andrew Watson enjoyed another memorable weekend in the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship at Donington Park, as the Northern Irishman claimed his second BTCC podium, an Independents victory and Jack Sears Trophy victory at Silverstone to lead the JST standings heading to the season finale.
Andrew would get his weekend off to a fine start on Saturday as he got up to speed around the Silverstone National circuit in FP1 before topping the timesheets in the second session. In qualifying, Andrew would just miss out on a spot in the top-ten shootout as he claimed 12th on the grid for the opening race of the weekend.
Race day arrived, and with it came the dark skies. With the rain gradually beginning to fall, the pivotal decision to run dry or wet tyres would be the key to a strong race result and, going against the majority of the grid, Andrew opted for the wet tyres.
A strategic masterstroke, the grid left for the formation lap as the rain began to fall even heavier and, with the tyre advantage, Andrew made fantastic progress through the field as he rose up the order and into second place!
Despite being passed in the final stages, Andrew came home in third place to claim his second-ever overall BTCC podium and the Independents Victory in his CarStore Power Maxed Racing Vauxhall Astra.
Dry conditions set the scene for race two and Andrew would once again deliver a stellar performance behind the wheel to bring it home for a sixth-place finish and as the highest finisher in the Jack Sears Trophy - providing him with more crucial points for his championship fight.
Despite a tough final race, which saw him take the chequered flag in 18th place, Andrew took to the podium one final time at Silverstone as the weekend's Jack Sears Trophy victor and now leads the standings by 18 points heading to the finale at Brands Hatch in two weeks' time (7-8 October).
Andrew also occupies third in the Independents Trophy, and 14th in the overall Drivers' Championship - an outstanding achievement for the rookie in his first year of touring car racing!
Reflecting on another memorable weekend, Andrew said:
"What a special day in the BTCC! Another overall podium, independent win and the Jack Sears rookie win to make it 3 trophies in one day! A huge thanks to everyone at CarStore Power Maxed Racing, the car was on rails and I'm proud of the team for all of their efforts across the weekend.
A big thank you to all of my partners, friends and family who came out to support me this weekend, it means a lot and I wouldn't be able to do it without you.
We head to Brands leading the JST, and I'm feeling extremely motivated to try to secure the title!"