It was a challenging weekend for Andrew Watson as he made the trip to Brands Hatch to contest round two of the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship with CarStore Power Maxed Racing.
Heading into the weekend full of confidence after an impressive debut in the series at Donington, Andrew was looking to extend his advantage in the Jack Sears Trophy standings by adding further points to his tally at the iconic 1.2-mile Kent venue.
The weather conditions presented the drivers with additional food for thought during qualifying on Saturday, a session plagued by incidents which resulted in a number of red flags. Andrew finished the session in P20 after a red flag brought an end to a flying lap which would have seen him placed higher up the grid.
In the opening race, Andrew was making good progress before a multi car shunt at Clark Curve, which was almost impossible to avoid, saw Andrew’s car suffer terminal damage ending his race prematurely.
Thankfully the team were able to complete the repair in time to get him back on the grid and ready for race two. He was able to show glimpses of his ability, moving forward through the field, making up four places to finish the race in P20.
During the third and final race of the weekend Andrew suffered a puncture which forced him into the pits, all but ending his chances of finishing higher up the grid.
Reflecting on the weekend, Andrew said:
“This weekend was tough, from start to finish. Conditions on Saturday were tricky, and it was all about timing, which we got wrong in qualifying. But in those scenarios, it’s about luck as much as anything.
“We had a lap that would have put us much further up the grid, but we just missed it with the red flag. Starting down in the pack was always going to be difficult, but we made a good start in race one, before I got caught up in somebody else’s incident.
“There was quite a lot of damage to the car, but the team did an amazing job to turn it around, which was incredible to watch. We got back out, but we didn’t really have enough time to set the car up as we wanted, so we struggled a bit. But we got out and scored some Jack Sears points.
“But it was a weekend to forget, so time for a re-think and then we’ll re-group at Snetterton.”
After the opening two rounds of the series, Andrew is currently sat P4 in the Jack Sears Trophy standings with 68 points.
He’ll be looking to bounce back in 11 days time when the BTCC visits Snetterton for round three on 20-21 May.
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