Knockhill returnee Watson: Astra the ideal car for Scottish rounds

Northern Ireland’s Andrew Watson reckons he has “the perfect machine” to seriously challenge for points and prizes at rounds 19, 20 and 21 of this year’s KwikFit British Touring Car Championship.

Jason Craig_1

10 Aug 2023

Teams make the annual trip to Scotland this week and Watson is looking to play his part in helping CarStore Power Maxed Racing continue its pursuit of both the Independent Teams’ and Jack Sears Trophy titles.

The return visit north of the border has added significance for the Bidford-on-Avon squad as Sunday’s opening twenty-four lapper (11.45am) heralds its 250th start in the UK’s premier tin top competition.

Despite measuring little more than 1.27-miles, Knockhill is a circuit that plays to the strengths of front-wheel-drive cars like Watson’s, particularly the first half which combines fast and technical sections.

At Croft in north Yorkshire a fortnight ago, series newcomer Watson collected yet more useful points despite all three of the sprint contests proving typically eventful affairs for the Vauxhall Astra man.

In race one, Watson gained several places to take the chequered flag in P16 before getting the better of team-mate Mikey Doble with a hard-fought P14 result in race two. He produced another battling display in the reversed grid fixture to cross the line in P14 having been shunted off at ‘Tower Corner’.

Those performances were good enough to move Watson up to second place in the Jack Sears Trophy standings with 259 points – four shy of Doble and nine to the good over NAPA Racing’s Sam Osborne.

“Knockhill is a circuit that I love driving and I am really excited to go there and tackle it in a touring car – I think the Vauxhall Astra is the perfect machine and is well-suited for the layout,” said Watson.

“The car should be good there – I think there are certain characteristics to our package that are very strong – and our pace last time out at Croft Circuit was very encouraging, so I am looking forward to getting back to having my elbows out and enjoying life in this year’s British Touring Car Championship.

“Knockhill is somewhere I have always done well at – especially in my Ginetta Racing days – so it will be great to be back,” he continued.

“We are still trying to figure out a few things, we know what we need to work on – qualifying has let us down a bit at the last couple of races we have been to – so I am looking forward to ironing that out and being back in the fight, especially in the Jack Sears Trophy.”