Consistent progress for Aimee Watts with three podium finishes at Cadwell Park

Aimee Watts secured podium finishes in all three races at Cadwell Park, keeping her in contention for the Club class championship in the Clapham North MOT Mazda MX-5 Supercup Championship.

Photo credits: James Roberts Photography / BRSCC

Aimee Watts enjoyed a productive weekend of racing in the Clapham North MOT Mazda MX-5 Supercup Championship at Cadwell Park where she stood on the podium in all three races.

Following an excellent qualifying session where she qualified second among the Club class racers, Watts enjoyed a fantastic battle with rival Wilbur Tiley in race one before taking the checkered flag in third. Two further third place finishes rounded-off another event for Watts at one of Britain’s most challenging circuits.

Arriving into the weekend just five points behind Club class championship leader Ollie Hall when dropped scores were taken into account, Watts was aiming to return to the top step of the podium at Cadwell Park. The tight and twisty confines of the Lincolnshire track were set to make overtaking challenging and therefore qualifying was a top priority ahead of three hard-fought races to come.

Aimee was also fresh off her excellent return to historic racing after securing a pair of top-15 finishes in the Sanwa Trophy at Brands Hatch and was therefore looking to keep this momentum going.

Qualifying for the Clapham North MOT Mazda MX-5 Supercup Championship took place on Saturday morning and was ran over twenty-minutes, allowing drivers to get up to speed and gain confidence at the challenging circuit. Watts made an excellent late-session improvement which saw her qualify in second place within the Club class, 11th overall, with a best lap time of a 1:41.208.

Lining up from second in the Club class, Aimee made a good start and held her position after the opening lap. Wilbur Tiley, one of Watts’ main rivals in the championship, was directly behind and Aimee had to work hard in the early laps to defend her position. On lap two, Tiley had closed the gap to less than two tenths of a second and after a stout defence, he was able to make the move as the race approached halfway.

A number of Pro class drivers were now behind Watts as she ran third in the Club class, 12th overall. Firstly resisting the challenge from Elliot Lettis, Aimee then defended from Alistair Dendy and was able to finally break clear of her rivals.

Although now with a gap of over six seconds to Tiley ahead, the closing stages of race one saw Watts make significant inroads on her rival. At the checkered flag, Watts had cut the deficit to less than two seconds to end the opening race on the Club class podium in third place, finishing 12th overall.

Photo credits: BRSCC

Watts started race two of the weekend from 13th overall, third in the Club class courtesy of her second fastest time from qualifying. It was a clean start for Aimee who dropped just one overall position, while holding down a provisional podium position in class. After quickly building up a buffer to Jim Barratt behind, Watts could now focus forward and attack the Pro class machine of Alistair Dendy which was sitting between herself and Club class rival Wilbur Tiley.

On lap three, Aimee moved ahead of Alex Stott before successfully finding a way around Dendy and this elevated Watts towards the overall top-10. Tiley was now ahead and following a short safety car period on lap six, she was able to close onto the tail of her rival.

Running less than half a second behind Tiley at the restart, Watts applied significant pressure and enjoyed a superb battle on lap nine, before Tiley held position. Crossing the line in third place within the Club class, Aimee secured another podium finish and banked a large haul of championship points.

Aimee once again lined up third in the Club class for the final race of the weekend, while just outside the top-10 of the overall grid. It was a tricky start for Watts who dropped three overall positions and lost out to Bruce Robinson within class.

Nonetheless, she fought back superbly on lap two by moving back ahead of Robinson, while also passing the Pro class machines of Alex Stott and Jack Brewer. Now with a sizeable gap to Wilbur Tiley ahead, Aimee was looking for her two championship rivals to battle for position in order to bridge the margin.

Into the second half of the race, Watts continued to hold a comfortable third and had the barrier of Pro class runner George Grant between herself and Jim Barratt who sat in fourth position. It was a consistent end to the race for Aimee who was able to manage the gap behind her and take the checkered flag in third position to end the weekend on the rostrum.

It was a productive weekend of racing for Aimee at Cadwell Park as she remained firmly in the championship hunt with three third-place results. Watts enjoyed a number of close battles in the midfield and was able to fight for position with a number of the Pro class drivers.

She will be looking to continue her podium streak when the Clapham North MOT Mazda MX-5 Supercup Championship returns at Donington Park on the weekend of 21st/22nd September.