PSCGB: Aimee Watts completes rookie season at Brands Hatch
- LIAM REDFORD
- Oct 8
- 6 min read
Aimee Watts produced a consistent weekend of racing to close out a positive debut campaign in Porsche Sprint Challenge Great Britain, where she consistently battled for top-5 positions within the RS Am class at the Brands Hatch finale, securing a trio of sixth-place results.
Aimée Watts enjoyed a consistent weekend of racing in the final round of Porsche Sprint Challenge Great Britain at Brands Hatch. Watts showed excellent pace in a pair of wet free practice sessions on Friday, before qualifying in seventh position in the RS Am class in damp conditions. Across the three races held in dry conditions, Watts secured a trio of sixth-place results as she battled confidently for top-5 finishes.
Arriving at Brands Hatch with her eyes fully focused on the podium, Watts was aiming to replicate the form which saw her stand on the rostrum earlier in the season. Round two of the championship on the Brands Hatch Indy circuit was a breakthrough event for the Clean Racing driver who consistently challenged among the RS Am class frontrunners, before securing a third-place result in race three, while setting the fastest lap in race one.
Now racing on the formidable Grand Prix layout, Watts was looking to draw upon her experience of racing in other categories in order to fight at the head of the field. With not all drivers having raced on the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit, Aimee’s previous knowledge would be vital with limited track time ahead of the competitive action getting underway.
Friday’s pair of test sessions were held in wet conditions which provided an even greater challenge for the drivers. However, Watts excelled and ended the day with the third fastest time in the RS Am class. Her quickest lap of a 1:39.027 came in the morning session with the Clean Racing driver showing particularly strong pace through the Grand Prix section of the circuit.
Qualifying took place early on Saturday morning with the Porsche Sprint Challenge Great Britain drivers first on track. Therefore, conditions were still wet and although there was no rain falling, all drivers initially fitted the wet tyres.
Watts made a good start to the session as she held third position in the RS Am class through the first half of the session. However, as drivers changed tyres in the latter stages and the track continued to dry, the Clean Racing driver faced greater difficulties. As a result, Watts qualified in seventh position in the RS Am class with a fastest time of a 1:37.743.
Race one at Brands Hatch took place on Saturday afternoon with the track now dry and therefore all drivers fitted the slick tyres. The grid was based upon the fastest times from qualifying and therefore Watts lined up from seventh in the RS Am class. Watts got a good initial launch and overtook RS Pro class driver Toby Trice, before Aimee’s Clean Racing teammate reclaimed the position before the end of the first lap.
Watts therefore remained in seventh position within class and as Trice tried to make his way through the field after a challenging qualifying session, Aimee also looked to make up ground. At the end of lap two, Oliver Meadows was just two tenths of a second ahead and a number of good battles began to emerge in the RS Am class. After Meadows passed Jason Baker, the Tuthill UK driver was Aimee’s next target and she began applying pressure to her class rival.
Watts ran just half a second behind Baker as the race approach halfway, while the battling pair remained in contention for top-5 positions within class. On lap seven, Aimee forced Baker to defend as the driver entered the Grand Prix loop with the Clean Racing driver showing excellent speed in this portion of the race.
Her pressure paid off on lap nine as she made an excellent move on Baker round the Grand Prix loop to claim sixth position in the RS Am class. In her first lap in clean air, Aimee was faster than the next three drivers ahead and after her RS Am class rivals became held up by the slower CS Am class machine of Alister Weston, she was able to close right in.
As a result, Watts applied significant pressure to the group of drivers ahead while carrying a significant amount of momentum in the closing stages. A lapped car then halted her challenge on the final lap as she was forced to defend from Baker, taking the chequered flag just a tenth of a second ahead of her rival. Watts finished race one in sixth position to begin the weekend on the front foot as she displayed excellent speed relative to her fellow RS Am class drivers.
The second race of the weekend took place early on Sunday morning with conditions remaining cool, but dry. Watts lined up from fifth position within the RS Am class and the Clean Racing driver was targeting a fast start. As the lights went out, Daniel Lewis got an excellent getaway alongside Aimee as he moved into the top-5 with Watts settling into sixth position.
Following a stall from Jason Baker, this gave Watts a comfortable gap behind so therefore she could focus forward on those ahead of her. The pace at the head of the RS Am class field was strong and although Aimee was setting faster times than she did the previous day, both Lewis and Dean Burden were edging away. By lap five, Watts had settled into a fast and consistent rhythm and she was now matching Lewis as he began to apply pressure to Burden.
Two laps later, the duo were running side-by-side and therefore Watts was closing the margin through the Indy part of the circuit in particular. By lap nine, the gap to the pair ahead was down to three seconds as Aimee was targeting a late-race charge. As the positions settled in front, Lewis and Burden slowly extended the margin with Watts taking the chequered flag in sixth position within the RS Am class to complete a clean race two.
The season finale took place on Sunday afternoon with the grid positions based upon the results from race two. Therefore, Watts started from sixth within the RS Am class as she aimed to end her rookie campaign on a high. It was a clean start for Aimee who did well to avoid the slowing car of Oliver Cottam on the approach to Druids, while Charlie Tuthill spun into the gravel behind. With the cars of Cottam and Tuthill requiring recovery, the safety car was deployed to neutralise the field.
The race resumed on lap five and Watts was initially under pressure from Jason Baker as the Tuthill UK driver looked to make his move. After resisting the challenge from her rival, Watts set the third fastest lap time in the RS Am class as she began to mount a challenge on Dean Burden. After cutting the gap to under a second, Watts maintained this margin as she matched the lap times of the drivers ahead.
On lap nine, Watts continued her charge by improving her times through the Grand Prix loop and as a result, she cut the margin to Burden to just one tenth of a second. Aimee looked for a move at Paddock Hill bend, however Burden protected his position well and as the LFP Motorsport driver defended fifth position, this allowed Baker to close back in.
After Baker cut the gap to under half a second, Watts responded with a personal best time on lap 11. This saw the Clean Racing driver reduce the margin to Burden once again as she mounted one final charge. Watts continued to apply the pressure on the final lap as she took the chequered flag in sixth position within the RS Am class, just one tenth of a second behind Burden.
Watts produced a consistent weekend of racing to close out a positive debut campaign in Porsche Sprint Challenge Great Britain. Aimee consistently battled for top-5 positions within the RS Am class as she made a successful step up to one of the most competitive one-make GT championships in the country.
Watts will now be looking to use the knowledge gained in preparation for the 2026 season where she will be aiming to return to competitive action and take the next step on her motorsport journey.
