PSCGB: Double podium for Aimee Watts at Oulton Park
- LIAM REDFORD
- 2 hours ago
- 6 min read
Aimee Watts twice finished on the RS Am class podium at Oulton Park in a weekend which the Clean Racing driver displayed consistently front-running pace in Porsche Sprint Challenge Great Britain, topping the second free practice session while rivalling the RS Pro class drivers to ultimately score two third place class finishes.
Aimee Watts twice finished on the RS Am class podium at Oulton Park in a weekend which the Clean Racing driver displayed consistently front-running pace in Porsche Sprint Challenge Great Britain.
After topping the second free practice session while rivalling the RS Pro class drivers, Watts qualified in fourth in class during changeable weather conditions. Two third place class finishes represented a good haul of championship points for Watts who continues to take strides forward in her second season in the series.
Returning to Porsche Sprint Challenge Great Britain, Watts made a positive start to the season at Donington Park. Securing a career-best class finish of second in race one, Watts arrived at Oulton Park in fourth position within the RS Am class championship standings. The Clean Racing driver displayed excellent racecraft as she consistently moved forward during the three races at Donington Park and now she was targeting a return to the rostrum.
Battling mixed conditions last season at Oulton Park, Watts secured a pair of sixth-place finishes and therefore she was targeting improved results with her additional experience in the car. The narrow layout of the Island circuit was set to make overtaking challenging throughout the weekend and therefore working on car setup was set to be crucial throughout the free practice sessions.
On-track action began on Friday with both practice sessions held in dry conditions. Watts began the day by setting a time of a 1:24.640 which placed her in fourth position in the RS Am class. In the afternoon session, Watts took a significant step forward as she topped the RS Am class standings by a sizeable margin of four tenths of a second. Lapping the Oulton Park Island circuit in a time of a 1:23.666, Watts set a time over three-quarters of a second faster than she managed in qualifying last year.
Qualifying was held on Saturday morning and with a change of conditions at Oulton Park, all drivers fitted the wet weather tyres. Watts used her experience to make a fast start to the session, briefly holding provisional RS Am class pole position before slipping to third at the halfway point.
With the rain having stopped and a dry line emerging, some drivers fitted the slick tyres in the closing stages of the session. Watts remained on the wet weather tyres with a split in strategy among the RS Am competitors. At the end of qualifying, Watts had set a fastest time of a 1:30.591 which saw the Clean Racing driver qualify in 12th position overall, fourth in the RS Am class.
Race one of the weekend was held on Saturday morning and the track was now fully dry following the earlier rain. The grid positions were based upon the results of qualifying and therefore Watts started from 12th on the overall grid, fourth within the RS Am class. It was a challenging start for the Clean Racing driver who fell to 15th overall at the end of lap one, while slipping to fifth in the RS Am class.
Watts was then assessed a five-second time penalty for a false-start and therefore her main focus was to build a margin to the drivers behind, while Aimee also aimed to put cars between herself and her RS Am class rivals. The margins between the drivers in the midfield remained extremely close as overtaking proved challenging and drivers looked to force each other into mistakes.
On lap four, an issue for RS Pro class driver Ethan Hammerton promoted Watts into 14th position overall with Max Watt going off the circuit at Cascades on the following lap. The safety car was then deployed to retrieve Hammerton’s cars with Watts running in 13th position overall, fifth in the RS Am class.
The race resumed on lap nine and the Clean Racing driver made a good restart as she quickly built a gap to the two RS Am class rivals behind. Both Richard Hosking and Matthew Briers were further delayed after Watt moved through after his earlier moment and therefore the gap to the sixth-place driver in class was approaching the crucial five seconds.
Watts continued to apply pressure to the drivers ahead in the closing stages and the Clean Racing driver was showing excellent pace despite her difficult track position. Taking the chequered flag in 13th position overall, fifth in the RS Am class, Watts did not lose any positions either in class or within the overall standings once her five-second time penalty was applied.
Race two of the weekend took place on Sunday afternoon and with the grid positions based upon second fastest times from qualifying, Watts lined up from tenth on the overall grid, third within the RS Am class. As the lights went out, Watts made a good start and she held her position through the opening lap while starting to come under pressure from class rival Reece Somerfield.
Completing lap two just a tenth of a second ahead of Somerfield, Watts was defending her position smartly as she remained in tenth position overall, third in class. The Clean Racing driver was continuing to soak up the pressure as she defended her provisional podium position with Somerfield remaining less than a quarter of a second behind in the early stages.
On lap five, Watts edged away from Somerfield and after setting the second fastest time through sector two, Aimee set the fastest lap of the race in the RS Am class. The following lap saw Watts overtake teammate Max Watt which elevated the Clean Racing driver into ninth position overall. Crucially, class rival Dan Lewis was now ahead and Watts could focus forward on applying pressure to the Race Car Consultants driver.
On lap seven, Watts was the fourth fastest driver on track as she hunted down Lewis. After catching her class rival, Watts ran just a tenth of a second behind Lewis at the end of lap 11 with the drivers almost running side-by-side into Old Hall corner. Lewis held the position with Watts then assessed a five-second time penalty for exceeding track limits.
On the final lap of the race, Watts and Lewis were engaged in a superb battle for second position in the RS Am class. After briefly moving ahead, Lewis reclaimed the position with Watts taking the chequered flag in ninth position overall, third in the RS Am class. After displaying excellent pace in the closing stages, Watts retained her podium position once the time penalty was applied with the Clean Racing driver returning to the rostrum.
Following a light rain shower, the third and final race of the weekend took place on Sunday afternoon with the grid positions based upon the results from race two. Watts lined up from ninth position overall, third in the RS Am class, with all drivers fitting the slick tyres despite some damp patches remaining away from the racing line.
As the lights went out, Watts came under attack from teammate Lydia Walmsley with the Clean Racing drivers running side-by-side through Old Hall corner. Watts pulled clear on the exit of Cascades as she ended lap one in tenth position overall, fourth in the RS Am class. Another superb start from Reece Somerfield saw the Breakell Racing driver move ahead with RS Pro class driver Sam Harvey now applying pressure.
On lap two, Harvey made his way through with Watts setting into 11th position overall, while remaining fourth in class. With two RS Am machines now ahead of Harvey, Watts was looking for an opportunity to follow the RS Pro class driver through the field. On lap four, an issue for Somerfield saw Watts climb back into a provisional podium position in the RS Am class as she began to close in on Harvey.
On lap seven, the race entered a safety car period after the car of Richard Hosking required recovery on the exit of Knickerbrook. The race resumed with four minutes left on the clock and as the drivers approached the Island hairpin, a concertina effect occurred which saw Harvey spun around with Watts moving up into ninth position overall, while she remained third in the RS Am class.
Now in clean air, Watts ran a series of personal best times to end the race with her pace once again comparable with the class leaders. Taking the chequered flag in ninth position overall, third in the RS Am class, Watts secured her second podium finish of the weekend with a strong drive while she battled with a number of the RS Pro competitors.
It was an extremely positive weekend for Watts who showed improved speed at Oulton Park. Setting the pace during free practice in the RS Am class demonstrated her potential and the Clean Racing driver is edging closer to her maiden class victory. The next round of Porsche Sprint Challenge Great Britain takes place at Knockhill on the weekend of August 8th/9th.
