Andrew Robert Watson (born 21 January 1995) is a British former racing driver and managing director, currently working at Parts Control. He most recently competed in the 2024 British Touring Car Championship for Toyota Gazoo Racing UK.

Throughout his career, Watson has competed in sports car racing and endurance racing, until his switch to touring car racing in 2023. He is a former Aston Martin Racing junior.

Racing career

Early career

Watson began his motor racing career at the age of 15, in the Ginetta Junior Ireland Championship, making regular podiums through to 2011. That year, he joined Douglas Motorsport team to race in the final two rounds of the Ginetta Junior Championship at Silverstone.

2012 saw Watson contest the entire Ginetta Junior championship season, again with Douglas Motorsport. The season saw him deliver fifth place in the Championship, achieving six podium places, including second places and his maiden victory, with only two non-finishes out of the twenty-round season.

2013 – Ginetta GT Supercup

Watson's Ginetta Junior team decided to enter the senior competition, the Ginetta GT Supercup, using a Ginetta G55.

At the first meeting of the season at Brands Hatch Indy circuit, Watson qualified second despite having little experience in the much more powerful G55 car. This translated to a seventh-place finish in round 1, followed by an eighth place in round 2, both on the Saturday. Round 3 was held on Sunday an even more impressive finish in fourth place cemented his arrival in the senior ranks.

Success at Donington Park at the second meeting of the year, was not so easy to repeat but Watson did qualify third and managed to get the fastest lap in round 5.

Watson achieved his first podium in the GT Supercup, with a second-place finish in round 7, at the year's third meeting at Thruxton in Hampshire.

At Knockhill, Watson achieved pole position for round 18 (being the meeting's 1st race) on 24 August. This could not be converted to a maiden race win in the GT Supercup owing to him having to serve a drive-through penalty. He eventually finished the race in tenth place.

In round 20 at Knockhill, Watson led the race for 23 of the 24 lap race, however he was overtaken for the lead by championship leader Tom Ingram. A last corner overtake saw Matt Nicoll-Jones take second place with Watson gaining holding on to third place.

Watson finished the season in seventh place overall in the standings with 372 points.

2014 – Ginetta GT4 Supercup For the now renamed 2014 Ginetta GT4 Supercup, Watson stayed with long-term team Douglas Motorsport alongside a new teammate, Harry Woodhead, winner of the 2013 Ginetta Junior Championship.

Success came early, with pole position, fastest lap and a win in the opening round at Brands Hatch, followed by second and third-place finishes in the next two rounds. A further win at Thruxton in round 9 of the series, saw Watson leading the championship with 230 points.

Watson eventually finished the season in fourth place on 640 points.

2015 – British GT Championship In 2015, Watson made a switch to the British GT Championship driving a McLaren 650S GT3 for Von Ryan Racing as part of the McLaren Young Driver Programme. He competed in the GT3 class, a step-up from the GT4 class he previously drove in the 2014 Ginetta GT4 Supercup.

Watson scored his best result of the season when he and fellow McLaren GT “Young Driver” Ross Wylie finished seventh in the Silverstone 500 in May 2015, only 20 seconds behind the podium places. The race at Silverstone was preceded by races at Rockingham and Oulton Park. At Oulton Park in April 2015, Watson and his teammate Ross Wiley placed a ninth-place finish in the second race, whilst at Rockingham in May 2015, the team retired from the race on the opening lap following a collision.

Watson also raced in four races of the International Open GT Championship, scoring one race win and one pole position. In addition, Watson competed in the Sepang 12 Hours and secured a class victory.

2016 – Blancpain GT Championship For 2016, Watson raced in the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup with Garage 59 in a McLaren 650S GT3 as a member of the McLaren GT Young Driver Academy.

2016 also saw Watson make his debut at the famous Bathurst 12 hour race, where he finished a credible ninth overall on his first visit to the track.

2017 – Blancpain GT Championship

Watson continued to race in the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup and also the Blancpain GT World Challenge Europe again behind the wheel of the McLaren 650s, but this time representing Strakka racing in the 2017 Blancpain GT Series.

2018 – Blancpain GT Championship

Watson remained in the McLaren 650S GT3 racing with Garage 59 in the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup. His 2018 highlights included achieving pole position in the AM class at the Blancpain 24 Hours of Spa and pole position in the PRO Class at Paul Ricard. Watson also achieved an excellent podium position at the 1,000 kilometres of Paul Ricard as Andrew in the #58 Garage 59 McLaren qualified on the front row and led for the majority of the race, before eventually coming home in third place - marking a proud moment in Andrew's career as he achieved his first overall podium finish in the Blancpain GT Series.

Watson also raced in the Blancpain GT World Challenge Europe for 3Y in a BMW M6 GT3, which included race victory in the Silver Class at Brands Hatch.

2019 – Blancpain GT Championship

Watson's 2019 season saw him compete in the European Blancpain GT Endurance Series with Andrew rejoining the Garage 59 team, following their switch to the Aston Martin Vantage GT3's for the 2019 Blancpain campaign.

2019/20 – FIA World Endurance Championship

Watson was selected to join the Gulf Racing team in the 2019/20 FIA World Endurance Championship. Racing a Porsche 911 RSR, Andrew collected his maiden World Championship podium in Bahrain as the team finished third in the GTE-Am Class.

Watson also made his debut in the Aston Martin Vantage GTE as he featured in the FIA World Endurance Championship Rookie Test with Aston Martin Racing.

2020 – Daytona 24 Hours Watson made his Daytona 24 Hours debut in January 2020 after securing a late drive with Aston Martin Racing. Replacing the injured Paul Dalla Lana, he joined Pedro Lamy, Mathias Lauda and Ross Gunn in the No. 98 Aston Martin Vantage GT3. However, the team did not finish the race due to a crash after 189 completed laps.

2020 – Bathurst 12 Hours

On his fourth appearance at the Bathurst 12 Hours, Andrew Watson celebrated a podium finish at the 2020 Bathurst 12 Hour endurance race.

Watson, along with Garage 59 team-mates Oliver Hart and Roman De Angelis, finished third in the Silver class and 14th overall at Mount Panorama behind the wheel on an Aston Martin Vantage GT3.

British Touring Car Championship Power Maxed Racing (2023) On 18 January 2023, it was announced that Watson would drive for CarStore Power Maxed Racing in the 2023 British Touring Car Championship, driving a Vauxhall Astra. This would be Watson's first time in touring car racing, and his first time racing a front-wheel drive car. He impressed on debut, qualifying ninth at the first round at Donington Park, ahead of teammate Árón Taylor-Smith and fellow rookie teammate Mikey Doble. In the first race of the weekend, he climbed five positions to finish fourth overall, and first in the Jack Sears Trophy.

Racing record

Career summary SeasonSeriesTeamRacesWinsPolesF/LapsPodiumsPointsPosition2011Ginetta Junior ChampionshipHHC Motorsport200002819th2012Ginetta Junior ChampionshipDouglas Motorsport2010263675thGinetta Junior Winter Series31111556th2013Ginetta GT SupercupDouglas Motorsport2700233727th2014Ginetta GT4 SupercupDouglas Motorsport27515126084th2015International GT Open - GT3 Pro AmTeo Martin Motorsport411011310thBritish GT ChampionshipVon Ryan Racing900002816th2016Blancpain GT Series Sprint CupGarage 5920000 0 NCBlancpain GT Series Endurance Cup50000 0 NCIntercontinental GT ChallengeTekno Autosports10000615thGarage 59100002017Blancpain GT Series Endurance CupStrakka Racing50000 0 NCBlancpain GT Series Sprint Cup100000621stIntercontinental GT Challenge100000NCBritish GT Championship - GT4Black Bull Garage 5910000623rd2018Blancpain GT Series Endurance CupGarage 5950001 19 24thBlancpain GT Series Sprint Cup3Y Technology 8 0 0 0 0 0.5 27thBlancpain GT Series Sprint Cup - Silver Cup 8 1 0 0 1 49.5 5thIntercontinental GT ChallengeYNA Autosport10000423rdGarage 59200002019Blancpain GT Series Endurance CupGarage 59500002 33rd2019-20FIA World Endurance Championship - GTE AmGulf Racing700017013th202024 Hours of Le Mans - GTE AmGulf Racing10000N/A5thEuropean Le Mans Series - GTEGulf Racing UK100000NCIMSA SportsCar Championship - GTDAston Martin Racing100001458thGT World Challenge Europe Endurance CupGarage 59500000NCIntercontinental GT Challenge100002 20th2021FIA World Endurance Championship - GTE AmD'station Racing60001519th24 Hours of Le Mans - GTE Am10000N/A6th2022Asian Le Mans Series - GTInception Racing with Optimum Motorsport40000385th 2023 British Touring Car Championship CarStore Power Maxed Racing 30 0 0 0 2 92 15th 2024 British Touring Car Championship Toyota Gazoo Racing UK 30 0 0 0 0 120 14th

Complete British GT Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 DC Points 2015 Von Ryan Racing McLaren 650S GT3 GT3 OUL1 OUL2 ROC1 SIL1 SPA1 BRH1 SNE1 SNE2 DON1 16th 28 2017 Black Bull Garage 59 McLaren 570S GT4 GT4 OUL1 OUL2 ROC1 SNE1 SNE2 SIL1 SPA1 SPA2 BRH1 DON1 23rd 6

Complete GT World Challenge Europe results GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Pos Points 2016 Garage 59 McLaren 650S GT3 Pro MNZ SIL LEC SPA6H SPA12H SPA24H NÜR NC 0 2017 Strakka Racing McLaren 650S GT3 Pro MNZ SIL LEC SPA6H SPA12H SPA24H CAT NC 02018 Garage 59 McLaren 650S GT3 Pro MNZ SIL LEC SPA6H SPA12H SPA24H CAT 24th 19 2019 Garage 59 Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Pro MNZ SIL LEC SPA6H SPA12H SPA24H CAT 33rd 2 2020 Garage 59 Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Silver IMO NÜR SPA6H SPA12H SPA24H LEC 4th 58

GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Pos. Points 2016 Garage 59 McLaren 650S GT3 Pro MISQR MISCR BRHQR BRHCR NÜRQR NÜRCR HUNQR HUNCR CATQR CATCR NC 0 2017 Strakka Racing McLaren 650S GT3 Pro MISQR MISCR BRHQR BRHCR ZOLQR ZOLCR HUNQR HUNCR NÜRQR NÜRCR 21st 6 2018 3Y Technology BMW M6 GT3 Silver ZOL1 ZOL2 BRH1 BRH2 MIS1 MIS2 HUN1 HUN2 NÜR1 NÜR2 5th 49.5

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Rank Points 2019–20 Gulf Racing LMGTE Am Porsche 911 RSR Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 SIL FUJ SHA BHR COA SPA LMS BHR 13th 70 2021 D'station Racing LMGTE Am Aston Martin Vantage AMR Aston Martin 4.0 L Turbo V8 SPA ALG MNZ LMS BHR BHR 9th 51

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team Class Make Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Points 2020 Aston Martin Racing GTD Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Aston Martin 4.0 L Turbo V8 DAY DAY SEB ELK VIR ATL MDO CLT PET LGA SEB 58th 14

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps 2020 Gulf Racing Ben Barker Michael Wainwright Porsche 911 RSR GTEAm 337 29th 5th 2021 D'station Racing Tomonobu Fujii Satoshi Hoshino Aston Martin Vantage AMR GTEAm 333 33rd 6th

Complete European Le Mans Series results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)