Ex-BTCC Star Watts To Make TOCA Tour Return

WITH TCR THIS WEEKENDFormer touring car star Patrick Watts will join Total Control Racing's Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup team this weekend, 1st/2nd October, as a guest entry in the penultimate round of the championship at Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit.Piloting the car previously raced this year by his former British Touring Car Championship sparring partner Tim Harvey, and more recently by sportscar ace Marino Franchitti, Watts will have his first taste of the Ginetta G55 during pre-event testing this coming Friday, 30th September.Competing alongside the Wednesbury squad's title contender Carl Breeze for the three Brands Hatch races, the Kent 54-year-old is looking forward to sampling the powerful 370bhp, V6 engined Ginetta - not least because the weekend's racing will mark Watts' first outing on slick tyres for 10 years!Since last competing in the BTCC back in the late-nineties with the Esso Ultron Team Peugeot works entry, Watts has mainly raced in the ranks of historic competition. This weekend, he'll certainly be a popular addition to the Ginetta series with his welcome return to the TOCA Tour package."It's a great opportunity given to me by TCR and Ginetta but having not raced anything with slicks on for 10 years, I'm looking forward to driving the 2011 Ginetta G55 - which could be different to my 1950 Allard J2!", said Watts."I hope to be in the top 10 but I'm sure there are some good drivers out there. To be honest, I've no idea what the cars look like and I've never seen one of the races but I will 'You Tube' Ginetta before the weekend!"Intriguingly, Watts' arrival at TCR will reunite him with team principal Lee Brookes who raced to the Independents Championship crown in the BTCC in 1996 at the wheel of a Toyota Carina before then campaigning an ex-works Peugeot 406 the following season.Brookes added: "We're absolutely delighted to welcome Patrick to the team and although the Ginetta will be something completely different for him to get used to, we're sure he'll get up to speed quickly. It's been a long time since he was on the BTCC package so it'll be great to see him out there again, we're really looking forward to working with him."Brands Hatch's trio of Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup encounters will be extremely important for TCR with Breeze needing three consistently strong finishes to consolidate his championship push ahead of the season finale at Silverstone in mid-October. As it stands, Breeze is second in the standings on total scores with four race wins and 10 other podiums to his credit. In addition to the Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup action, TCR's AirAsia Renault Clio Cup UK team will also be on track at Brands Hatch for the decisive final two rounds of its season. Kent racer James Dixon goes into the weekend second in the championship and will striving to bring the title back to TCR at his home track - the team having last won the coveted crown in 2006.


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