British racing driver Andrew Watson took third place in the #86 Gulf Racing Porsche 911 RSR in the LMGTE-Am class at the 8 hours of Bahrain gaining his first podium.
It was Watson’s his first appearance at the Bahrain International Circuit, and he was racing alongside his teammates Mike Wainwright and Ben Barker in their for the fourth race of the season.
The team displayed their pace prior to qualifying, finishing final practice in first at the 3.363-mile circuit. The team qualified fifth on Friday with teammates Mike Wainwright and Ben Barker securing the position.
Wainwright was the first driver in the #86 Porsche beginning the race before later passing the car onto Barker. He then managed to move the car up the grid into third at the end of the second hour.
Andrew leapt into the car as he took it from third to first in his first hour of the race. He then set the second-fastest lap of the race during his second run in the car. This was just shortly after leaving the pits, setting the team up for third place with only three hours of the race remaining.
Finally, on his third stint, Watson crossed the line claiming third place for the Gulf Racing team, gaining his first podium in WEC, and also marking the first podium for the team this season.
Watson said after the race, “It was probably one of the best days of my life! To get a podium in the World Endurance Championship is honestly a dream come true.”
Watson is now currently seventh in the drivers’ championship and his team in sixth.
Following the race weekend Watson then drove the Aston Martin Racing Vantage GTE for the official rookie test with the Aston Martin Racing team.
“It was an amazing experience to do a few laps in the Aston Martin Racing Vantage GTE and to work with all the team at AMR – a huge thank you to everyone involved!” he added.
Teammate Barker added, “It’s been a long time coming, but it feels good to get that monkey off our back,
“This is a really great result for the team and just reward for the effort that everyone has put in during that time. The team has never been anything less than excellent, both in terms of strategy and pit-stops, but luck hadn’t exactly been going our way.“
Join the Porsche Motorsport Community on: Facebook | Instagram | Reddit | Discord
