Patrick Watts


Patrick Watts is a British auto racing driver. He excelled in single make series in the eighties and competed in saloons in the nineties, mainly in the British Touring Car Championship. He still makes occasional appearances in historic racing events.

Racing career

Early career

His first title came in 1979, winning the National Mini 850 Championship. Between 1980 and 1982 he drove in various saloon cars before getting his first taste of the BTCC for Rover Metro Team in 1983 and 1984. In 1986 he raced in the Fiat Uno Turbo Championship. More titles followed, winning the inaugural Honda CRX Championship in 1988, and again in 1990. Also that year he won the Mazda MX5 championship. In 1991 he stepped up to the ESSO Production Saloon Car Championship, winning yet another title with a Peugeot 309.

BTCC Mazda

His success in 1991 earned him a drive in the 1992 British Touring Car Championship for the new works Shell Mazda Racing Team in a Mazda 323. The one car the team put out was not on the pace of most of the other works teams, and he finished the season in sixteenth place. In 1993, the team switched to a distinctively painted single Mazda Xedos 6. The new car performed much better than the 323 although easy down on power compared to its rivals. The Xedos did manage to get some promising results throughout the year; Patrick lead races and qualified on the front row on more than one occasion. Unfortunately his season was spoiled by often being caught up in several incidents, and he ended the championship in fifteenth place. Mazda did not continue to run a team in 1994, despite showing promise in 1993 .

BTCC Peugeot

In 1994 he replaced Robb Gravett in the Peugeot Sport team with the Peugeot 405. A good year for both driver and team saw him end the year in eighth place, including four podium finishes. Team mate for 1994, Eugene O'Brien, was replaced by newcomer Simon Harrison in 1995. A slightly more troubled season ended with Watts in tenth place with two podiums.
The new look Total Team Peugeot had a new car in 1996 with the all new Peugeot 406, along with a new team mate for Watts. Harrison was replaced with 1992 champion and fellow Farnborough racer Tim Harvey. It what was always going to be a year of learning for Peugeot, the car failed to perform on the track, and he finished one down in sixteenth place, one position behind Harvey the lowest position for a works driver.
Despite higher hopes for 1997 with MSD running the team, the car performed little better despite an improvement towards the end of the season. In Germany the car was dominating but the British effort struggled mainly due to internal team problems and budget restrictions. Again he finished the year down in sixteenth. With the team struggling, he left at the end of the year following a final race at that year's Bathurst 1000 teamed with Neil Crompton, but failing to finish. He was replaced in 1998 by Paul Radisich who found the team a problem also and fared even worse than Patrick.

Post BTCC

He competed in the first two rounds of the Australian Super Touring Championship in 1999, winning one race at round one and finishing 2nd in both races of round two. The race commentators called him “Pommy Paddy”. After that he has done a few rallies including the Armajaro British Historic Rally Championship which he won in 2006 and finished second in 2007. His Touring Car efforts of the nineties were recognised in 2004 when he was selected to drive in the BTCC Masters, where his race ended after a collision with Jason Plato.
He now competes in an allard J2 and FIA mustang and has recently bought the ex-works Computervision MG Metro Turbo he used in BTCC in 1984 and Peugeot 406 that he used successfully in Australia in 1999.
In 2017, Watts drove in the Dunlop Endurance championship in Cuda Drinks-entered Ginetta G50 with Richard Burrows. They finished 24th in race one and 13th in race two at Silverstone.
Patrick is CEO of recycling company Sweeep Kuusakoski, one of the biggest recyclers of electronic components in the world.

Racing record

Complete British Touring Car Championship results

YearTeamCarClass1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526Overall
DC		PtsClass
1983Unipart with Daily ExpressMG MetroSILOUL
?		THR
12		BRH
14		THR
13		SIL
10		DON
Ret		18th910th
1983Unipart with Daily ExpressMG Metro TurboSIL
21		DON
Ret		BRH
Ret		SIL
18		20th75th
1984Computervision Racing with EssoMG Metro TurboDON
9		SIL
6		OUL
DNS		THR
7		THR
Ret		SIL
Ret		SNEBRHBRHDONSILWD0WD
1985North Essex MotorsportFord Escort RS1600iSILOULTHR
Ret		DON
13		THR
DNS		SIL
NC		DONSIL
Ret		SNE
16		BRH
13		BRH
16		SIL
Ret		20th77th
1987North Essex MotorsportFord Escort RS1600iSILOULTHRTHRSILSILBRHSNE
10		DONOULDONSILNC†0†NC†
1988Chris Hodgetts Motor SportToyota Corolla GTSILOULTHRDON
21‡		THRSILSILBRHSNEBRHBIRDONSIL55th216th
1992Shell Mazda Racing TeamMazda 323FSIL
Ret		THR
12		OUL
14		SNE
11		BRH
Ret		DON
1
12		DON
2
Ret		SIL
Ret		KNO
1
Ret		KNO
2
5		PEM
11		BRH
1
8		BRH
2
Ret		DON
Ret		SIL
11		18th5
1993Mazda Racing TeamMazda Xedos 6SIL
6		DON
Ret		SNE
DNS		DON
4		OUL
Ret		BRH
1
10		BRH
2
Ret		PEM
Ret		SIL
Ret		KNO
1
4		KNO
2
4		OUL
Ret		BRH
8		THR
12		DON
1
Ret		DON
2
DNS		SIL
12		15th29
1994Peugeot SportPeugeot 405 Mi16THR
7		BRH
1
7		BRH
2
8		SNE
5		SIL
1
5		SIL
2
3		OUL
3		DON
1
7		DON
2
11		BRH
1
3		BRH
2
3		SIL
6		KNO
1
15		KNO
2
Ret		OUL
8		BRH
1
6		BRH
2
DNS		SIL
1
Ret		SIL
2
Ret		DON
1
7		DON
2
11		8th98
1995Total Team PeugeotPeugeot 405 Mi16DON
1
13		DON
2
11		BRH
1
8		BRH
2
DNS		THR
1
3		THR
2
Ret		SIL
1
6		SIL
2
10		OUL
1
Ret		OUL
2
13		BRH
1
5		BRH
2
8		DON
1
15		DON
2
Ret		SIL
10		KNO
1
DNS		KNO
2
11		BRH
1
11		BRH
2
6		SNE
1
2		SNE
2
Ret		OUL
1
Ret		OUL
2
Ret		SIL
1
11		SIL
2
8		10th61
1996Total Team PeugeotPeugeot 406DON
1
Ret		DON
2
Ret		BRH
1
8		BRH
2
10		THR
1
Ret		THR
2
10		SIL
1
12		SIL
2
Ret		OUL
1
11		OUL
2
11		SNE
1
Ret		SNE
2
12		BRH
1
Ret		BRH
2
15		SIL
1
Ret		SIL
2
Ret		KNO
1
Ret		KNO
2
DNS		OUL
1
Ret		OUL
2
DNS		THR
1
Ret		THR
2
Ret		DON
1
Ret		DON
2
Ret		BRH
1
10		BRH
2
11		16th6
1997Esso Ultron Team PeugeotPeugeot 406DON
1
8		DON
2
Ret		SIL
1
9		SIL
2
8		THR
1
12		THR
2
Ret		BRH
1
Ret		BRH
2
Ret		OUL
1
Ret		OUL
2
15		DON
1
10		DON
2
5		CRO
1
11		CRO
2
16		KNO
1
18		KNO
2
8		SNE
1
Ret		SNE
2
Ret		THR
1
12		THR
2
Ret		BRH
1
8		BRH
2
10		SIL
1
9		SIL
2
9		16th26

† Not eligible for points.
‡ Endurance driver.

Complete Britcar results

YearTeamCarClass123456789101112131415Points
2017Cuda DrinksGinetta G50E4SIL
1		SIL
2		SNE
1		SNE
2		SIL
1
24		SIL
2
13		BRH
1
16		BRH
1
10		DON
1		DON
2		OUL
1		OUL
2		SILBRH
1		BRH
2		19th3rd59