By Joe Murphy and Marcella Nadya
Ginetta Junior Championship driver Josh Watts sat down with Wheel2Wheel Reports’ Joe and Marcella to discuss his journey as a racing driver and the challenges of balancing his GCSEs while competing in a championship. Furthermore, Watts walked us through the difference between Ginetta and F1 as well as his plans for the future.
You can find the full Interview Video by clicking HERE!
Josh discovered his passion for racing through his parents, who were both professional drivers. Initially, the plan was for him to begin his career in karting. However, Covid hit and he changed pathway directly to car racing, joining the Fiesta Junior Championship. He began testing in Fiesta midway through 2022 and later competed in the final two rounds of the championship at Donington Park and Brands Hatch to gain experience under his belt. Watts has previously participated in BRSCC Fiesta Junior Championship and Ginetta Junior Winter Series, he shared:
“In 2023, we bought a Fiesta and we decided to do the whole year. Well, that was the plan anyway. So it was a rough year, not going to lie. A lot of incidents and maybe the driving standards not being tip top. And yeah, that brought us to the decision to pull out at the sixth round just before Thruxton.”
Following that difficult season, Watts then decided to move to Ginetta Juniors. Over the winter, he did a lot of testing all over the world such as going to Califat with Elite as he was still racing with Elite. His efforts have paid off, as he is now preparing for Donington Park, where he will begin his season this weekend.
You might be wondering, what sets Ginetta apart from other racing series, particularly F1? Well, the Ginetta Junior Championship is a highly competitive series for 14 to 17 year olds, with around 30 drivers on the grid, many of whom have extensive karting experience. To maintain rivalries, the cars’ brake horsepower is limited to 100. During the season, there is no prize money, albeit the winner can choose between £50,000 towards any racing series or £100,000 for a GB4 debut. Comparing Ginetta and F1, Watts explained that the main difference is in the downforce;
The Ginetta Junior’s not got basically any aero, not got any downforce. And also another big one’s power. You know, we only have 100 horsepower. They have however much they have. So they’re just so much faster and have so much more downforce. But the car rotates in a similar way, as it has a lot of oversteer and it’s got a lot of understeer because you can do a lot with the setups in the Ginetta Junior. So, you know, you can change, tweak pretty much anything to have how the car exactly how you want it, which is quite similar to F1.”
A Ginetta race weekend has the format of free practice on Thursday, bedding tires on Friday, qualifying on Saturday, and race day on Sunday. Watts’ favourite part of the race weekend is qualifying while his least favourite is the final race. A fun fact, he likes to listen to music before a session, particularly Adele to get his head in the game. Regarding championship points in Ginetta, Watts said that each race has the same amount of points which is about 50, then it goes down in increments of three from there. There are eight races for this level of racing which is mostly held across the UK, but also one in Zandvoort, The Netherlands. Watts underlines the importance of simulator practice in his race preparation, aiming to do 500 laps or more prior to a race weekend in order to favour consistency above pure speed. Although there isn’t a precise Ginetta Junior model, he uses iRacing to simulate race conditions, trying to keep his lap times within three-tenths of a second for more effective training.
As a full time racing driver and a student, Watts is currently preparing for his GCSEs that will take place in a month or two. Both racing and studying are big things for him but he’s trying to put his main focus on racing because that’s what he wants to do for a career. Managing both is quite hard but he tries to do as much revision as he can in his spare time because if racing doesn’t work out, he’s got to back up and then hopefully go do something to do with motorsports such as a mechanic. Although, the priority is always racing.
At times, the thought of quitting crossed his mind, but racing is his life and it compelled him to continue. Watts revealed;
“There’s been times in my career where I’ve gone, well, why should I even carry on, you know? I did struggle in Fiesta Juniors, mainly in the races, just kept being taken out and just crashing. And then having a low of having no money and thinking, you know, this is my life and that’s it. What am I going to do now? But I loved it so much. I just kept working hard in the gym, trying to find sponsors. And, you know, it’s all come together for me. And now I’m racing the Ginetta Juniors, which is one of the greatest junior series in the whole world.”
At just 16 years old, Josh Watts has a clear vision of his future and the path he wants to pursue. He explained;
“Motorsport is a roller coaster you never know what’s next. For me personally, I want to do GTs as it’s a more realistic and my dad has experience in it and that would be very helpful for me. I just love tin top cars like that. I think they’re so much more fun than the single seaters. I like a bit of contact. I think it’s just so much more fun. And then, I don’t know, if racing doesn’t go the way I wanted to, then maybe I kind of want to look to a career in mechanics, maybe be a race mechanic for a top team and then hopefully travel the world in either Formula or GTs and try to, you know, just experience motorsport still, maybe not in the driver’s seat, but it’s still involved in motorsport, isn’t it?”
When asked about his dream track, Watts didn’t have to think twice to say Spa-Francorchamps. Nevertheless, in his racing journey so far, Watts admits that the hardest track he’s ever competed on is Alton Park due to its numerous corner variations and quite a tight track that makes it difficult to do any overtakes or moves. Outside of racing, Watts enjoys football, but for him, it’s just a fun way to stay in shape and not something he ever considered pursuing professionally. His heart has always been in motorsport, and whether he’s behind the wheel or working in the garage, he’s determined to build a future in the sport he loves.
Despite having well known parents, Watts does not want to be seen as just their son, rather he wants to be seen as his own self. Watts has a smooth and clean driving style as he’s not really fond of going straight to the back of someone because they can go straight into the wall and that could be it for their career considering that they might not have that much money. Watts takes inspiration from his dad who has made it so far in racing and aspires to be like him. This father-son duo has never raced each other in different cars, but Watts has been coached by his dad who sat in the passenger seat while he drove.
With this being a race weekend for Josh Watts, all the Wheel2Wheel Reports wish him all the best for this season.
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