JWA Le Mans Series GT2 Team

Starting with a tool box in a barn in 1998, James Watt Automotive (JWA) has grown from humble beginnings into a championship-winning outfit with its reputation for skill, dedication and commitment now being applied in the GT2 Class of Europe’s premier sports car championship, the Le Mans Series, fielding the stunning Aston Martin Vantage GT2.

James Watt’s passion for motorsport dates back to his earliest days when his parents, both race officials, would take him and his brother Aidan to spectate, and later officiate at meetings around the country. Having been exposed to the business he soon expressed a desire to compete as well as grow his technical knowledge with a particular focus on engineering.

Building those skills working part-time for the owner of some historic racing entries, James soon found he was equally adept behind the wheel. A three-year spell competing in the early nineties saw Watt claim the 1992 British Historic Sports Car Championship but it was top-flight, modern-day racing which was to consume his time for the following six years. Offered a position with the McLaren Formula One Team, James attended Grand Prix races around the world during this period which only served to fuel his desire to run his own outfit one day.

That day came in 1998 when he started James Watt Automotive. Utilizing his network of contacts, it wasn’t long before James found himself back in the historic community where formula cars were becoming the next big thing. JWA’s first role was to run a pair of Formula One cars for a client and from there the company’s reputation as a leading light in the Thoroughbred Grand Prix racing scene quickly developed. Enjoying the opportunity to work on a wide range of Formula One cars, including household names such as McLaren, Cooper, Ligier, Lotus, Williams and Lola, JWA ultimately found title success campaigning an ex-Martin Brundle Tyrell 012. Lifting the Thoroughbred Grand Prix Championship with back-to-back title wins in 2003 and 2004, JWA quickly sought to establish its pedigree in modern-day racing and moved into the ultra-competitive Le Mans Series in 2005.

Asked to run a Porsche 996 RS for Paul Daniels in that season’s GT2 class, JWA has subsequently competed every year in the premier sports car series, running a Porsche 997 GT3 RSR in 2008 taking in legendary venues such as Spa, Monza, Nurburgring and Britain’s own Silverstone.

The latter half of the 2008 Le Mans Series season sees JWA enjoying the honour of fielding the all-new Aston Martin Vantage GT2. Seeking to break Porsche and Ferrari’s stranglehold on GT2 honours, JWA’s second entry in the category marks a further representation of the Staffordshire-based team’s growing ambition.

Looking to run a full-time, two-car effort in GT2 in 2009, JWA’s goals are two-fold in sports car competition. First, to lead Aston Martin to race wins and ultimately the Le Mans Series GT2 title and secondly, to build on those successes and earn an entry for the squad in the famed ’24 Hours of Le Mans’ – the ‘jewel in the crown’ of sports car competition.