Fife father and son celebrate stock car racing season

Ross Watters and his young son, Jaxson, have been impressing crowds with their passion and prowess on the track.

Both Mr Watters and Jaxson are racing enthusiasts, with Mr Watters competing in the Saloon category and Jaxson completing his first season in Micro F2.

A Saloon is a heavily armoured car built around a Ford Sierra, with a 2-litre race-tuned Zetec engine as the power unit.

On the other hand, a Micro F2 is a scaled-down Formula 2, powered by a 4-stroke 7hp motor belt drive to the rear wheels, driven by children aged between seven and 11 years.

Jaxson, with a smile on his face, said of his first season: "It was good fun.

"My first ever win was at Cowdenbeath in August.

"I won the Turner Trophy that night."

Mr Watters added: "The car was on the pace that night and he was racing with two of the fast drivers, Corey Mathers and Oakley Grief.

"He was caught in his heats but in the final he went into an early lead and whilst the gap was closing, he was still clear at the end of the race."

Jaxson Watters won the Turner Trophy at Cowdenbeath last season (Image: Supplied) Jaxson has had a busy season, racing at Crimond, Skegness, Hednesford, and Nutts Corner in Northern Ireland.

Reflecting on his experiences, he said: "I crashed a lot at Crimond, but it is good fun."

For Mr Watters, this year was particularly important as the Saloon World Final was held at his home track of Cowdenbeath.

Despite missing the European Championship and the British being cancelled at Mildenhall, Mr Watters still managed to secure seventh place in the World Ranking.

The father and son team have both enjoyed their season, with Mr Watters saying: "Jaxson was getting into the swing of things in his Micro and was beginning to get into the results.

"The bright spot was when Jaxson picked up his first win.

"In his heats he was going really well, although he had to be content with the runner-up spot in each.

"He got into an early lead when the final started and went on to win and picked up the Turner Trophy as a result.

"I had won the Saloon version a couple of years before!"

Jaxson, with a grin on his face, said: "It was great to win and was pleased to show my dad that I had won the shield."

The season came to a dramatic close, with Mr Watters reflecting on the ‘World’ for the Saloons: "There was practice on the Friday, which didn't go well.

"I suffered clutch and gearbox problems so loaded up and went back to my garage to replace them.

"On the Saturday the place was packed and I was pleased with how the car ran during the practice sessions.

"We had a couple of warm up laps and then the green flag dropped and we were racing.

"I was caught up in a pile-up on the opening lap which stopped the race.

"I knew there was damage to my steering but restarted then after struggling for a couple of laps had to retire."

Looking ahead to 2025, Mr Watters said: "Now that everything has quietened down, we are making plans for 2025.

"Both my and Jaxson's cars are going to be stripped down and checked over.

"Once we are happy with the cars we will rebuild, paint and signwright them and hope to have them ready before the start of the season.

"Jaxson will be racing as often as possible but my first meeting could well be the Irish double header.

"We will wait and see.

"I would like to thank all our mechanics and sponsors for all the help they give us - it's greatly appreciated."