Will Jenkins has brought his brilliant maiden campaign in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB to a close with a fantastic charge forward to a podium finish in the final race of the season at Brands Hatch this past weekend (04/05 October).
Jenkins made the trip south to Kent determined to bounce back from a tough round at Silverstone last time out and end his impressive debut Carrera Cup GB campaign on a high note. He had taken wins in the competitive Pro-Am class in each of the two prior rounds at Knockhill and Donington Park.
The Staffordshire racer had a rich history around the world-famous Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit too, having secured five podium finishes in six Porsche Sprint Challenge GB races on the high-speed layout, including a stunning hat-trick of overall victories last year.
Jenkins, who is racing as part of the coveted Wera Alliance Academy young driver programme from leading BTCC outfit Alliance Racing and Wera Tools, faced a tricky start to the finale weekend as he tackled his first full day of wet weather running in the car during free practice on Friday.
It was a big learning curve for the rising star, but he adapted superbly to the conditions and made good progress through the day. That experience had little relevance come qualifying the next day though, as clear skies and a dry circuit greeted him for the 30-minute session.
Jenkins once again rose to the challenge in fine fashion though. Building up his pace through the session, he delivered on his final lap of the session as he charged to second fastest in Pro-Am – less than a tenth of a second shy of adding to his three class pole positions through the season.
The 20-year-old talent headed into race day ready to mount a challenge for the podium, however he endured a difficult opening race. A slow launch off the line cost him a number of positions, but he quickly put that behind him and was able to regain a couple of places on lap two.
Further progress was tricky in a closely-matched train of identical Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars, before he was unfortunately on the receiving end of contact in the closing stages. That put him fifth in class and 13th overall at the end, leaving him to start from the same position for race two.
Jenkins made a brilliant start this time round though, charging forward three positions on the opening lap alone to settle in the top ten overall. That put him right on the tail of his Team Parker Racing stablemate Seb Hopkins, kicking off an exciting battle between the two.
Almost forcing an overtaking opportunity on a couple of occasions, the rising star ended up having to settle for tenth at the chequered flag. That result did earn him a richly deserved Pro-Am podium finish though, his fifth of a fantastic debut Carrera Cup GB campaign.
Jenkins, who races with the crucial support of personal partners Hopkins Race Transporters, Asset Alliance Group, The Reefer Trailer Centre, Culina Group, Barkers Finance, The Green Group and SAF Holland, ends the season with a top five points finish in the competitive Pro-Am category.
Will Jenkins:“I’m delighted that we could end the season with a podium finish. It’s a great way to round out a brilliant debut Porsche Carrera Cup GB season and it’s great to head into the winter with a positive result and lots of confidence.
“It was a challenging weekend, dealing with the tough wet conditions on Friday and then having my first laps of the circuit on slicks coming in the all-important qualifying session. I was proud of performance though and was able to secure a good starting position.
“The opening race really didn’t go my way and that was frustrating, so it felt great to be able to bounce back with a good drive in race two. A huge thank you to Team Parker Racing for their great work this season and to Wera Tools, Alliance Racing and all my personal partners for their incredible support.”
