Will Jenkins enjoyed a dream conclusion to his 2024 Porsche Sprint Challenge GB season as he charged to a sensational hat-trick of race victories across the final round of the campaign at Brands Hatch this past weekend (05-06 October).
Coming into the weekend off the back of a brilliant first win of the season and podium treble in the penultimate round at Silverstone, the Staffordshire racer was determined to end the year on a high around the world-famous Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit.
Jenkins enjoyed the thrill of pushing his Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS to the limit around the high-speed GP loop in free practice on Friday. Finishing the day second quickest overall, he was confident of challenging for pole position in qualifying the following morning.
The Team Parker Racing ace did exactly that, topping the timesheets for the majority of the session before missing out on top spot by the narrowest of margins, just 0.012s. He still secured front-row starts for the first two races of the weekend, putting him right in the mix for race victories.
The opening encounter was the milestone 100th race of Jenkins’ car-racing career, and the 19-year-old talent marked the occasion with a sensational performance. The race started in perfect fashion, with a textbook launch off the line shooting him into the race lead before the opening corner.
Quickly building a lead of over a second from his closest rival, he edged clear and doubled that advantage over the next few laps. A controlled drive from there saw him maintain that lead through to the chequered flag for a memorable race victory.
Jenkins, who is part of the coveted Young Driver Programme from reigning British Touring Car Championship champions Alliance Racing and Wera Tools, went on to produce a perfect repeat performance in race two on Sunday morning.
Once again propelling himself from the outside of the front row into the lead through Paddock Hill Bend for the first time, the Stone-based driver comfortably led from start-to-finish to double his tally for the weekend and secure pole position for the final race of the season in the process.
In front of the live ITV4 television cameras, Jenkins produced another exemplary drive in the finale. Converting pole into the race lead, he was untroubled once again as he led every single racing lap en-route to completing his Brands Hatch hat-trick and making it four wins in a row to end the campaign.
Jenkins, who has raced this season with the crucial support of Wera Tools and loyal partners Hopkins Motorsport Ltd, Asset Alliance Group, Reefer Trailer Centre, Culina Group, Thermo King Northern, Motorsport UK Academy and SAF-Holland, ends the 2024 Porsche Sprint Challenge GB season third in the final championship standings, with four wins and 13 podium finishes to his name.
Will Jenkins: “It’s been an amazing weekend! There’s been highs and lows through the season, but we’ve known throughout that we’ve been capable of a performance like this, so to accomplish it and end the year on such a high note is an incredible feeling.
“We came into the weekend with a slim chance of winning the title and while I’m gutted not to be champion this year, I know that I couldn’t have done anything more this weekend. Considering the nightmare we had at Croft, we never gave up and to finish just nine points off the title is something I’m proud of.
“Team Parker Racing gave me a phenomenal car this weekend and once we were leading each race, I knew we had the pace to control it and bring home the win. It’s a great way to end the season, and a huge thank you must go to my loyal partners for making this all possible.
“Thank you also to Team Parker Racing, and congratulations to the team and my team-mates Seb Hopkins and Oskar Dix for their title successes.”
Image from Porsche GB.
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