Will Jenkins has kicked off the second half of his maiden Porsche Carrera Cup GB season in sensational fashion at Knockhill this past weekend (16/17 August), charging to his maiden class victory in the championship.
Carrying the momentum from his first Carrera Cup GB silverware a fortnight prior at Croft, Jenkins was in exceptional form in Scotland as he charged to a double Pro-Am class podium finish in his Team Parker Racing prepared Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car.
Four years on from his last visit to Knockhill whilst racing Ginetta Juniors, a pre-event test day at the Fife circuit in the lead up to the race event was crucial for Jenkins as he got reacquainted with the challenging, undulating track in his vastly more powerful machinery.
The Staffordshire racer, who is racing as part of the coveted Wera Alliance Academy young driver programme from leading BTCC outfit Alliance Racing and Wera Tools, set a fast pace from the off in testing and built on that with more positive mileage during Friday’s official free practice sessions.
The short 1.27-mile circuit served up one of the closest qualifying sessions of the season on Saturday, with less than half a second separating the top 13 cars. It was particularly hotly-contested in the Pro-Am category, with Jenkins lapping less than half a tenth of a second off the class pole.
The 20-year-old talent ultimately qualified third in class for the opening race the next day, with the unique nature of the Knockhill start-finish straight meaning he would line up on a steep incline. A subsequent slow start initially lost him track position, but he immediately fought back on lap one.
A brilliant double move into the final hairpin moved him back into fourth in class and onto the tail of fellow Pro-Am contender Max Coates. Quickly proving himself to be the faster driver, he almost pulled off a move into the last corner on a couple of occasions before finally making it stick.
That meant his fighting comeback was rewarded with a Pro-Am podium finish in third, putting him in the same position on the grid for race two. Holding position through the opening portion of the race, he then pulled off another standout move into the final hairpin to grab second in class.
A few laps later, the Stone-based driver picked his way through a chaotic multi-car incident ahead and emerged in the class lead. From there, a composed performance saw him comfortably maintain his advantage to the chequered flag for a memorable maiden Carrera Cup GB victory.
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, is back in action in two weeks’ time (30/31 August) at Donington Park in Leicestershire.
Will Jenkins: “I’m absolutely delighted to get my first class win in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB. We’ve had our ups and downs through the season so far, but it all came together for us this weekend and it’s a fantastic feeling to really show everyone what we can do.
“Wednesday’s test was certainly a baptism of fire, the circuit is a completely different beast in the Porsche compared to the Ginetta Junior. The challenge was exhilarating though and our pace was good throughout testing and free practice, so I was feeling good ahead of the weekend.
“I was pretty happy after qualifying, so it was frustrating to lose some ground at the start of race one. It felt good to fight back up the order to the podium, and that was important as it gave me a strong starting position again for the second race.
“My move for second into the final hairpin felt great, and while luck was in my favour to take the lead, I’ve had my fair share of bad luck this season so I’ll take it. This first win is a big moment for me and I’m keen to build on it and celebrate more success over the rest of the season.” |