Will Jenkins Fights Back With Thruxton Podium Challenge

Will Jenkins narrowly missed out on a breakthrough maiden podium finish with a battling performance during the third round of his debut Porsche Carrera Cup GB season at Thruxton this past weekend (07/08 June).

The trip to the ‘Hampshire speedbowl’ marked the fastest race experience of Jenkins’ career to date, with average speeds of over 115mph per lap in his Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car in dry conditions. Two test days ahead of the event were therefore crucial in getting him up to speed around the sweeping circuit.

Jenkins, who is racing as part of the coveted Wera Alliance Academy young driver programme from leading BTCC outfit Alliance Racing and Wera Tools, returned to the track for free practice on Friday and enjoyed a productive opening run out on a drying circuit.

The second session proved to be a nightmare though, with electrical issues and a power steering failure leaving him without any meaningful running. As well as it putting him on the back foot going into the weekend, it also meant a late night for the Team Parker Racing crew as they resolved the issues.

A great effort ensured the car was ready to go for qualifying the next day and Jenkins gave it his all through the 30-minute session. A competitive performance put the Staffordshire racer tenth overall and third in Pro-Am on the timesheets, setting him up for a podium challenge in Sunday’s races.

A tricky start to the opening race saw Jenkins lose a couple of places on the opening lap. The 20-year-old talent settled into a good rhythm as the race developed though and his consistent pace was rewarded with a late overtaking move to secure fourth in class at the chequered flag.

Jenkins held the same position in the early stages of race two, running directly behind the top three contenders in class. Some tweaks to the car setup for the race had worked in his favour, with a positive upturn in pace putting him right in position to fight for silverware.

Unfortunately, the Stone-based driver found himself stuck in the wheel tracks of one of the most experienced drivers on the grid though. Try as he might to force a mistake and grab a deserved maiden podium finish, he was left to settle for a fourth-place class finish once again.

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, now heads into an eight-week summer break before the next round of the season at Croft in North Yorkshire (02/03 August).

Will Jenkins: “I’ve always enjoyed racing at Thruxton, but the circuit presented a whole new level of challenge in the Porsche. Track time is so valuable to build up confidence in the high-speed corners and fine-tune the car setup, so losing any meaningful running in the second free practice session hurt us.

“The team did a phenomenal job to get the wiring loom and steering rack replaced ready for the weekend, so a huge thank you to them for their efforts. Considering we were playing catch up in qualifying, I was satisfied with third in class and knew there was more pace to come on Sunday.

“The races were tricky though, as pushing too hard to create overtaking opportunities can really impact your tyre life through the race. It was a shame not to be able to fight back and get a podium finish, but a pair of fourth places is some good points and the weekend has been an important learning experience for me to take into the next round.”

Images from Porsche GB.