Returning to the scene of his maiden class podium finish in the Carrera Cup GB last season, sadly this year’s trip to North Yorkshire proved to be a much tougher affair as Jenkins had to bounce back from qualifying confusion and an unfortunate early incident in race one.

The Staffordshire racer, who is competing as part of the Wera Alliance Academy, produced some promising lap times in free practice on Friday. That put him in an optimistic mood for qualifying the next day, however it ended up being a nightmare session.

Jenkins posted a lap time good enough for second place on the timesheets, but unfortunately due to a confusion on the track limits rulings, he had four lap times removed. Despite the majority of drivers on the grid all having laps removed, he was unsuccessful in his appeal to the stewards.

This left him 14th and last on the grid for the opening race on Sunday. It went from bad to worse in that one though, as while trying to make early progress in wet conditions, he was squeezed onto the grass heading into Tower corner.

Powerless to slow down the car on the slippy surface, he skidded into the tyre wall. The subsequent damage to the front of his Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car forced him to retire in the pitlane, and left Team Parker Racing with a short window to make repairs ahead of race two.

The team successfully completed the task and Jenkins was able to take up his position at the rear of the grid again. This time around he was able to make progress though, pulling off some good overtaking moves around a notoriously difficult circuit to secure a hard-fought fifth place finish in the PRO class.

Jenkins remains second in the championship heading into the penultimate round of the season at Silverstone (26-27 September). He races thanks to the crucial support of his loyal personal partners Asset Alliance Group, The Reefer Trailer Centre, Hopkins Race Transporters, Barkers Finance, SAF Holland, The Green Group and WS Transportation.

Will Jenkins: “It really wasn’t the weekend we hoped for. We had good pace in the car and I’m confident that we would have been up there fighting for podium finishes, but unfortunately circumstances transpired against us and I had to just salvage some points from race two.

“The confusion surrounding the track limits in qualifying was incredibly frustrating and ended up costing us a lot of potential points this weekend. I was keen to fight forward in race one, but it ended up getting away from me on the first lap.

“I had to take the chance around the outside at Tower, but got squeezed out wide and ultimately was a passenger on the grass. Thank you to the team for a great job to get the damage repaired, the car was back to 100% for race two.

“Croft is narrow and very hard to overtake around in these cars, but I went full send and I’m very happy to have been able to make up a lot of places. That recovered some points which is crucial, and now it’s about resetting and preparing to take on Silverstone next.”

The Staffordshire racer headed to his home circuit for the second time this season, following a standout performance in the opening round back in April This time the action came on the longer 2.49-mile Grand Prix circuit, a layout he secured a class victory on last year.

Jenkins, who is competing as part of the Wera Alliance Academy, went quickest overall in an official test day at the circuit last month. He continued to show positive pace during pre-event practice on Thursday, including topping the timesheets in the morning session.

Saturday’s qualifying sessions brought two good results, but a tinge of frustration for the young talent. Sitting fastest in the opening run prior to a red flag stoppage, he ended up missing out on pole in a last lap shootout, and went on to make it a pair of second place results that afternoon.

Lining up on the front row in his Team Parker Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car, Jenkins initially slipped to third off the start. He settled into the position though and after seeing the driver ahead struggling for grip, he bided his time before pulling off a great move into turn one to retain second.

The 21-year-old went on to replicate that result in race two, live on ITV4. Running in second for the majority of the race, an optimistic move from another driver pushed him wide and down to third, however post-race the Clerk of the Course ruled in his favour and promoted him to second again.

The podium double has strengthened Jenkins’ hold on second place in the championship heading to Croft next (05-06 September). He races thanks to the crucial support of his loyal personal partners Asset Alliance Group, The Reefer Trailer Centre, Hopkins Race Transporters, Barkers Finance, SAF Holland, The Green Group and WS Transportation.

Will Jenkins: “It’s been another brilliant weekend for us. In a hugely-competitive championship like this, you can’t have too many complaints about picking up a pair of second place finishes. It’s given us a big haul of points and maintained our championship challenge into the final three rounds.

“I love Donington Park, it’s my favourite circuit on the calendar, and our pace was good from the official test onwards. I know we had the speed within me and the car to get at least one pole position, but the red flag and a couple of small mistakes on my part meant I missed out.

“The two races were hard work. Losing the spot in race one was frustrating, but I was confident my time would come, I took no risks and made the move stick. I felt I was defending well in race two until an ambitious move when I’d closed the door, so I was relieved to be given the place back afterwards.

“A lot of effort went in to this weekend and we are proud to come away with the podium finishes. Thank you to the team for all of their efforts. Neither me nor the team are content with finishing second though, so we’ll be working even harder to be back at the front for Croft next.”

Jenkins was full of confidence heading into the event, following his sensational season opener at Donington Park. The Staffordshire-based talent secured his first overall pole position and a breakthrough PRO class victory to start the campaign.

Carrying the momentum from those milestone results, the Wera Alliance Academy driver was quick from the off around the 1.21-mile Brands Hatch Indy circuit. He finished second fastest overall in his Team Parker Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car in Friday’s official free practice sessions.

Saturday saw the debut of a new split qualifying format, with separate 15-minute sessions setting the grids for Sunday’s two races. A perfect performance in the opener saw Jenkins charge to the top of the timesheets to secure race one pole position, before he took second place on the grid for race two.

Jenkins produced a rocket start from pole to lead the field at the start of race one, before perfectly executing a safety car restart to stay in front. He slipped back to second soon after, but a composed drive from there saw him comfortably hold position to secure a brilliant podium finish.

Race two took place in tricky conditions, with sporadic rain showers overhead. The 21-year-old didn’t quite have the pace he’d hoped for on the low grip surface, but a battling performance saw him fight his way to fourth overall and third in the PRO class to earn another podium result.

Those results mean Jenkins has a 100% podium record in the PRO class so far this season, heading into the next round at Snetterton (23-24 May). He races thanks to the crucial support of his loyal personal partners Asset Alliance Group, The Reefer Trailer Centre, Hopkins Race Transporters, Barkers Finance, SAF Holland, The Green Group and WS Transportation.

Will Jenkins: “I’ve got mixed emotions this weekend. I’m delighted to get two more podium finishes and a great haul of points for the championship, but also frustrated not to get a bit more out of the races after our brilliant qualifying pace.

“We worked hard on the car setup on Friday and it paid off in qualifying, as the car was absolutely flying. If it wasn’t for a bit of traffic, it probably would have been a double pole position, and that’s thanks to the fantastic work of Team Parker Racing.

“Ultimately, we didn’t have the race pace needed to win on Sunday and that’s something we’ll work on ready for the next round and beyond. Still, to finish every race on the PRO podium so far is a great start and we know there is more pace to come.”

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.”