Will Jenkins once again highlighted his overtaking prowess and fighting spirit en-route to a trio of top eight finishes during the penultimate meeting of the 2021 Michelin Ginetta Junior Championship at Donington Park this past weekend (09/10 October).
Full of confidence after scoring his maiden Ginetta race win as part of a podium hat-trick last time out at Silverstone, the Staffordshire based racer returned to the scene of his series debut some 14 months ago determined to enjoy another positive weekend.
Following a strong showing in pre-event testing on Thursday, Jenkins was left frustrated after qualifying on Saturday morning. Issues outside of his control left him unable to show his true pace, leaving him 11th and 10th on the grid for the two races that afternoon.
Jenkins, who races with the support of Hopkins Motorsport, Asset Alliance Group, Corroconsult and Digraph, bounced back well in the opening race. Getting stuck into the close-fought racing from the off, he was an improved tenth heading into the first of two safety car periods.
Gaining another spot in between the two caution spells, Jenkins was able to make more progress in an action-packed final three laps. Keeping himself out of trouble as cars battled hard around him, he smartly picked off a couple of cars to finish in seventh position.
Jenkins, who resides in Stone, made further progress during a fiercely contested race two, which was split into two halves following a red flag stoppage. From tenth at the restart, a great first lap saw him storm through to seventh place, before eventually settling for eighth at the chequered flag.
It was another big battle in the final race of the weekend, which was televised live on ITV4. Staying out of trouble in an encounter full of robust racing, he pushed hard to try and make up ground but eventually took another eighth place result at the finish.
Will Jenkins: “Whilst we weren’t up battling for the podium like we’d hoped this weekend, I’m pleased to have come back from a tricky qualifying session to record three strong finishes and a good haul of points to keep myself in the championship top five.
“There was some proper battles out there this weekend, so I’m pleased to have stayed out of trouble and made some progress forwards. We’ve got nothing to lose now going to Brands Hatch, so it’s going to be maximum attack to end the season on a high.”
The 2021 Michelin Ginetta Junior Championship season comes to an end in two weeks’ time (23/24 October) at Brands Hatch in Kent, with Jenkins in contention for fourth in the championship standings heading into the final three races.
Image from Jakob Ebrey Photography.