Will Jenkins has cemented his status as a leading talent in the Michelin Ginetta Junior Championship, with a superb triple podium finish at Snetterton this past weekend (12/13 June) propelling him up to second in the championship standings.
After opening the 2021 season with a pair of impressive performances at Thruxton last month, the Hopkins Motorsport, Asset Alliance Group, Corroconsult and Digraph supported driver stepped up to the next level in the championship with a sensational display in Norfolk.
Jenkins was quick from the off in his Ginetta G40, finishing both of Friday’s free practice sessions inside the top four. He continued his strong start to the meeting in qualifying the next morning, putting himself right in the front-running mix with seventh on the grid for race one.
The 16 year old went on to start the race in sensational fashion, highlighting his overtaking prowess by scything his way through the field to second position within just four corners. While he lost a place back on the next lap, he remained firmly in a four car battle for the podium throughout.
Enjoying some thrilling wheel-to-wheel racing, Jenkins slipped to fourth at one stage before fighting back to third just before the emergence of the safety car. That proved to be crucial, as the race remained under caution until the chequered flag.
Post-race that result was upgraded when the on-the-road winner was handed a time penalty, promoting Jenkins to second. Buoyed by his milestone first overall podium finish in the championship, he had high hopes for race two.
The Staffordshire racer started from an improved fifth place on the grid and held position through a close fought opening few laps, before pulling off a stunning double move into the Wilson hairpin to propel himself into the podium places.
Moving back into fourth on the next lap, he ran there until the final tour, when he benefitted from an issue for a driver ahead to take the chequered flag in third position. After enjoying the best day of his Junior career so far, he wanted to end the weekend on a high on Sunday afternoon.
In front of the live ITV4 television cameras, Jenkins held third position from the start to an early safety car period. After the restart, the Stone resident produced a great defensive performance to soak up pressure from behind and hold third to the finish to complete his brilliant hat-trick.
Will Jenkins: “I’m absolutely over the moon. I came to Snetterton determined to get my first overall podium finish in Ginetta Juniors, so to then come away with three is more than I could have ever hoped for from the weekend and I’m delighted.
“Qualifying was a strong start and that got us into the mix at the front. The racing was really close fought and there were a lot of tough battles out there, but the Elite Motorsport car was fantastic. A huge thank you them and all of my sponsors and partners for their support.
“Moving up to second in the championship is fantastic and a great platform for us to build on going forwards. Now I’ve had a taste of the podium, I want to stay there and I’m confident we can go to Brands Hatch and challenge for some more trophies.”
Jenkins leaves Snetterton only 17 points off the summit of the championship standings, heading into the third meeting of the season at Brands Hatch (26/27 June).
Image from Jakob Ebrey Photography.