Will Aspin rounded out his maiden Porsche Carrera Cup GB campaign with a fifth-place finish on the challenging Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit at the weekend (October 8/9), in his Team Parker Racing prepared 911 GT3 Cup machine.

Starting the final race weekend of the season in good spirits, the teenager performed well in Friday’s free practice sessions, finishing the afternoon second fastest in class and eighth overall. Come qualifying a day later, he was disappointed not to maximise his performance on his second set of tyres but was still able to complete a lap good enough for third in class, and just outside the top ten overall.

Unfortunately, the first race on Sunday morning lasted only three corners for him, as going through Graham Hill Bend, Will was tagged by Pro Am rival Angus Whiteside, setting off a chain reaction involving five cars, including two of his teammates. Heavy damage to the left-hand side of the car resulted in instant retirement, although the team were able to quickly repair the car ready for the second race that afternoon.

Forced to start at the back of the field after the retirement earlier on, Will had little to lose, making up five places over the course of the 15-lap race, despite two Safety Car periods, though he was thwarted in his efforts to climb higher as the race finished behind the Safety Car.

It was an unfortunate end to an impressive debut season for Will, who secured one win and six further Pro-Am podiums, and he will be looking to build on his performance next season. He will not have long to wait until he returns to track action however, as he will be competing at Donington Park this weekend (15/16 October) as a guest driver in the Ginetta GT5 Challenge, with Elite Motorsport.

Will Aspin
Championship: 6 (60 points)
Rookie Championship: 4 (53 points)

“First practice went well, and we were gaining confidence and learning the track in this car, second practice we were gaining still, gaining confidence and getting in a good place for Qualifying.

“Going into Qualifying, we were confident and looking good. On the first set we had a really good run, but on the second set not so much because various factors worked against us. Other than that, P11 overall and P3 in Pro-Am I guess you can't really complain.

“Going into the races we got taken out in the first one, going into Graham Hill Bend Angus Whiteside tagged me and then everyone just ploughed into me. All the left front quarter, suspension, radiator, etc were damage. Race two I had a really bad start, the car just bogged off the line, and it's really difficult to overtake around here.

“You have to make it count on the first couple of laps, plus we had a couple of Safety Cars which didn't help either. Overall, it was a bad weekend and not a nice way to finish the season, that's for sure. I'm just looking forward to getting back at it in winter testing and come back even stronger.”

Photos Jakob Ebrey Photography / The Driving Force