RACING ROOKIE WILL CROOKS JOINS EXCELR8 JCW SPORT LINE-UP
Rookie Will Crooks will make his debut in the Vertu MINI CHALLENGE in 2025 after joining forces with EXCELR8 for an assault on the JCW Sport category.
The 37-year-old from Whitby will be embarking on his first season of competition when he lines up on the grid at Donington Park in late April, with his only previous racing experience coming on quad bikes in his youth.
Having gone on to regularly enjoy track days and with a life-long passion for everything automotive, Crooks decided to explore the possibility of racing competitively and made selected the JCW Sport category for his first foray into motorsport.
The decision will see Crooks competing exclusively on the high-profile British Touring Car Championship support package alongside the most successful team in MINI CHALLENGE history, with EXCELR8 having secured the overall JCW title last season with victory in every race bar one.
Crooks had the opportunity to sample the JCW Sport car – which runs slightly less power than the full-blown JCW machine and features an OEM H-pattern gearbox rather than a sequential unit – for the first time at Donington Park, showing impressive progress throughout the day despite changeable weather conditions.
Having also taken to the track at Silverstone and with further testing planned prior to the opening rounds, Crooks will go into 2025 looking to make an impression in what will be the second season for the JCW Sport class after its introduction prior to the 2024 campaign.
“I’ve always been a huge fan of anything with an engine, and I’m at the stage in my life now where I’m able to give racing a go,” he said. “I’ve always been a very competitive person so I wanted to do something that was going to push me to be the best I can be, and the MINI CHALLENGE ticked the boxes.
“As a novice, I know some people would have looked at the Cooper class as a good starting point but JCW Sport will allow me to go out and race in a smaller field of cars and gain knowledge and experience that will hopefully set me up for a move into a true JCW car. If I’d gone down the Cooper route then I’d have spent a year learning the car and then had to learn again when I moved into a JCW Sport, so to me in makes sense to go straight in at the ‘second step’.
“EXCELR8 as a team has won everything there is to win in the MINI CHALLENGE and they were the obvious choice for me going for my rookie season. I’m not going to set myself any big targets as I prefer to just see how I get on, but I think I could be a bit of a wildcard who has the potential to go out there, surprise a few people and deliver some strong results.”
Team owner Justina Williams said she was delighted to welcome Will into the driver line-up, and to expand EXCELR8 into JCW Sport for the 2025 campaign.
“Will is someone who is clearly very driven in everything he does, and we are looking forward to seeing what he can achieve in his rookie season,” she said. “From the testing completed so far, he has taken big steps forwards and I’m confident that as the year progresses, we’ll see him making a real impression on track and fighting for some silverware.”
