Porsche sports car dreams on the line in crunch Brands Hatch finale

Hopkins is one of these. Compared to other racing prodigies who might jump in a kart aged three or four, the Chichester-born driver only started when he was 11, putting him at a great disadvantage.

However, what he describes as the “reset” came when he switched to racing Ginetta Junior cars when he was 14 – Hopkins was suddenly on a level playing field experience-wise, and has never looked back from a top-three championship finish in 2021.

“In all honesty, I just love the tin-top GT racing,” he enthuses. “I prefer a bit of door-to-door on-track action.

“I’ve never been that interested in single-seater racing. I understand it can teach you racing discipline and whatever, but I’ve never looked at F3 and thought that’s something that I’d love to do. Not much overtaking, it’s a bit of a train, like a slower Formula 1.

“I had the opportunity to drive one [in a test] but it’s so expensive. Maybe at the UK level it’s OK, but as soon as you go off to Europe it just becomes astronomical.”

As well as Hopkins’ passion for sports cars, the brutal reality of racing budgets also rules career paths – and it has dictated his choice of championships.

The Sprint Challenge is one of the main support series for the BTCC, and is broadcast on television as part of ITV’s coverage. It’s makes the normal hard-sell to potential sponsors a lot easier, which Hopkins is happy to admit.

“The whole reason why we’re doing it, in terms of sponsors, is that they love the touring cars, don’t they?” he says. “They love being on the weekends, they love being seen on TV.

“[Previously] it was always a pain getting your sponsors to try and search you up on YouTube, whereas with this you just stick on the TV!”

“In terms of sponsorship [and moving up different levels of sports cars] we’re building for years to come. This is such a good platform to do that.”

Veteran racer Max Coates agrees. The former BTCC racer, who makes a living from a non-stop schedule of running his own team, driver coaching and running a racing marketing company, still harbours sports car dreams.

With a canny business mind, Coates has spotted the Sprint Challenge as a way to do this, joining the championship for the first time last year.

“Yes!” he emphatically answers when asked if racing a Porsche has made it easier to bring in sponsors.  “We’ve had three new partners on board this year, which is great, but also Primex have been with me for 11 years. We’ve had 40 corporate guests this weekend.

“It showcases what the brand and Porsche does for partners and my career long term.”

Crunching the corporate numbers is all about keeping the dream alive though, and the Sprint Challenge makes it possible.

“The sprint challenge gives a much more accessible entry point to Porsche racing then perhaps there was at once on stage,” Coates says.

“I think there’s also a really good progression now through the Porsche club championships, into Sprint Challenge, into Carrera cup.

“It gives those needing to garner a bit of sponsorship the chance to do it at a slightly lesser cost in first place, but still showcase what Porsche is all about.

“There’s a genuine path [that’s emerged] probably over the last four or five years where a lot of drivers are not necessarily reaching for F1, that they want to race GT cars across the world – and I think the best grounding for that is in a single-make cup series.”

None of this changes the fact that, even on the Porsche ladder, making it any where as a full-time racing driver is incredibly difficult – the chances of reaching the international Carrera Cup series are small, and going any further than that is even tougher. It won’t stop these title rivals trying though.

“It’s my dream to be racing in a championship like the Porsche Carrera Cup, I absolutely love it,” says Hopkins.

“The goal would be to win the championship this year, move to UK Carrera Cup, ideally for probably two years, and then to the Super Cup,” adds Coates confidently.

Whether it’s in Formula 1 or on sports car grids around the world, the racing dream lives on.