Joshua Rogers discusses his “surreal” rookie Sprint Challenge season, which culminated in a stunning run of victories and a runner-up spot in the championship.
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He has been a member of the Porsche Coanda Esports Racing Team - the first virtual factory team from Porsche - since the beginning, and has shown his ambition and talent in various series such as Rennsport R1, iRacing and more.
He was also the 2019 and 2021 Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup champion.
This year, he took on a new challenge, and just weeks after sitting in the 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport for the first time, was on track competing in the Porsche Carwow Sprint Challenge GB.
After kicking off his season with a hat-trick of podiums at Donington Park in April, Rogers secured his first win at Round 3 at Knockhill in August. Not content with just one victory, he followed it up with two more that very same weekend.
Despite a difficult first race at Croft in Round 4, suffering a mechanical issue which lost him the victory, he was quickly back on top with another two wins to round off the weekend. Though it was frustrating to have a technical issue scupper his chance at a win, Rogers says it was “no one’s fault really, and it’s just how the cookie crumbles sometimes.”
Hot on the heels of Team Parker Racing team-mate Joe Marshall, Rogers headed to the penultimate round at Silverstone 25 points off the lead in the standings.
It was a deficit he quickly set about cutting after “a very successful weekend,” but admitted he was still some points short of title glory.
Rogers said: “It was another very positive weekend. It was again just putting pressure on in the championship and keeping myself in in a good headspace and taking each race individually, not trying to think of the points too much.
“I knew there's there's literally no point thinking about the points, because even if I do the perfect job based on [Joe’s] results, it wasn't going to be enough.”
But three more wins on the National layout meant he was just 15 points behind Marshall heading to the finale at Brands Hatch, which took place earlier this month.
Again, Rogers took all three victories - marking victory in 11 out of the final 12 races, and seeing him finish the season just five points behind his team-mate and second overall in the championship.
It was a weekend he “really enjoyed,” and added: “It was really good fun, and it was a really nice weekend with the team as well because I really enjoyed working with that group of people.”
Speaking after the season finale, Rogers reflected on his fantastic final three rounds as “pretty crazy, winning eight of the nine races since Knockhill, but I think my main focus was really just taking every race as it came and scoring as many points as I could and trying to put myself in the best position for the championship.”
He continued: “I think the progress since Knockhill has also been very positive. I think it wasn't as exponential as it was earlier in the season, but I think that's like anything - the more you do something, the smaller your gains become.
“I felt like every time I got in the car, I was able to learn something new and refine a skill that I had, and continue to build on that round on round. I think that definitely showed come Silverstone and Brands Hatch, where I think the gaps became much bigger than maybe they were previously.
“So it's been a crazy end of the year, and one with a lot more success than I expected. Come the end of the season, I felt very comfortable, which was good.”
Despite missing out on the championship by five points, Rogers said he is still “very happy and proud of the championship and the season and how far I've come and how much I've learnt.”
His biggest learning from the season is self-belief - “to fully believe in myself and not underestimate myself” - and Rogers said he has made “far more progress than I expected,” both on and off-track.
He added: “I’ve come a lot further than what I ever thought I would have, and especially when it comes to being in the car and being confident in the car and confident in my ability, and knowing what to do in every scenario.
“That being said, there's still plenty of room for improvement, but for a first year, I can't be disappointed.”
Looking back on 2026, what would Rogers consider his highlights?
“The first win at Knockhill, that was a very special moment to finally get the job done,” he said. “I think, honestly, the first race at Brands Hatch as well, because I lost the lead on that one.
“I knew it was going to be a very difficult track to pass at, and I felt like I was able to read the situation very well, pull off a really nice overtake, one that I hadn't really done all season, and then build a massive gap.
“So that was probably the most hyped I'd been after a race, I think, because I genuinely felt like we had a race, and I was able to to put everything I learned from the sim, as well in terms of racecraft and racing situations, into practice.”
But there was another less conventional moment which he also added: “I guess a bit of a high and low was probably Croft, to be honest.
“That first race, losing the lead on lap one with the small mechanical issue, getting it back - that was an incredible feeling - and then three-quarters of a lap later, losing it again.
“It was like all of the highs and lows of those were all compiled into one race. So even though it wasn't all positive, I think that's also a moment from the season that I remember because it's important to be comfortable with what motorsport can be like, and what competition can be like.
“It can literally be ripped out from underneath you at any moment. But at the same time, you feel the highs before.
“So I think those three moments, and also, obviously, then celebrating at the end of the season with everyone, also with Joe, congratulating him on the championship. It was really nice to see how much it meant to him.
“I guess it’s strange to think that in the moment that you've just lost the championship, but you're so happy for your team-mate, I really genuinely felt that.”
Though his Porsche Carwow Sprint Challenge GB campaign may be over, Rogers still has plenty of racing left in 2026, with the IMSA iRacing season still underway.
Will he be back on track next year? “Absolutely, that's what I want to do,” he said. “Let's see, fingers crossed.
“I'm fairly sure, at least, with this season and what we've been able to do and show, that I'll be able to be somewhere doing something.”
