Blake Angliss impressively fought his way into podium contention during the latest rounds of the Millers Oils Ginetta GT4 SuperCup at Thruxton (28/29 August).
Kicking off the second half of his debut campaign in the GT4 SuperCup, Angliss was ready to hit speeds of more than 140mph in his Century Motorsport prepared Ginetta G55 as he tackled the fastest circuit in the UK for the first time in his career.
Angliss unfortunately endured a tough start to the meeting, with a mechanical issue leading to stop-start running across the two free practice sessions on Friday. With limited opportunity to get up to speed with the circuit, he was anticipating a tough weekend.
The opening race was a steep learning curve for the Coventry based racer, with a strong run netting him ninth at the chequered flag. With that experience under his belt, he was looking to make further progress across the remaining two races on Sunday.
In his Transend backed car, Angliss got stuck into the thick of the action at the start of race two. Going on to compete for the top ten throughout, he took the chequered flag in an improved eighth place, securing him the same spot on the grid for race three.
The 18 year old, who races with the support of Haigh Group, Splodge Hygiene, Lifeline and Icom, saved the best for last in front of the live ITV4 television cameras. Storming up three places to fifth on an impressive opening lap, he joined the tail of the podium battle.
Continuing his great progress, Angliss soon picked off championship leader Adam Smalley to move into third. Second place was in his sights, however a heart-breaking moment saw a challenge for the position at the final chicane result in a spin.
Recovering in eighth place, he overtook his Century Motorsport team-mates Andy Spencer and Henry Dawes in the closing laps to record a second top six finish of the season; the least he deserved after such an impressive performance.
Blake Angliss: “The race three drive is a real confidence booster after another tricky weekend. Once again some troubles on Friday put me on the back foot for the weekend, as with a lack of meaningful running I was struggling to dial myself in and push the boundaries come qualifying.
“It was a steep learning curve across the first two races, but with experience came better consistency with my lap times. It finally all came together in race three and to be in podium contention, battling wheel-to-wheel with the championship leader, was a great feeling.
“We go to Croft next and while it’s another new one for me, I feel it’s a circuit that might suit me well. Now I’ve had a taste of battling with the leading drivers, I want to be back there consistently and will be working hard to achieve that.”
Angliss will be back in Millers Oils Ginetta GT4 SuperCup action at Croft in North Yorkshire over the weekend of 18/19 September.
Image from Jakob Ebrey Photography.