Blake Angliss has enjoyed a fantastic start to the 2022 Millers Oils Ginetta GT4 SuperCup season, scoring a brilliant double class victory during the opening rounds at Brands Hatch this past weekend (14/15 May).
Angliss has stayed with leading team Century Motorsport for his second season in the hugely competitive GT championship, once again piloting a Ginetta G55 GT4 with the headline support of leading gold specialists Rosland Capital.
Kicking off the opening event of the season with the quickest time in the hotly contested G55 Pro class during the opening official free practice session on Friday, Angliss produced a repeat performance in qualifying on Saturday to record a brilliant maiden class pole position.
The Coventry based racer impressively lapped almost nine tenths of a second quicker than his qualifying effort at the same circuit in 2021, highlighting the impressive progress he’s made in his Ginetta over the past 12 months.
Unfortunately a slow start off the line in race one that afternoon dropped him to third place, a position he would go on to hold until the chequered flag. With a first Ginetta podium under his belt and promising race pace throughout the opener, he headed into Sunday confident of securing more silverware.
Angliss enjoyed a good start to race two as he immediately moved up to second in class, hot on the heels of the leader. Going wheel-to-wheel with both his class rivals and drivers in the more powerful Ginetta G56 GT4’s, he bided his time before making an opportunistic move on lap seven.
Emerging with the lead, he showed more impressive speed to pull clear of the pack behind and score a memorable first win in Ginetta racing by more than four seconds. That put him at the front of the class field for race three, which was televised live on ITV.
A change in the weather across the day meant a tricky wet circuit greeted him, with a tough start seeing him initially slip to second in class. The 19 year old talent settled into the race and produced a mature drive to adapt to the slippery conditions and stay on the tarmac.
His persistence was rewarded when an incident ahead opened the door for him to slot into the class lead and ultimately take his second victory of the day. That result means he comes away from Brands Hatch with a ten point championship lead.
Angliss, who races with the crucial support of Rosland Capital, Transend, Haigh Group, Splodge Hygiene, Lifeline, Empire RV and Icom, continues his 2022 Ginetta GT4 SuperCup at Oulton Park in Cheshire next month (11/12 June).
Blake Angliss: “It’s been a fantastic weekend and I couldn’t be happier. I wanted to come here and build a strong foundation to head into the season with, and it’s ended up going much better than I could have ever asked for.
“I knew straight away from first practice on Friday that Century Motorsport had given me a quick race car, and it was just about me maximising the opportunities with it. To therefore get a first pole position in qualifying was a great feeling.
“The first race was frustrating, so I’m happy to bounce back the way I did on Sunday. Race two was all about biding my time and making the right move at the right time, while it was all about survival in race three with the wet conditions, mud all over my windscreen and incidents all around me.
“Judging by this weekend, I’m expecting it to be an incredibly close battle in the class all season and it should be great fun. I’m looking forward to heading to Oulton Park next.”
Image from Jakob Ebrey Photography.