Blake Angliss has continued his hugely impressive start to his car-racing career by recording a top six finish in only his fifth race in the ultra-competitive Protyre Motorsport Ginetta GT5 Challenge at Silverstone this past weekend (26/27 September). One week on from a great debut weekend in car-racing at Donington Park, Angliss targeted further progress up the order at the 'Home of British Motor Racing' as he competed on the support package of the British Touring Car Championship for the first time. The Coventry based racer got up to speed with the short, fast National circuit during two 40 minute free practice sessions on Friday. A positive start saw him finish up just over a second off the leading pace, which put him in a confident mood for the weekend ahead. A fantastic performance in qualifying on Saturday morning saw Angliss post the seventh fastest time overall. Lapping faster than established podium finishers in the championship, the 17 year old converted that starting position into a great drive in the opening race. After dropping a couple of places on the opening lap, Angliss composed himself and became embroiled in a thrilling four-way scrap for the final places in the top ten. Battling wheel-to-wheel with his more experienced rivals, he took his Transend-backed Ginetta to ninth at the finish. The second race of the weekend took place on Sunday afternoon and was televised live on ITV2. Angliss made a positive start to proceedings, holding position through a busy opening couple of laps before gaining a place to settle into sixth position. While the lead pack edged away in front, a run of fast laps meant he impressively built a lead of nearly six seconds to the group behind. That ensured he could enjoy a comfortable run to a great sixth at the finish, with his performance earning him praise from the ITV commentary team. Blake Angliss: “All in all, it’s been a really positive weekend of racing. I was feeling confident after my debut at Donington Park and as soon as I hit the track at Silverstone, I felt good behind the wheel. To qualify in seventh was a great result for me. “I probably gained more racing experience in Saturday’s race than the other four so far combined. I was right in the thick of the action, trading positions on every lap, learning all about ‘rubbing is racing’ and picking up some battle scars along the way. I really enjoyed it. “Sunday’s race was a bit quieter, but I’m not complaining. I got a good start and while I wasn’t quite able to hang on to the lead group, I managed to build a gap to the pack behind. This meant I could focus on my own race and bringing the car home to the finish in sixth.” The final round of Angliss’ three event run in the Protyre Motorsport Ginetta GT5 Challenge will see him return to Silverstone, though this time competing on the full Grand Prix circuit alongside the British GT Championship (07/08 November).
Image from Jakob Ebrey Photography.