In recent editions of our Behind The Scenes feature, we’ve talked about some of the key people behind Blake Angliss’ success on the race track. This time however, we’re looking at Angliss himself and the hard work he conducts to prepare for competition. The job of being a racing driver never stops. Whether it be a small break between race events, or the longer winter off-season period, Angliss continues the hard work to ensure he’s in top condition and ready to hit the ground running as soon as he’s on track again. Working on his physical condition is a particular focus for Angliss, with up to five or six gym sessions per week allowing him to work on maintaining a peak level of strength and stamina, whilst also viewing it as stress relief, “a chance to mentally chill out at the end of the day.” This is combined with his chiropractic treatment plan with Dr Anne Ward DC, who keeps him in a good shape physically and makes sure his central nervous system is where it needs to be, while his mindset coach Richard Taylor helps ensure he is mentally prepared to challenge for success on the race track. Angliss also works on his driving skills away from the race track on his simulator, both on his own getting mileage on the upcoming circuits, but also keeping himself race sharp and improving his race craft with online races against quick competition.
When it comes to the race weekend’s themselves, Angliss has to juggle the on-track action with focusing on maintaining his nutrition, hydration and mental and physical well-being. He feels this is something he’s doing much better on this year, having learnt from previous experience. Explaining his race weekend routine, Angliss said: “I start by ensuring I get a good night’s sleep, so I wake up feeling refreshed and ready to go. To help this, three or four days before the event I start getting my body clock to match when I need to be up on the race weekend, to avoid a shock to the system. I also utilise power naps across the race weekend to keep me refreshed. “Around 15 to 20 minutes before the session, I start to hype myself up. It’s natural to have nerves, so I try to keep those down and focus on getting some blood flowing through light exercise and building up the adrenalin. Sometimes music helps to get me in the mood too. “Once I’m in the car, it’s about visualisation, going through a couple of laps of the track in my head. That really gets me ready for what I need to go, and I then focus on the plan we’ve come up with for the session and what I need to go once I’m on track.” It’s hoped that Angliss ends the session with reason to celebrate, in particular getting the opportunity to pick up a trophy and some bubbly on the podium. The celebrations don’t last long though, with the self-preparation process starting again ready for the next track session. Angliss concludes: “The hard work doesn’t stop on a race weekend or in-between. I can’t back off; I have to keep my finger on the button and be ready for whatever is thrown at me. Hopefully, at the end of it all, we’re left with plenty to smile about.”
Click on the following links for the previous features in Angliss’ ‘behind the scenes’ series: