Blake Angliss returned to Millers Oils Ginetta GT4 SuperCup action with a hard-fought pair of podium finishes during a rollercoaster weekend at Knockhill (30/31 July).
The trip north of the border to Scotland brought the championship’s seven week summer break to an end, with the Coventry based racer ready to build on his impressive run of five podium finishes from the opening five races of the season.
Having been the scene of his best qualifying performance of third overall in his maiden GT4 SuperCup campaign last year, Angliss started the weekend on the front foot despite having limited running during two red-flag plagued free practice sessions on Friday.
Angliss challenged for the G55 Pro class pole position in qualifying the next day before settling for third on the grid, crucially saving some tyre life for the races. With the knowledge that there was more pace in the car too, he headed into the races feeling confident.
A frustrating start to race one that afternoon saw a good launch off the line end with him being forced wide across the grass through the first corner. Recovering in fourth, he then fought back with a slick move into Duffus Dip corner to regain his third place, though a large gap to the top two meant further progress wasn’t possible.
Race two on Sunday morning would unfortunately end in disappointment for Angliss. Settling into third place after an action-packed opening lap, he was pushing on to catch the top two when a slow puncture eventually left him unable to avoid sliding into a gravel trap and out of the race.
The final race of the weekend, televised live on ITV4, ended up being one of the most chaotic of Angliss’ career so far. A dramatic start saw twice narrowly avoid getting caught up in large incidents within the first three corners, with the fallout of those leading to a red flag stoppage.
A moment of confusion surrounding the red flag led to Angliss heading into the pitlane at the end of the lap, with the championship rules therefore making him take the restart from there. When the action resumed, his immediate priority was on making up the lost time to his class rivals.
Angliss managed to move up to third in his Century Motorsport Ginetta G55 GT4, but ran out of laps before he could mount a challenge on the top two. His seventh podium finish of the season keeps him second in the class championship standings heading to Snetterton next (13/14 August).
Blake Angliss: ’“I came up to Scotland with high hopes after our pace here last year, but sadly it just never clicked for me this weekend. There were mistakes and issues that cost me big points and I’m going to have to work hard from here to catch up in the standings.
“The positive I will be taking with me on the long drive home is that the pace was definitely there for better results. The car that Century Motorsport gave me was fantastic and I’m a big fan of Snetterton next, so I’m going there confident I can get back onto the top step of the podium.”