Brea Angliss fought her way to a best finish of 15th during a challenging second weekend of the 2023 Ginetta Junior Championship season at Silverstone (06/07 May).
The latest three races of the season took place on the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit, a tricky one to master as the longest layout on the calendar. Pre-event testing on Wednesday and Friday was therefore crucial to help Angliss get acquainted with the 3.6-mile layout for the first time ahead of the race weekend.
Finding lots of time across the sessions in a combination of dry and damp conditions, a new challenge was presented to her come Saturday as she experienced full wet weather for the first time behind the wheel of her Ginetta G40.
She tackled the steep learning curve head on and made good progress in qualifying, however hopes of showcasing her improved pace in race one was scuppered when a complete loss of visibility due to a steamed-up windscreen forced her to pit at the end of the opening lap.
The race was then red flagged soon afterwards as standing water developed on the track, leaving her with a P15 finish. Two more races followed on Sunday, the first of which took place kicked off the day’s action on a greasy circuit.
Sadly, it proved to be a short-lived outing for the Coventry-based racer, as after avoiding multiple incidents ahead of her through the opening few corners, a mechanical issue saw her car grind to a halt heading down the Hamilton Straight.
Determined to bounce back from that disappointment in the final race of the weekend, Angliss produced a strong performance. Keeping out of trouble, she improved her lap times throughout the race on her way to P17 result.
Brea Angliss: “It’s been a challenging weekend for a number of reasons, but it’s also been a big opportunity to gain a lot of experience across different weather conditions and I’m proud of the progress I made in both the wet and the dry.
“After the early red flag in race one and the mechanical issue in race two, I was pleased to finally get the chance to complete a full race distance in the last one. My pace was improving each lap and that’s a really positive sign for me heading into the next rounds.”
The 2023 Ginetta Junior Championship season continues at the end of the month with back-to-back race events, with a trip to Donington Park (27/28 May) alongside the British GT Championship, before a return to Silverstone for a standalone Ginetta race event (02-04 June).
Images from Jakob Ebrey Photography.