Brands Hatch marked a welcome return to the Ginetta Junior Championship for Brea Angliss - and she enjoyed one of her best performances of the season, collecting a healthy haul of championship points at one of the most challenging circuits in the country.
Brea Angliss returned to Britain’s most competitive junior championship with a trio of promising results at Brands Hatch. Equalling her highest points haul of the season, the Preptech UK driver achieved a best result of 12th in race one, followed by a pair of 13th place finishes in races two and three. Despite missing the previous two rounds of the season, Brea showed excellent speed throughout the weekend while developing her racecraft in a number of close battles.
Brands Hatch marked a welcome return to the Ginetta Junior Championship for Brea who missed the middle portion of the season due to a lack of funding. Returning with Preptech UK, Angliss was immediately back on the pace in the pre-event test session which utilised the Indy layout completing a total of 75 laps and setting the 16th fastest time.
Moving to the Grand Prix layout for qualifying on Saturday, Brea had just the regulation three laps in which to set two fast times. Angliss rose to the challenge superbly and although losing one of her laps for exceeding track limits, she set the 15th fastest time. Her second fastest lap was quick enough for 14th on the grid in race two, completing a superb qualifying session on Brea’s return to the Ginetta Junior Championship.
Lining up 14th for the opening race following a penalty for a rival, Brea showed no signs of race rustiness by moving up two positions on lap one. Despite losing out to five-time podium finisher Finn Harrison on lap three, Angliss regained 12th on lap five as she moved ahead of Edu Robinson before the safety car was deployed.
On the restart, the Preptech UK driver managed the race superbly as she led the second group of drivers and defended well from more experienced racers behind. Holding onto 12th place at the line, it was an excellent return to the Ginetta Junior Championship for Brea who competed extremely well to score her best result since the opening round of the season.
Once again starting from 14th in race two, Brea enjoyed another fantastic opening lap and gained three positions, before moving inside the top-10 as the safety car was deployed on lap two. Despite faster drivers making their way through the field, Angliss negotiated the traffic smartly and although dropping to 12th by lap six, she was continuing to find lap time improvements. Holding off Elite Motorsport’s Nick Ellis in the closing stages while attempting to catch teammate Alfie Davies, Angliss looked poised for a second 12th place finish. Despite Ellis making a move on the final lap, it was another solid result for Brea who took the checkered flag in 13th position.
Brea took the start of the final race of the weekend from 13th courtesy of her race two finish and continued her run of good starts by maintaining her position at the end of lap one. Despite falling behind former podium finisher McKenzie Douglass on lap 3, the Preptech UK driver continued to set competitive lap times and moved back into 13th on lap seven as the safety car was deployed. This meant that drivers were given a one lap restart at the conclusion of race three, with Angliss involved in a number of side-by-side battles before closing the twenty-minute race in 13th.
Brea’s return to the Ginetta Junior Championship was a promising one as she enjoyed one of her best performances of the season. Finishing all three races without incident, while collecting a healthy haul of championship points in the process, this allowed Angliss to develop her skills at one of the most challenging circuits in the country.
“I’m really pleased with how this weekend has gone", Angliss commented. "It was a big change moving across to a new team, but we’ve worked well together from the off and they’ve done a great job to make a number of improvements with the car."
“It was a steep learning curve heading onto the full GP circuit for the first time in qualifying, so it was all about making progress through the races and improving my consistency and lap times", she added. "It was really good fun getting to go on the offensive and make some moves, and I’m pleased to come away with three strong finishes.”
A return to the top-10 will be Brea’s immediate target with the Preptech UK driver looking to finish the season on a high as the Ginetta Junior Championship closes out its 2023 season at Donington Park on the weekend of 21st/22nd October.