Promising return for Semington driver after lengthy rebuild

Semington driver, Dan Blake, had a promising first appearance of the season, in the Dave Allan Trophy at Castle Combe on Bank Holiday Monday.

He was back in action for only his second meeting since a sizeable crash at Donington Park in September 2023, with the Renault Clio 197 rebuilt by the Amigo Motorsport team over the winter.

Dan used the race as a shakedown for the upgraded car and teamed up with Amigo Motorsport team manager Rob Gaffney, who brought plenty of experience from the Ginetta GT Supercup and Renault Clio Cup. The 33-car field included some big-name machinery with Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Ginettas and BMW M3s all in the mix.

In qualifying, Dan set a lap of 1:21.184, more than a second and a half quicker than his previous best at Castle Combe, with an average speed of 82.03mph. This was the duo’s fastest lap of the session and put them in 23rd out of 34 and 17th out of 18 in Class 3.

With the Bank Holiday heatwave making conditions difficult, Dan made a strong start and climbed to 17th overall by the end of lap three. The Blake/Gaffney Clio even lead the class for a couple of laps, due to their strategy of making their mandatory pit stop later in the pit window. Dan handed over to Rob with just under half an hour of the 40-minute race gone and Rob completed three laps before the race was red flagged, due to a crash at Tower corner caused barrier damage that could not be repaired in time. Dan and Rob ended up finishing 13th overall and 9th in class.

“It was a really good start to the season,” said Dan. “The main thing was to make sure that the car was in a good place following the upgrades over the off season. It gives us a good base to build up from for the rest of the year.”

He thanked the Amigo Motorsport team for getting the Clio into shape and praised Rob’s feedback and experience.

Depending on funding, Rob hopes to enter the 750 Motor Club Hot Hatch Championship later this season, which includes rounds at Castle Combe in October, Silverstone and Oulton Park. He is seeking sponsorship support through his Dan Blake Racing Facebook page.