TROWBRIDGE racer Dan Blake is hoping this weekend’s opening rounds of the Carbon8 Coupe Cup will lay a solid foundation for the season ahead, with his newly-built car for 2017.

The 28-year-old starts his season on Saturday at Silverstone on the national circuit with a new car replacing the one he raced for the first three seasons of his career.

Blake has made the transition to the Amigo Motorsport team, following three seasons of running with the Blake Motorsport family team, in order to help further his chances.

The new car was built by Amigo at their Essex workshop over the winter, completing a successful test session at Brands Hatch at the beginning of February.

The Coupe Cup consists of seven race meetings over the season and Blake said: “I am really looking forward to getting out and getting the season underway.

“We had a very successful shake down at Brands Hatch and the car felt really good, I could tell from the first few laps it is going to be very competitive.

“The competition this year is going to be tougher than ever as well and every tenth is going to count.

“I want to be fighting for wins and launching a challenge for the series this year and being able to have the expertise and experience around me that the team have, from a technical and competitive nature will help me reach my maximum potential.’’