Dan Cammish:
“In the first few laps, we just didn’t have the speed compared to the JTR cars. They had a different setup and were at a different level so I just had to do the best job I could and stay close. I got a bit held up lapping a backmarker and Tio got past, but I think I made a good move to get him back. Another lap or two and we would have got Dino because their advantage had worn off by then and we were motoring.
“We were going to win by a mile. I made a terrible start; I just dropped the clutch too hard and then lost the lead to Charlie, but I was never prepared to stay there. I knew how fast we were and managed to get him back into turn two. After that, I just drove away from them. We were so much faster than anyone else and we were coasting, having a nice day out and watching the guys behind.
“About four or five laps before it happened, I started to realise that something was wrong. I could smell something and every time I hit the brakes the smoke wafted forward, and I could smell it more and more. I looked at the TV screen on the National straight and I could see it was ablaze and so I parked it.
“I don’t think this is a mechanical failure; it’s more likely to be pick up or just a bit of bad luck. I’ve had a lot of bad luck over the past few weeks and it’s disappointing, but I’ve had a lot of good luck over the years, so you’ve got to take the rough with the smooth.”
Daniel Cammish converted his race one pole position into a podium place, but it was in race two where the real drama happened.
Having dominated Saturday’s qualifying session to secure pole position for both races the first race presented a dilemma. With the track damp and greasy from overnight rain, the cars were all very tentative off the line as the race got underway. Dan initially lost out to Dino Zamparelli and Tio Ellinas but by half distance, the tables had turned, and Dan was flying. He was quickly able to dispatch Ellinas to take second place and was challenging Zamparelli for the lead. Despite setting the fastest lap on the final lap Dan ran out of time to take the lead and had to settle for second place.
With the sun out, the track was dry by the time the mid-afternoon race two got underway. Dan once again started from pole position but was jumped off the line by team-mate Charlie Eastwood. Eastwood’s lead would only last two corners however as Dan worked his way past out of Maggotts. From there, the Nationwide Crash Repair/PPG Paint backed car pulled away into a comfortable lead.
It all came to a smoky end on lap 20 however when Dan was forced to pull over with the rear of his car on fire; a certain victory and 20 championship points evaporating. The suspected culprit, balls of pick up, or discarded rubber catching light on the exhaust.
Dan will head to Brands Hatch in Kent for the Porsche Carrera Cup GB championship finale on the 30th of September and 1st of October.