Dan Cammish:
“Overall, it was a good weekend. What a difference a couple of weeks make, from Donington where we were on fire, literally, to Brands Indy where we’re on fire metaphorically.
“Race day has been great. We had two podiums, a third, and a second, and I think with another lap I could have won race two and another five laps I could have been quite a way in the lead. Everything that I needed from the car came to me and Josh [Cook] had used everything that he had. That’s just that’s just the way we set the cars up and the way we roll it out, so I was really happy. Race three was a struggle for me and Ash [Sutton] and we came through to six from tenth, but it’s not where we wanted to be.
“We struggled a little because it never dried enough to give us the car back that we need. It’s interesting that we get a similar feeling in the full wet as we do in the full dry, but there’s that in between moment where the car is fantastic. I can’t quite get my head around that, so I think we’ve got some homework to do, but on the whole, it’s been very positive. We’ve got two trophies in the bag, some points, so I can’t ask for much more.”
Dan Cammish got his 2022 British Touring Car Championship season back on track at Brands Hatch at the weekend (14/15 May) with three top ten finishes, including third place in race one and second in race two.
The Yorkshire racer endured a torrid opening round at Donington Park last time out when his NAPA Racing UK Ford Focus ST caught fire during the all-important qualifying session. Unable to set a competitive time, he was on the back foot for the rest of the weekend only scoring points in the final race of the weekend for 13th place.
Under the warm Saturday sun, Dan enjoyed a much less dramatic day around the Kent speed bowl, duly putting in a qualifying time good enough to secure eight on the grid for the first race of the weekend.
Sunday’s weather took a turn for the worse as rain fell with increasing intensity throughout the morning, leading to all but two cars starting race one on wet tyres. Dan made a solid start but Gordon Sheddon was able to work his way past on the second lap. The pair then closed in on George Gamble with Dan following Sheddon through to pass the BMW exiting the tight Druids hairpin.
It would be the start of a relentless push to move up the order as, five laps later, Sheddon was dispatched before Stephen Jelley and Adam Morgan were dispatched. The next two targets were Colin Turkington and Jake Hill who put up little resistance in the damp tricky conditions, allowing Dan to cruise to his first podium of the year.
Race two was a calmer affair, as starting third, he was able to hold his position until lap 10 when Rory Butcher made a move up the inside of Clark corner onto the pit straight. It wouldn’t stick however, with the positions being reversed on lap 14 when Butcher ran wide exiting Graham Hill Bend. Joining the nose-to-tail battle for the lead with Josh Cook and Jake Hill, Dan pushed his rivals all the way, applying pressure to them both. Hill cracked first and spun out at Druids allowing Dan into second before crossing the line just a quarter of a second behind Cook.
After the mixed conditions experienced in races one and two, the drivers were greeted by a fully wet track for the final contest of the weekend. Two Safety Car periods interrupted the action, the first after Jason Plato went into the gravel at Druids on the opening lap and the second on lap 19 to recover the beached car of Tom Chilton. This, combined with the full wet conditions not suiting the setup on the Ford, meant Dan was unable to make much forward progress, finishing the race in tenth place to round out a largely successful weekend, scoring 38 championship points.
It is now only a short two week break before the championship resumes at Thruxton in Hampshire on May 28/29 for rounds seven, eight, and nine of the season.
BTCC Drivers' Championship, after 6 rounds
1. Tom Ingram - 92 points
2. Josh Cook - 84 points
3. Ash Sutton - 71 points
4. Jake Hill - 69 points
11. Dan Cammish - 41 points
BTCC Manufacturers' Championship, after 6 rounds
1. EXCELR8 Motorsport / Hyundai - 151 points
2. Motorbase Performance / Ford - 151 points
3. BMW - 150 points
4. Team Dynamics / Honda - 109 points
BTCC Teams' Championship, after 6 rounds
1. Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8 TradePriceCars.com - 124 points
2. NAPA Racing UK - 113 points
3. Rich Energy BTC Racing - 93 points
4. Car Gods with Ciceley Motorsport - 91 points