Dan Cammish:
“It was a good weekend. We had a really difficult qualifying, we just didn’t quite feel comfortable. I really struggled to get the best out of myself and the car, and lining up P10 was not really what we hoped for, but it was the best we could do.
“We got a bit of luck in round one, there was bit of misfortune from others, and one of those was Ash, which was a shame. We moved forward to fifth, and that was a really good result, especially on the medium tyres.
“We finished race two in fourth place, again on the medium tyre. I didn’t quite have the speed to challenge for the podium, but it was a good battle with Ash at the end there to keep him at bay, and that was a good result. We’d set out day up around, using the soft tyre in race three. Had it stayed dry, I think we could have brought home a podium, if not romped home to a win, but it didn’t pan out like that because it rained.
“I got a fantastic start but ended up getting a bit of a tap and a nudge from a few people, and it shuffled me back, except one of the guys that passed me was Ingram, and the guy that was behind me was Hill. It was like, ‘what do I do now?’ I want to go forwards, but I don’t want to get involved in this. So I let them past and concentrated on my race. I was seventh at one point and I came back to fourth, passing Colin and Tom along the way.
“To be joint four with Colin is a massive achievement, and we won the teams’ championship, which is fantastic. The manufacturers’ title was something I was really working towards all season. It’s been hard fought, and BMW clinched it in the end, so well done to them, but we want to come back next year and try and win the lot.”
Dan Cammish brought the curtain down on his 2024 season at the weekend (October 5/6), with three top five finishes on the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit.
Those performances meant he finished joint-fourth in the Drivers’ standings and helped NAPA Racing UK claim the Teams’ title, while he also ended the year fourth in the Goodyear Wingfoot Award, based on qualifying performances.
The Yorkshireman’s weekend began under pleasant, sunny, Autumn skies for free practice one, where he finished eighth having run through planned programmes. He ended FP2 12th, meaning he would head out for qualifying in Part One – Group Two, and finished sixth, moving to Part Two, where unfortunately would have to settle for 10th position.
Dan had a clean start to the first 15-lap race on Sunday morning, but ahead there was contact between several of the title protagonists – which he was still in mathematical contention for – at turn two. He kept out of trouble and gained six places, before the Safety Car was called. When the contest resumed, he fell back two spots but regained one before the flag, finishing fifth.
He once again had good drive off the line to begin race two, taking a position into turn one. Settling into fourth, NAPA Racing UK teammate Ash Sutton, who like Dan was now out of title contention, closed in and managed to get by but Dan refused to give it up, repassing and holding the place to the flag.
He started fourth for the final contest of the 2024 season and, having saved his soft tyres, was optimistic of a strong performance as he and the Alliance Racing team had built a plan around it. Unfortunately, the weather turned wet, but despite that, Dan was fighting for the lead on the outside of turn one but had to drop back and fell to sixth.
Aware he was now sitting between the two championship rivals, Dan made a mature decision to drop back and, once that battle played out, moved forward again, taking fourth position and finishing there once again. The result put him fourth equal in the Drivers’ standings and helped NAPA Racing UK secure the Teams’ title for the third year in a row.
Having signed a multi-year contract extension earlier this season, Dan will return to the British Touring Car Championship for 2025 and beyond, with his sights already set on taking home the title in 12 months’ time.
