Dan Cammish:
“We had a difficult Saturday which was tough to swallow as we had so much speed in the car, but mistakes happen, and we’ll learn from that. We came forward well on Sunday and I thought I drove really well in the first two races, making some good moves, and felt really confident for the final one.
“I thought we could win, or at least be on the podium, but at the start we had a bit of an issue with the line lock as it wouldn’t hold pressure in the system. As I was trying to put some pressure in, the five second board went up and lights went out, so I had a poor start which set the tone. I then did quite a bit of damage to the car at the chicane, trying to get a run on Josh Cook, and paid the price. It was a shame to end the day like that as we could have got to the front and won.
“I’m really motivated to see what we can do this weekend. We scored points at Donington, and I go to Brands with very little penalty, lots of hybrid, and a fast car, so I am confident we qualify at the front of the grid, hopefully leading to the first podiums of the season.”
Once again driving a NAPA Racing UK / Alliance Racing Ford Focus ST, the 35-year-old finished the practice sessions in Leicestershire in second and third place respectively, giving him plenty of hope for a strong qualifying performance that afternoon.
Unfortunately, he was unlucky heading into the new format, as rain falling made tyre choices critical. Dan went out on slicks as the track was getting damp, and with the team calling him in for wets, there was a miscalculation on the timing, which meant he couldn’t set a representative time, and would have to start 17th on the grid, albeit bullish about his prospects with a fast car.
After getting a good launch off the line for race one, the Safety Car was called after just a couple of corners, with Dan running 15th. Restarting on lap 16 of 21, he gained two more places, and by the penultimate tour he was inside the top 10, crossing the line ninth after an excellent gain of eight places. Post-race, he was then classified eighth after penalties were applied to other cars.
The Yorkshireman started race two well, now under sunny skies, but fell back one place on the opening lap, getting back into eighth on lap two and sixth by lap seven. Keeping the charge forwards, he closed in on Colin Turkington and Josh Cook ahead, but found the former putting up a real defensive drive, and settled for where he was at the flag.
Lining up fourth for the final contest, Dan was unlucky as the line lock in his car lost pressure coming to the grid for the start. Working hard to try and put pressure back in, he wasn’t able to get away as he’d have liked, falling back to 11th, though he was back inside the top 10 on lap two, before a Safety Car period. He remained glued to the rear of Cook throughout as the drivers from fourth to 12th all battled in a long line, but sustained some damage after clipping the tyre stacks at the final chicane as he tried to get a good run, eventually crossing the line in 10th.
Knowing he has a fast car underneath him thanks to the efforts of NAPA Racing UK / Alliance Racing, Dan can look forward to the trip to Brands Hatch this coming weekend as he aims for his first visits to the podium this season.
