Halfords Yuasa Racing showed consistency in the fourth meeting of the 2020 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship at Knockhill in Scotland last weekend (29/30 August), with both Dan Cammish and Matt Neal scoring points in all three races in their Honda Civic Type Rs.
Qualifying on the tight 1.27-mile Fife circuit saw Cammish find an early gap in the traffic, setting a time good enough to start Sunday’s opening encounter from fourth on the grid.
Neal was also highly competitive until an error exiting the chicane sent him into a heavy impact with the tyre wall. The Halfords Yuasa Racing mechanics set about an overnight rebuild to ensure their driver could take up his P9 spot on the race one grid.
Cammish made a good start and at the end of the first lap dived inside local man Rory Butcher at the hairpin to claim third. But contact from a rival then sent the Honda over the edge of a gravel trap, dropping the #27 to sixth, where it remained to the chequered flag.
Neal maintained ninth in the early laps in his newly rebuilt car, and was then able to pick off rivals Aiden Moffat and Mike Bushell to finish the first race just behind his team-mate.
At the start of race two, Cammish held onto sixth, before seizing the opportunity to grab fourth. He then repeatedly challenged Tom Ingram for the final podium spot but was unable to find a way past.
A determined performance saw Neal fight his way up the field to again cross the finish line just behind his team-mate, although a ten-second penalty due to a false start would see the BTCC veteran relegated to 15th.
The reverse-grid draw for the final race put Cammish into eighth on the grid, while Neal started from 15th. The pair both made strong starts, but an incident involving several cars just two laps in would see the final contest re-start from the grid.
Cammish once again got away well, this time overcoming rivals Jake Hill and Chris Smiley to finish sixth. Neal, meanwhile, found himself in a frantic multi-car midfield battle, making up three places to finish 12th and earn potentially vital points for the Honda-backed team.
Following a busy start to the delayed 2020 season with 12 races in just five weekends, Halfords Yuasa Racing will now enjoy a welcome three-week break before the next rounds at Thruxton on 19/20 September.
The squad has enjoyed its strongest success record at the fast Hampshire track, scoring 12 victories there since 2011 – including a particularly memorable day in 2013, when all three wins were taken by the team. Cammish achieved a victory last time out at Thruxton, and both he and team-mate Neal will be keen to add to that record and maintain their championship challenge.
“It was quite a good day actually,” said Cammish. “We were consistent and scored points in every race, and I could have made the podium in race one had I not been knocked wide onto the gravel.
“I'm looking forward to going to Thruxton – it's a good track for us and I took a win there last season.”
“After my little off in qualifying, the Halfords Yuasa guys did a brilliant job to rebuild the car overnight and it felt great on Sunday,” added Neal. “Obviously race two was disappointing. I was penalised for being marginally out of position on the grid, which was especially frustrating as it’s so difficult to overtake around Knockhill if someone drives a tight line.
“Still, points finishes in all three races for both cars is a good record, and now we go on to Thruxton where we always run well.”
