Dan Cammish secured a superb second-place finish in the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship at Thruxton, after a late call to drive for BTC Racing in one of its Honda Civic Type Rs.
The Yorkshireman, who will compete in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB this season, is familiar with the car having driven an FK8 for Halfords Yuasa Racing during the past three seasons, narrowly missing out on the Drivers’ Championship title on two occasions.
With BTC Racing short of a driver at late notice, Cammish – who was not due to be racing during the weekend – was able to step into the seat, despite having had no pre-season testing in the car prior to the event.
After settling in during free practice, he was sadly unable to show his true pace in changeable qualifying conditions as a drying track rewarded those on slick tyres, while he was unable to get a clean lap in during the important final moments of the session.
Cammish got away well at the start of race one, avoiding drama that triggered an early Safety Car period, and set about trying to find a way past Jason Plato ahead. Hanging back as Plato and Rory Butcher squabbled, he shot past both in one decisive move and went on to finish fifth, having gained seven places, before a penalty for another driver moved him to fourth.
Race two was disrupted by red flags but, when the field re-set, Cammish made an excellent start to claim third place then wrestled second from Tom Ingram before another Safety Car period. After that, the 32-year-old played the team role perfectly and sat behind stablemate Josh Cook to secure a superb one-two for BTC Racing - helping Cook claim a second consecutive win in the process.
With rain falling ahead of the final race, Cammish started on wet rubber but found his tyres going off as conditions improved. He ducked into the pit lane on lap eight of 16 and switched to slicks, only for the rain to return shortly after, necessitating another trip to the pits to go back to wets which cost any chance of a strong result.
“It was a really good weekend,” said Cammish. “Qualifying didn’t go to plan, but we had lots of speed which we showed in races one and two. Coming through to fourth and second was a fantastic result for BTC Racing and I am proud to have played my part in that.
“Josh has had such a great weekend to win two races and he’s had great pace all weekend as well, so he thoroughly deserved those results. Race two, perhaps if it was another driver, I might have had more of a go, but I was happy to play the team game and that is sometimes what you have to do.
“Race three… it was wet, it was dry, it was wet… every time we made a call it went back to front! It was a shame to end like that, but it doesn’t dampen what we’ve achieved. There are lots of teams around us who’ve had a worse afternoon and I am fifth in a championship I’m not competing in, so it can’t be too bad!”
Cammish will be back in the TOCA paddock at Snetterton on 12/13 June, as he makes his Porsche Carrera Cup GB return.
