TEAM DYNAMICS driver Dan Cammish picked up where he left off at Croft to claim two more podium finishes in the latest round of the British Touring Car Championship.
His showing at the fifth round of the BTTC at Oulton Park has elevated Cammish into fifth in the Drivers’ Championship on 130 points – five ahead of teammate Matt Neal, who slips to eighth.
Neal suffered disappointment on a track that has treated him so kindly in the past, as he spun out of a winning position in the final race, meaning he was unable to add to his record of 11 podium finishes and four race wins.
Cammish expressed his sympathy for his teammate’s misfortune, but was pleased with his performance on an individual scale.
“Another weekend that promised much but did not deliver – all of it through no fault of our own,” he said.
“I was pleased to keep racking up the podium finishes as consistency has so often proven so important in this championship.
“But what happened in the last race was so frustrating – Matt could very well have taken our first win of the year and my race was ruined as well.
He does however take heart from the weekend, ahead of round six at Snetterton in a month’s time.
“We were clearly the strongest team apart from the one leading the championship, so we will go to Snetterton next month in confident mood,” said Cammish.
“I was on the podium there last season so I’m looking forward to the races.”
The Halfords Yuasa Racing duo made a statement of intent for the weekend’s racing ahead by topping the practice times, following that up with a third for Cammish and a sixth place for Neal in qualifying.
In the opening race, Cammish finished narrowly behind Colin Turkington in second place, also claiming a fastest lap time of 1:26.344, though Honda’s progress was undone by a mechanical failure with Neal’s car that forced him into a retirement on the fourth lap.
Switching to softer tyres for race two, Cammish completed a smooth race to finish third and claim another podium place, whilst Neal recovered from 29th on the starting grid to finish in 11th – a remarkable feat given that his team only had 90 minutes to perform repairs.
The final race proved another eventful one for Neal, after powering into the lead in the third lap, only for Audi driver Jake Hill to make contact with his Civic Type R and send him into a wild spin.
Retirement was not an option this time around, as Neal recovered from 17th to finish in 11th.
Cammish meanwhile had a turbulent race, getting caught up in the melee that followed Neal’s spin to finish in a lowly 16th place.
Neal was quick to sum up his weekend, calling it one “to forget”, but says he will be looking ahead now to next month’s meet in Norfolk, instead of dwelling on the disappointments of Oulton Park.
“I was strong in the first race only to be robbed by a mechanical issue,” he said.
“That put me on the back of the grid for race two, and I was pleased to battle my way up the field, especially when the grid draw put me on the front row for race three.
“But then of course it all went wrong, through no fault of my own.
“The only thing to do is put this meeting behind us and head on to Snetterton, a meeting I’m really looking forward to after my win in the Diamond Double last year.”
