Dealer
Cammish takes early BTCC Jack Sears Trophy lead
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Dan Cammish drew first blood in the battle for the 2018 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship Jack Sears Trophy at Brands Hatch after a good opening race weekend performance in his Halfords Yuasa Racing Honda Civic Type R (FK8).
And his race weekend might have been even better – had an Indy circuit lap record in qualifying and a stunning provisional pole position not been erased when the 28-year old Yorkshireman drove through a red light in the pit-lane. The two-time Porsche Carrera Cup GB champion had to try again and qualified fourth. Then in three typically hard fought BTCC races, Cammish finished 8th, 16th and 11th.
“It’s been a rollercoaster ride, but the car is back in one piece, with all four wheels pointing in the same direction and I’ve come away with my first BTCC trophy, so I’d call that a win,” said Cammish. “I was heartbroken after qualifying because it was probably the best lap I’ve ever driven, but to top the timesheets showed what this car is capable of so I think I laid down a bit of a marker there. Pulling a time out over a single lap is something I’ve always enjoyed, but I knew the races would be more brutal than anything I’d experienced before – at the end of the day, this is my rookie season and this was my rookie weekend and it’s a completely different ballpark. You’ve also got to remember that the FK8 is a brand new piece of it – I didn’t drive my car for the first time until Season Launch – and we’re perhaps not getting the best out of the tyres yet but I’m with the best possible team for my learning curve in Halfords Yuasa Racing. It was nice to be on the podium, and even though it wasn’t outright, we’ll get there. These guys always do.”
Last year’s Jack Sears Trophy winner, Senna Proctor, won Race 2 outright in his Power Maxed TAG Racing Vauxhall Astra – having started 27th on slicks and benefiting from a drying track.
The top prize for the Jack Sears Trophy is a Stilo ST5 GT Carbon helmet supplied by Nicky Grist Motorsports.
Jack Sears Trophy – points after Round 1 1. Dan CAMMISH (Halfords Yuasa Racing)….43pts 2. Ollie JACKSON (AmD with Cobra Exhausts)….41pts 3. Rory BUTCHER (AmD with AutoAid/RCIB Insurance Racing)….39pts 4. Chris SMILEY (BTC Norlin Racing)….36pts 5. Mike BUSHELL (Trade Price Cars with Brisky Racing)….33pts 6. Brett SMITH (WIX Racing with Eurotech)….31pts 7. Matt SIMPSON (Simpson Racing)….30pts 8. Jake HILL (Trade Price Cars with Brisky Racing)….28pts 9. Michael CAINE (Team HARD with Trade Price Cars)….21pts 10. Tom OLIPHANT (Ciceley Motorsport)….19pts 11. Josh PRICE (Autoglym Academy Racing)….18pts 12. Sam SMELT (AmD with Cobra Exhausts)….17pts 13. Bobby THOMPSON (Team HARD with Trade Price Cars)….14pts
