MotorsTV UK Official Blog

Hello Everyone and welcome to my mid season blog.
We are now half way through the ten round British Formula Ford Championship and so far it has been a mixture of highs and lows. Taking my 1st outright win at Zandvoort was without doubt the highlight of my racing career. To stand on the podium in front of the huge grandstand while the national anthem played makes it all worth while. In contrast parting ways with the Kevin Mills Racing team only week or so previous was a real low. The first time in my 8 year history I have switched teams in the season. 

My latest race at Rockingham turned out to be a nightmare in many respects. There are so many variables in motor racing already and to then have the added issues at the weekend really made it difficult for me, and I’m sure there were others. In testing I had headed the times for the past 2 weeks. At both the pre race tests we were right up at the front if not quickest. Yet come qualifying I had a car that could barely make it through a bend without wanting to chuck me into the nearest wall. The data showed a huge loss in grip and with nothing changing from Friday to Saturday but the tires, we were sure this was the issue. We did our best and in Race 1 I managed to just hang on to 6th place from Dan de Zille. Dan drove an excellent race and I just managed to be quick enough in certain parts of the track to hold him off. I have a lot of respect for the way he handled being stuck behind me for so many laps. Many other drivers wouldn’t of thought twice about just moving me out of the way. Myself included had it been someone in front of me.

In Race 2 we made the decision to run my spare tires to try compensate for our problems. I got a great start and jumped up to 5th by turn 1 from my 6th place starting slot. I then managed to pass Scott Malvern a couple of laps later into turn 1 for 4th and that is where I stayed. The guys in front had just got too much of a jump on me and without a tow I just couldn’t make up the ground. I felt I had the pace had I of been with them to to challenge for a podium position. I consistently pulled away from Scott and was well clear at the flag. My team mate Tio Elinas won both races from pole so congratulations to him on a great weekend.

On the Tuesday after Rockingham we travelled to Snetterton for some official F3/Ford testing. The main aim for us at this test was to prove we had a tyre issue and see what we could do  about it. In session 1 I was consistently the fastest driver and was narrowly beaten in the dyeing seconds of the session by Josh Hill. In session 2 we did some back to back testing of our tires. My first set were from the Friday at Rockingham and my second were from the race. I lost roughly 5 tenths of a second when we changed them and confirmed to us there is a serious problem somewhere down the line. 5 tenths around a track with a long straight and 5 corners. It could easily be and probably was more at the twisty Rockingham circuit. Many other teams were also finding problems and it is clear that the championship could be greatly effected unless something changes.  In session 3 I ran new tires also from the Rockingham batch and set a lap good enough for P1 on the day. The tires seemed normal and showed non of the issues we had at the weekend. All very odd and certainly means all the teams will be paying close attention next time out.

We now have a a couple of weeks off until Silverstone where we will race on the Grand Prix circuit something I am very much looking forward to. 

I look forward to bringing you an update soon,
Cheers
Dan

Hello and welcome to my post Castle Combe blog for the Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain.
With limited testing at the Chippenham based circuit due to budget constraints we knew it would be a tough weekend. Losing precious track time to my championship rivals is never helpful and put us on the back foot from the start. Having had over a week out of the car by the time qualifying arrived Saturday morning it was always going to be a struggle to jump straight in and perform. I was therefore very happy to have qualified 4th for both races of the weekend. In front of me were the 3 Jamun Mygales of Scott Pye, Josh Hill and Emil Bernstorff all of which tested the Thursday before the meeting so to be 4th was an excellent effort. 

Sunday saw Formula Fords with 2 races which would make up rounds 9 and 10 of this years championship. I got an excellent start from 4th on the grid and was up to 3rd by turn 1 at Quarry. The always fast Starting Ray driven by Scott Malvern was already up to 4th right behind me. I managed to pass Josh Hill on lap 2 When he ran wide exiting the final turn and I could out drag him up the hill to turn 1. I quickly began to catch Scott Pye who was leading the race from pole position. I got within a Couple of car lengths and was beginning to detach Malvern when I started to realise I was struggling to slow the car down. I was pressing the brake harder and harder but to no avail. On lap 3 I could barely slow down enough to even make the corner let alone the Apex and Malvern was right back behind me. Going into turn 1 on Lap 4 I braked as late as I dare but still couldn’t quite slow the car enough and Malvern gained an easy position. From there I went back a few more places as I was now driving with no brakes at all. By lap 6 I was down in 6th or 7th but with quick thinking I had managed to cool my brakes just enough and could feel the bite coming back. I managed to re-pass Dennis Lind and was closing on the group ahead. Emil Bernstorff was right with me coming out of the Chicane and unfortunately I ran slightly wide on the exit and missed a gear going over the bumps, Emil had nowhere to go but into the back of me launching into the air and clean over my car. He landed hard in front of me and both our races had come to an end. It was very disappointing to see good points disappear so quickly especially when I had dealt with my brake problems so well.

The Second race was in the Afternoon and was run in very warm and sunny conditions. Another great start saw me up to 3rd again by turn 1 where I stayed until the race was Red flagged after Chrissy Palmer crashed at tower. The speed at the front was very fast with Pye leading from Hill then me. My team mate Tio Elinas was keeping me honest with Malvern close behind him. I felt that would be the end of the race but after a good 25 minute stoppage we were back on the grid for a full restart. Something I knew would benefit the fast starting Ray of Scott Malvern. After the long run down to turn 1 he had already inched ahead of me from 5th on the grid and I settled into 4th place. We managed to pull away from Tio fairly quickly over the 5 lap sprint to the finish. I was all over the rear of Malvern but was unable to find a way past so I was 4th at the flag. I was disappointed to lose my podium position as I felt for speed I certainly deserved it and the full restart was such a big advantage to Scott who’s car always gets excellent traction.

It wasn’t the best weekend’s racing I’ve had but we always knew it would be tough with little testing at the circuit. Especially when I am new to the JTR team and Mygale Chassis. I believe at the more technical tracks of Rockingham, Silverstone and Snetterton things will be much different. I now stand 3rd in the Championship with a long way still to go, so I am confident I can get my season back on track and win some races.

The most difficult thing of all at the moment is finding the budget to continue my season. Anyone interested in Sponsorship and what I can do for you should contact myself or Chris Hodgen.
Details can be found on my website at www.danielcammish.co.uk

I hope you have enjoyed reading my blog and I look forward to seeing you at a race soon.

Regards

Dan

It has been a while since my last blog and there have been many changes since then. After a disappointing start to the season with KMR and the Spectrum Chassis I have recently joined my new team Joe Tandy Racing and am now at the wheel of a race winning Mygale. After a days testing at Snetterton two weeks ago we were ready to contest round 3 of the MSA Formula Ford Championship at Zandvoort. Supporting the F3 Masters was always going be a brilliant event but I was blown away by the Circuit, its facilities and atmosphere. With no prior testing at the circuit I was at a disadvantage to my close championship rivals and with only two 40 minute sessions it was always going to be difficult. I enjoyed the circuit from the first lap and as I grew with confidence my lap times tumbled. By the end of the second session I was 5th fastest only 4 tenths from Pole.

Hello everyone and welcome to my latest blog. It has been a long winter and unlike last season I am no longer a ‘rookie’ which meant there was much less testing to be done. The first time I sat in a car this year was way down under in Australia. Some pre-season testing had been planned with Spectrum manufacturer Borland Racing Developments and I had two weeks of sunshine to test some new parts. After 5 long days of testing with hundreds of miles under our belts it was time for home, which happened to be covered in snow. This was great news for myself as it meant others hadn’t had much testing on the new Dunlop tyre. Which I believe is a welcome addition to the Ford championship as with its long life should help to bring costs down.
After just 4 days testing in England we were rapidly approaching the first race of the season which was to be held over Easter Bank Holiday at the Oulton Park circuit. This time last year I qualified 2nd and had a podium in my first ever car race. Unfortunately there was no front row starting position this year, however starting from 5th I still managed 3rd in race 1 which was a good result.

All weekend we had been expecting rain with forecasts showing heavy showers for all days bar Sunday, obviously. Gladly they never came and all our races were held in dry conditions. After qualifying 5th for the Saturday race and 4th twice for the two Sunday races I was in a good position to score some excellent points and get my Championship under way. 3rd in the first race of the weekend was a good result but a little disappointing to be so far behind the leader.
Race 2 saw me make an excellent start vaulting from 4th to 2nd by turn one. Pole man Scott Pye and Josh Hill collided which left a 3 car train of myself Scott Malvern and Antti Burri scampering into the distance. The race was going well for me and I was comfortable behind Malvern with 3 laps to go, however I knew this was my chance to get that 1st race win of my Ford Career. I made my move into Lodge corner having to drive around the outside of Scott as he took the defensive inside line. I managed to brake as late as possible and tried to cut back to the inside of Scott but he hung me on the outside. I hadn’t made it so I conceded and tried to tuck in behind once more. To my horror I felt the engine die as I hit the throttle, it came back a few seconds later but Burri had driven clean past me by this point. I knew this feeling, I had felt it before and knew what was coming. I knew I was either out of fuel or we had a pickup problem and after suffering with this for 2 tests pre-season I knew it was the latter. I did all I could on the final two laps to keep the engine alive, throwing the car from side to side hoping to get some fuel into the engine. I made it to line but I couldn’t hold onto my podium place and finished 4th. It was disappointing to have gifted away my podium not to mention the possibility of my first win. But it will come.

Between races 2 and 3 the Kevin Mills team did all they could to find the problem but like in pre-season testing it had evaded us. The only option was to add more fuel. I started race 3 from 4th again and made another good start, 3 in a row now which is unusual for me, so I’m hoping it has finally clicked. I tried to hang on round the outside of turn 1 but ended up running wide onto the grass and I lost a position or two. I quickly gained one back at the end of the lap into Lodge and settled into 5th. 3 laps in and I was struggling with big oversteer and losing the pack ahead. Then bang, I was hit from behind under braking to turn 1, I somehow kept it out of the wall and continued but I knew we had damage. The car was crabbing in a straight line and swerved under braking. I managed to finish the race in 9th position which was very disappointing but it could of been much worse. I had a fair bit of damage to my right rear corner and how I even finished was a miracle. What’s worse is that on the final lap my mysterious fuel problem returned and I lost my 8th place with only 2 corners to go, very frustrating.

But now we have 5 weeks until Knockhill, a circuit we know will suit our car and I hope my next blog will bring news of my first victory. Although its probably best to make sure we can actually make it to the finish at full speed this time.

Regards

Dan Cammish

Oh, don’t forget to follow my progress throughout the season at www.danielcammish.co.uk

Hello again and welcome to my first blog of the 2010 season. After a great first season in British Formula Ford in 2009 where I comfortably won the Scholarship class and finished 6th Overall we decided it would be best for me to stick around in 2010 and race for the Overall Championship crown. The next decision was choosing a team, a decision that was not taken lightly. After months of head scratching we felt that a second year with the Kevin Mills Racing squad was my best option. After my recent visit to Australia to meet the Spectrum Manufacturer Borland Racing Developments I’m sure we have made the right decision. With a new car in 2010 the Spectrum 012, I believe I will have a car to match the Mygale and hopefully carry me to many wins along the way, if not the title.

It was decided my best option for some pre-season testing was to fly to Australia and get some warm weather mileage under my belt with the new Dunlop tyre. I did five days while I was there at three different tracks and there was no shortage of laps. With only a few cars, if any at times on track I had no distractions as we put new development parts to the test. I was very impressed with the Borland team and their desire to win in 2010. Their commitment to me and to winning is a key reason why I wanted to stay at Kevin Mills. The Dunlop tyre was better than I expected, not that I was expecting it to be bad, it was just very impressive whether new or old. With lap times considerably more consistent than the outgoing Avon.

Its difficult to judge our performance in Australia, the only data we had was from a year earlier on the Avon tire and we were faster at every track. But until we get to Oulton Park for the first race of the season we won’t know how good any team really is. But I am confident in the way the car reacted to the tire that we will have a stronger car than in 2009 which is very encouraging. I feel very motivated for the coming season and I believe as always it will be a very closely fought affair.

For now though I have a Dinner Suit to buy as on Saturday I have the BRSCC awards evening where I will collect my Scholarship trophy. Something I have been waiting a while to get my hands on, I hope this time next year I will be preparing to collect  the Championship trophy.

I look forward to bringing you updated blogs throughout the season and if you happen to be at any Ford meetings this year please come say hello. The first round of the season will take place at Oulton Park over the Easter Weekend. I hope to see you there.