CAMMISH CLOSES IN ON FORMULA FORD TITLE


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Cammish is flanked on the Round 20 podium by Harrison Scott (left) and Maranzana. Photo: www.jakobebrey.com

My hardest race”: that’s how Dan Cammish described his 20th straight victory in the Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain at Knockhill on Sunday morning after being given a run for his money all the way to the chequered flag by Nico Maranzana.

Maranzana’s Jamun Racing Mygale made a copybook start from pole position – Nico’s first pole in Formula Ford – and the young Argentinian led JTR driver Cammish for 14 of the 25 laps before championship leader Dan’s greater experience came into play.

Cammish had to give best to Maranzana into the first turn – “I had a little look at the start but it was never really on,” said Dan – and then found himself slipping behind as Nico sped to a two-second lead by the end of the fourth tour. Cammish started his fight back thereafter, breaking his day-old circuit lap record on lap nine and closing to within a second by the 13th lap. “I found myself struggling like mad,” said Dan. “Little by little I started to pull him back. To be honest, I didn’t think I would get there, but then he made a little mistake and I was right there with him.”

Cammish lunged for the lead around Maranzana’s outside into the hairpin on lap 14 but Nico repassed half a lap later to lead over the line into lap 16. Then it all went wrong for Maranzana when he clouted a kerb too enthusiastically. “It’s good to lead but when you know that it’s Dan behind you, you need to push all the time,” said Nico. “I lost the race because I was pushing too much, and I went off. Dan with all his experience got past me. But there is another race to come and I will try again to beat him.”

“Nico hit the kerb too hard and launched himself and that was it,” said a relieved Cammish on the podium. “It was the hardest race of my year for sure. I was struggling, taking every lap like it was qualifying.” Dan was just 1.7s clear of his rival at the line.

Harrison Scott ran third for the duration in his Falcon Motorsport Mygale – “I tried to keep up with Dan but I just didn’t have the pace today,” said the Essex-based rookie – with Sam Brabham beating off several challenges from Jayde Kruger to secure fourth.

Juan Rosso came back from a stall on the green flag lap and subsequent back-row start, and also survived a second-lap misunderstanding at the hairpin with James Abbott’s Radical Mygale, to claim sixth place from Andy Richardson five laps from the end. Camren Kaminsky, who was suffering gearbox downshift issues, was eighth and Abbot ninth, a lap down after his early contact.

Round 21
Cammish once again emerged the victor of a Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship race on Sunday afternoon, the Leeds 24-year-old leading from pole position to chequered flag in his JTR Mygale. As in both preceding Knockhill races, it was Jamun’s Nico Maranzana who ran Cammish closest, crossing the finish line 2.4s behind to complete a hat-trick of Scottish second-place finishes.

Cammish’s points lead now stands at 199 – if he can complete next month’s three Rockingham races with that advantage intact he will take the championship title.

Dan’s road to victory was entirely clear of obstacles, other than the ever-present menace of Maranzana’s red Mygale in his mirrors. Cammish led the opening lap by a second and increased his advantage to three seconds by mid-distance before easing his pace slightly.

Maranzana, who reclaims second in the championship standings thanks to his Knockhill points haul, was pleased with his performance: “It was a good race, but it was impossible to catch Cammish on my tyres. I am happy with my car – I know now that I have one with which I can fight him, and I am expecting at the next races to beat him.”

Jayde Kruger profited from a slight error from Harrison Scott to nab third place at Scotsman corner on the fifth lap and make it a Jamun 2-3: “I got a good start and then Harrison made a mistake, and that freed me up. It’s so close here on times that I didn’t lose or gain on Nico – I was trying to catch him and was pushing him to the end.”

The third Jamun car, in the hands of Juan Rosso, was the major place-gainer of the race. Juan overhauled James Abbott’s Radical Mygale for sixth early on, and then moved up to fifth when Sam Brabham spun through 360 degrees at Butcher’s. Scott then fell into Rosso’s clutches through the SEAT curve on lap 18 and the Argentinian secured fourth.

Scott just managed to stay a nose ahead of the recovering Brabham on the line to stay fifth, with Camren Kaminsky, Andy Richardson and Abbott completing the finishing order.

Dan Cammish’s date with the championship title comes at the Rockingham Speedway in Northamptonshire in three weeks.


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