Yorkshire Folk – Dan Cammish: Cruising Along in the Porsche Carrera Cup
With a full time job alongside his motorsport career, Leeds based Dan Cammish is under no illusions
of the task that lies ahead of him this year, and the sacrifices he will have to make if he wants to
make it to the big time. As a Yorkshireman however, he is no stranger to a bit of hard work and graft!
With 24 wins from 24 starts, breaking record after record, including the most number of wins in a
single season, as well as most consecutive victories (22 pole positions; 19 fastest laps and 11 new lap
records), Dan Cammish went from strength to strength in the Formula Ford Championship back in
2013, giving his competitors little chance of ever catching him. So emphatic was his victory that the
Yorkshireman was able to sit out the final two rounds of the season (comprising 6 races), have a few
hundred mugs of Yorkshire tea and still take the title by over 100 points from Harrison Scott.
He was named Autosport British Club Driver of the Year following that emphatic season, as well as
bagging the John Surtees Award for most outstanding performance of a BRDC Rising Star. From floor
mopper to attending awards ceremonies with the cream of motorsport, Cammish had come a long
way – could he now dare dream of the ultimate success?
Ideally Cammish would have liked to have moved up to a BTCC seat in 2014, however budget
constraints dulled that dream. “Ow Much???” I hear you cry – in an arena where lack of financial
backing continues to deny those that show promise, whilst having plenty of it elevates those not quite
as worthy of the opportunity to heights the rest can only dream of, there is unfortunately always a
promising star that loses out. So instead a last minute deal struck with Porsche saw this exciting,
young talent compete in the British GT4 Series. Despite a challenging debut season, where the Brit
was unable to match his promising qualifying pace on race day, Cammish stuck with sports cars for
2015, moving over to the Porsche Carrera Cup GB grid, with the Redline Racing team, who saw a star
in the making when Cammish made a guest appearance in the Carrera Cup round at Brands Hatch
Indy in October last year. Despite having barely anytime to get used to the car and the fact he was
racing alongside far more experienced competitors, the Yorkshireman proved just what he was
capable of by qualifying for both Races on pole and even winning Race one. He would have taken
Race two as well had his challenge not been hampered by rain. That one off performance could not
have gone any better for the young Yorkshireman if he had tried, and it set him on his way to the
giddy heights of high level racing once again.
Now in 2015, the Yorkshireman has got his season off to a near perfect start, with a double victory in
the 1st round at Brands Hatch Indy, seeing the 26-year-old take the lead in the Championship after
just two Rounds. The pressure continually applied by Cammish, along with his excellent tyre
conservation and patience worked perfectly to seal both wins for the Leeds based driver. He upped
that win tally further at the next Round of the championship at the classic track of Spa-
Francorchamps, taking a second place in Race 1, before bagging victory in Race 2 to keep hold of
that lead. It was another brilliantly taken win by the Yorkshireman after snatching the lead from title
rival Josh Webster, following a near first half of the race long safety car period, lasting twenty
minutes. The 26-year-old’s patience paid off, as a Yorkshireman he of course knew the meaning of
biding his time and digging in, before taking it to Webster. It was all Cammish needed to make his
break and sail away into the distance, showing that he would be the one to watch and the man to
catch this season!
Cammish now has his sights set on making it to the top level of GT Racing with Porsche, which would
take the 26-year-old to the World Endurance Championship, whose fan base is growing rapidly and is
beginning to rival F1 for popularity in the motorsport World, mainly because it welcomes in social
media and the fans where F1 does not. For now however Cammish is concentrating on winning the
Porsche Carrera Cup GB championship, which he knows will be a tough, season long battle in what is
a competitive grid this year, but the Yorkshireman, is as always up for the challenge! With the
backing of the BDRC Superstars scheme this year, who work with the most talented young British
drivers and their racing programmes with a series of events and workshops throughout the year to
enhance their physical and mental fitness, communication, media and marketing skills, this could be
the year that sees Dan Cammish take that next crucial step up the motorsport ladder!
The next round of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB will be contested at Oulton Park, Cheshire on the
weekend of 6th and 7th June. Cammish is a joy to watch, I urge you to support your fellow
Yorkshireman and catch at least one round of the Porsche Carrera Cup this season and you will see
what I mean!
Written by Rachel Hack