Dan Cammish’s loss of his Team Dynamics drive on the eve of the 2021 British Touring Car Championship campaign, amid Honda and other team sponsors withdrawing, was one of the shocks of that off-season. Yet it set in motion a sequence of events that has led one seasoned Formula Ford 1600 racer to help talented drivers tackle the age-old problem of motorsport being too expensive.
When Cammish found out the surprise news, it was too late for him to secure the funding to remain on the BTCC grid and he instead sought to make a Porsche Carrera Cup GB return. But he was still short of the budget required and turned to long-time friend and single-seater competitor Chris Hodgen for help.
“I was sponsored by a company called General Traffic, which is a big automotive retailer, and I spoke to them and said, ‘Is there something we could work on?’” recalls Hodgen. “And they said, ‘Well, actually, we’re just about to sign the contract to have the exclusive distribution rights for Duckhams.’
“They said if this deal went ahead, they’d need to promote the fact they’re back in business and this could be a great opportunity for a relatively cost-effective amount of money to get the brand back into the forefront of motorsport. We agreed the deal with Duckhams and got it all signed off.”
And sure enough, Cammish was back on the Porsche grid with a car bedecked in the iconic blue and yellow colours of Duckhams, a brand that had been mothballed for 20 years after being involved in sponsoring the works Van Diemen FF1600 team and the likes of Ari Vatanen in the World Rally Championship. Its comeback made for quite a story – just as Cammish’s performances in the Carrera Cup also did, the Yorkshireman going on to snare a third title up against some strong opposition.
Source: Autosport