Cammish continues march towards title

Both Jaguar Saloon and GT Championship races were dominated by the Lister Jaguar of Thomas Butterfield with winning margins of 7s.

Dan Cammish scored another double win as title rival Dino Zamparelli struggled for a second weekend in a row.

Knockhill was one of the few circuits Cammish didn’t dominate at last year as he relied on an error from Josh Webster to triumph.

But there were no such problems this time for the Redline driver as he led every lap in Scotland. Throughout both races he had team-mate Charlie Eastwood behind but the Scholar was unable to keep pace with the reigning champion.

Tom Sharp completed the podium in the opener but the main feature of the race was Stephen Jelley’s surge up the order. Despite still feeling the effects from his massive shunt at Snetterton two weeks ago, the Team Parker racer climbed up to fourth spot.

The second race included a thrilling battle between Sharp and Tom Oliphant for the final podium place, which was eventually resolved in favour of Sharp.

There was no such excitement for Zamparelli – he could only manage a brace of sixth places.

Colin Philpott claimed pole for race one and was looking to add to his tally of three wins this season, but a poor start gave Butterfield a free pass into Allard for the lead. Ian Drage followed close behind in second. Ultimately Butterfield was untroubled throughout but the recovery from Philpott, who had dropped to fifth at the start, was sublime. By the midway stage the XJS was running in fourth behind Kevin Doyle and Drage, the latter losing out to the former a few laps before. Philpott seized third from Drage with a forceful brake-locking manoeuvre into the chicane. He claimed second late on when Doyle had a tankslapper at Brooklands and spun onto the grass, with Drage completing the podium.

Race two was more straightforward as Butterfield took a lights-to-flag victory, leaving Philpott and Drage to squabble over second. The XJS driver had again lost out to his rival at the start but a carbon copy of his race one pass into the chicane meant the podium was unchanged.

Ian Hall won two of the three Special Saloons and Modsports races over the weekend. Polesitter Paul Sibley was unable to keep Hall’s Darrian behind and had to settle for second in race one. He made amends in race two, surviving late pressure from Ian Stapleton to win from pole. Hall was out of contention courtesy of a 10-place grid drop success penalty for his efforts in the opening round, but race three was an intense encounter as he diced with Thomas Carey for the win. Having trailed Hall for the majority of the race, Carey shot up the inside at Allard late on. He looked to have secured the win but ran over the grass at the complex, allowing Hall to secure his second victory of the weekend.

Richard Wheeler won the shortened Swinging Sixties race after a red flag interrupted the session. Raymond Barrow initially looked favourite for the win until Mike Mcbride rolled into the Armco at Goodwood after collecting the spinning Jim Gathercole. Fortunately no one was hurt and once the race was restarted Wheeler’s Elan was dominant as he cruised to victory 35s ahead of Barrow.

A red flag stoppage also befell the Open Series when Dominic Malone lost control of his BMW and crashed into a marshal’s post. Polesitter Christian Pittard eventually won the race despite a poor getaway. Tommy Field initially held a sizeable lead until the red flag and he was back in the lead a few laps after the restart. However, Pittard’s Caterham was too quick for the Vauxhall Tigra and he finished second.

Nigel Ainge and Danny Cassar won in Tin Tops despite a 30s success penalty. The Honda Integra got a bad start in the hands of Ainge but worked its way up to third prior to the stops. With the order settled, Cassar, now at the wheel, was in the lead staying there until the flag. Richard Wheeler was disqualified from second for not responding to black flags, while the excellent William Hardy retired with a terminal engine issue.

A success penalty also failed to deny John Spiers in the Classic K round. Starting from pole he was consistent throughout and, following the stops and his penalty for his win at Brands Indy, he closed down David Holroyd for the lead. Once he got past on the main straight late on the result was never in doubt.

Peter Ratcliff and Jonathan Mitchell were involved in a tense battle in the Magnificent Sevens. Despite a brief safety car interrupting the battle midway through, Ratcliff and Mitchell resumed their fight once the track went green, the former eventually pulling away to win.

Mark Chilton won the Future Classics race after a late safety car for the burning Triumph of Jon Fox caught out Mark Lucock, who hadn’t stopped. Chilton ran second for much of the race and once Lucock stopped during the safety car period, tumbling down the field, it paved the way for the Porsche to ease to victory.

Piers Reid took an excellent victory in the New Millennium Series. Following the stops and success penalties for the main contenders, he trailed the E36 of Lee Spencer. He eventually got past at Allard and the result was secure when Spencer crashed into the barriers at the complex section on the final lap.

Ray West was dominant in the Modern Classics round. With a success penalty for favourites David Marcussen and Stuart Hall, the path was clear after the stops for West to claim an untroubled victory.