Halfords Yuasa Racing showed consistency in the fourth meeting of the 2020 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship at Knockhill in Scotland last weekend (29/30 August), with both Dan Cammish and Matt Neal scoring points in all three races in their Honda Civic Type Rs.
Qualifying saw Cammish start Sunday’s opening encounter from fourth on the grid. Neal was also highly competitive until an error exiting the chicane sent him into a heavy impact with the tyre wall. The Halfords Yuasa Racing mechanics set about an overnight rebuild to ensure their driver could take up his P9 spot on the race one grid.
Cammish made a good start and at the end of the first lap dived inside local man Rory Butcher at the hairpin to claim third. But contact from a rival then sent the Honda over the edge of a gravel trap, dropping the #27 to sixth, where it remained to the chequered flag.
Neal maintained ninth in the early laps in his newly rebuilt car, and was then able to pick off rivals Aiden Moffat and Mike Bushell to finish the first race just behind his team-mate.
At the start of race two, Cammish held onto sixth, before seizing the opportunity to grab fourth. He then repeatedly challenged Tom Ingram for the final podium spot but was unable to find a way past.
A determined performance saw Neal fight his way up the field to again cross the finish line just behind his team-mate, although a ten-second penalty due to a false start would see the BTCC veteran relegated to 15th.
The reverse-grid draw for the final race put Cammish into eighth on the grid, while Neal started from 15th.
Cammish once again got away well, this time overcoming rivals Jake Hill and Chris Smiley to finish sixth. Neal, meanwhile, found himself in a frantic multi-car midfield battle, making up three places to finish 12th and earn potentially vital points for the Honda-backed team.
Following a busy start to the delayed 2020 season with 12 races in just five weekends, Halfords Yuasa Racing will now enjoy a welcome three-week break before the next rounds at Thruxton on 19/20 September.
“After my little off in qualifying, the Halfords Yuasa guys did a brilliant job to rebuild the car overnight and it felt great on Sunday,” said Neal. “Obviously race two was disappointing. I was penalised for being marginally out of position on the grid, which was especially frustrating as it’s so difficult to overtake around Knockhill if someone drives a tight line.
“Still, points finishes in all three races for both cars is a good record, and now we go on to Thruxton where we always run well.”
