Motorbase confident it can repair Cammish's Ford after fire in BTCC qualifying

BTCC returnee Cammish was on his first push-lap in the NAPA Racing-liveried car when he drove into the gravel at the McLeans right-hander with flames licking from under the bonnet.

The fire quickly took hold before the three-time Porsche Carrera Cup GB champion was even out of the car – once he had escaped, it was put out my marshals.

Motorbase team manager Oly Collins told Autosport that the cause of the fire emanated from the fuel-system union.

“The bulkhead and the components are absolutely first-class – that’s a credit to the regs, and the boys that put the cars together,” said Collins.

“The car needs a completely new front end including subframe, and we’re assessing some components, for example the gearbox.”

Some staffers are en route to Donington on Saturday evening from Motorbase’s Kent premises with spare parts.

“It’s a few bits just to cover ourselves really,” added Collins. “We’ve got everything here, but you don’t want to get to 11.30 at night and realise the last few things you need – we’ve got a contingency in place.”

Dan Cammish, NAPA Racing UK Ford Focus ST, crash

Photo by: Mark Chivers

Collins said the red flag during qualifying allowed the team to assess the sister cars of Ash Sutton, Ollie Jackson and Sam Osborne.

“We already knew it was fuel-system-related, so straight away we went through them,” he said. “Now we’ve pinpointed it closer we’ll be double-checking the other cars and checking what we need.

“I feel so sorry for Dan and the boys on the car – at this time of year you’re on the back of some really hard work, but being put the test is what they’re really good at.”

Motorbase owner Pete Osborne told Autosport: “We’ve rallied the troops and we’ve had some great phone calls from people like David Bartrum [team founder] offering to get us back on track, which is fantastic.

“It shows how when the chips are down so many people are happy to help.”

Cammish, who was second in free practice and appeared to be a prime contender for pole position, said: “The lap was going quite well.

“I was looking at the dash for the lap time, and came through the quick left [Schwantz Curve], and as I looked through the windscreen I thought it was misting up [from fuel spillage].

“Then it was on fire – I thought I’d keep driving and park it somewhere sensible, but as the speed came down the flames seemed to lick higher and that’s when panic sets in.

“What can I do? Your instinct is to get out, especially when the flames are higher than you can see.

“The front end is destroyed, but I wouldn’t put it past these guys to get me out [for the races], even though there isn’t a wire in there that isn’t now part of another wire.”