Dan Cammish makes it 24 wins from 24 starts to claim the Formula Ford crown with six races in handDan announces plans to step down from the series and hand on his JTR Mygale to a new hopeful15 September, 2013 - Dan Cammish is the 2013 Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Champion of Great Britain. The Leeds driver today extended his unbroken run of race victories to a remarkable 24 with a brace of pole-to-chequered flag victories at Rockingham. He is the second successive champion for the JTR team, and achieved his title win at the squad’s home circuit.

Cammish’s victory trail began at Easter at Brands Hatch, where he won the opening three rounds of the series and said: “This is about as good as it gets. It’s something I may never experience again in my career; I’ve topped every practice, led every lap. It’s unbelievable.” Dan, 24, could not have been more wrong: he and his EcoBoost Mygale went on to sweep the board at Donington Park, Thruxton, Oulton Park, Croft, Snetterton, Knockhill and, finally, Rockingham.

It’s a extraordinary racing comeback for the Yorkshireman, who 18 months ago suffered serious injuries, including a broken pelvis, in a high-speed accident in a single-seater race in Spain. Dan’s battle to regain his fitness kept him out of racing for the rest of the season, and retirement from the sport was an option he considered.

With all thoughts of his 2012 crash banished and the title clinched, Cammish has decided to stand down from Formula Ford after Rockingham to give his rivals a chance to taste the victory champagne. His car will instead have a new young driver aboard for the races at Silverstone and Brands Hatch.

Cammish’s 23rd victory was as impressive as his Saturday win at Rockingham and all that have gone before, not least because it was achieved on a treacherously slippy track after a light pre-race shower. Though the conditions caught out Cammish’s sole remaining title rival, Harrison Scott, who spun off, there were no errors from Dan, who crossed the line 3.7s clear of second-placed Jayde Kruger. “What a way to do it,” he said. “It was really tough, incredibly slippy and there’s not a lot of room for error. Some of the corners here are as scary as anything in the rain. Harrison got caught out and I knew that I had to be very careful to keep it on the track.”

Dan’s victory advantage over Kruger in round 24 was one of his narrowest of the season at 0.36s, but with the title already secured Cammish knew that win 24 was just the icing on the cake.

The statistics of Cammish’s brilliant season make extraordinary reading: 24 wins from 24 starts, establishing new records for the most number of wins in a single season and the most consecutive victories; 22 pole positions; 19 fastest laps and 11 new lap records. Cammish led 399 of the 415 laps on his way to becoming the ninth consecutive driver of a Mygale chassis to win the British Formula Ford title.

Dan wins a test drive with Ford Focus BTCC squad Airwaves Racing and also a year’s use of a Ford road car.

Dan Cammish: interview with the champion

Why did you choose Formula Ford for your racing comeback?After I had my accident in Spain in 2012 we didn’t know what to do. There was a lot of head-scratching and a lot went through all our minds - should I just walk away or come back? I really enjoyed racing on the BTCC package in 2011; I knew how big it was and what a draw it was for the fans, so when I found out that Formula Ford was coming on to the package for 2013 that perked me up a bit. I decided that I wasn’t finished with single-seaters - I wasn’t prepared to leave my career in Spanish hospital. That wasn’t the right way to end it, so we made the decision to go back to Formula Ford.

Did you expect to be so dominant?I knew that I would be competitive; there was no reason why I couldn’t win a few races and challenge for the title. As it happens, things have turned out quite well. I have always been right at the front in everything that I have done, but I have never been a serial race-winner. It’s difficult to win races: my two race wins in Formula Ford in 2010 was about the best that we could have managed, really. It was the same in 2011 in Formula Renault when I was competing against big, well-funded teams. It was nigh-on impossible to win a race.For this year, I knew I was in the strongest car and with the best team. I’m the guy with the most experience and I’d like to think that I’m the fastest out there on any given day. These factors together, along with the knowledge we gained during the first few races this season, has seen us go from there, really. But I never imagined that I would win all these races in a row; I thought I could win a few and be a challenger for the title, but I never imagined that I would be sat here having won 24 out of 24. Just for the car to do that many races without having some sort of problem is amazing. It’s fantastic, the team have done a great job for me and it’s been a really good year.

Is there one win which was particularly satisfying?Yes, the second race at Knockhill: I shouldn’t have won that race. I never wrote off my chances but I was three seconds behind Nico Maranzana at one point on a circuit where you can gain maybe a tenth a lap. He had it sewn up, but I didn’t give up and I caught and I caught, and then when I reached him he kind of just handed it to me really, which just goes to prove that a racing driver should never give up. That was a very satisfying win because there was a time in the middle of the race when I could have just settled for second. But I didn’t.

What do you think of the EcoBoost Formula Ford?I have sung its praises from the minute I first drove it and I continue to do so. I think it’s a great car. I have driven many different single-seaters and, for me, the Formula Ford is a great way for a driver to start his career. It has a lot of power, which I like, downforce-wise it has enough to stop the car moving around too much but it’s still a mechanical-grip formula with the wings stabilising things at higher speed. This season we have raced in front of 35,000 people at some events and budget-wise it’s affordable. It’s a great place to be.

Having won the championship with six races in hand, you are now bowing out of Formula Ford. Where do you see your career heading now?I don’t think this will be my last weekend in a race car this year. We have focused on the BTCC and I have some opportunities, but it’s going to come down to budget at the end of the day. I did say that my single-seater days were done, but sometimes opportunities come out of the blue. I had shut the door on it but it’s reopened recently with some discussions for next year. I believe that I am good enough to be a professional. I want to be the next Nick Tandy - he is my motivation to keep going. It is doable if you are good enough and I believe that I am. Whatever route gets me into the position of being a paid driver, I will be happy with.

Who do you think will win races in the coming Formula Ford meetings?I expect Harrison Scott to win some races: he has the right pedigree and has been schooled right, coming up through karting, and he’s getting there. He’ll be really strong. And I am really happy with my team-mates at JTR. Sam Brabham does a great job considering he doesn’t drive the car much - he’s a rookie out of karting but he’s done well, and that takes some doing. The same goes for Camren Kaminsky: he is quick but inexperienced, and needs more time at it.

Provisional resultsRound 23 (of 30) 15 September 2013, Rockingham13 laps / 25.22 miles1 Dan CAMMISH / GBR (Leeds) JTR Mygale 20m 16.521s / 74.63mph2 Jayde KRUGER / RSA Jamun Mygale +3.697s3 Juan ROSSO / ARG Jamun Mygale +9.567s4 James ABBOTT / GBR (Thurlby) Radical Mygale +10.456s5 Camren KAMINSKY / USA JTR Mygale +10.714s6 Sam BRABHAM / GBR (Henley) JTR Mygale +30.873s etcScholarship class 1 Brabham; 2 Connor Mills / GBR (Upminster) Meridian Mygale; 3 Andy Richardson / GBR (Grantham) Richardson Mygale etcFastest lap Cammish 1m 32.397s / 75.58mph

Round 24 / 16 laps / 31.04 miles1 CAMMISH 21m 17.292s / 87.48mph2 KRUGER +0.361s3 Harrison SCOTT / GBR (Althorne) +9.122s4 ROSSO +13.824s5 BRABHAM +18.214s6 KAMINSKY +18.559s etcScholarship class 1 Scott; 2 Brabham; 3 Andy Chang / CHI Falcon Mygale etcFastest lap Kruger 1m 18.508s / 88.95mph

Full results

Provisional championship standings1 Cammish 739 points; 2 Scott 495; 3 Nico Maranzana (ARG) 448; 4 Rosso 422; 5 Brabham 366; 6 Abbott 352; 7= Kruger & Kaminsky 321; 9 Richardson 301; 10 George Blundell (GBR) 136 etcScholarship class 1 Scott 391; 2 Maranzana 346; 3 Brabham 273; 4 Richardson 195 etc

Next rounds 28/29 September, Silverstone