Fifer Gordon Shedden bagged his first wins of the season as he dominated the latest triple-header in the British Touring Car Championship at Croft, near Darlington in North Yorkshire.
The 31-year-old from Dalgety Bay led the opening two races from start to finish in his Team Honda Civic as he racked up his first wins since Oulton Park in 2008.
“I’m delighted, really delighted,” Shedden, who started the opening race from second on the grid but led the Ford Focus of polesitter Tom Chilton into the first corner, admitted today.
“It was superb to get the first win of the season, but to follow that up immediately with my second of the year is a real boost not just for me, but for the whole team.
“These wins are important for me because I’ve been knocking on the door all season,” Shedden, who finished the day’s final race ninth after his Honda suffered severe body damage, continued.
“Qualifying has been exceptional and we’ve had mega pace through the races but I’ve never managed to convert it into a win, so it’s absolutely brilliant to have gone out and won two back-to-back.”
Shedden came under pressure from the BMW of Rob Collard in the closing stages of race one as the Scot struggled with a loss of grip, but the Fifer won a sprint to the line out of the final hairpin by just 0.035secs. The duo finished 18s clear of the Chevrolet of third-placed Jason Plato.
The second race saw Shedden, this time with his car carrying an extra 45kgs ‘success ballast’, lead his team-mate and championship leader Matt Neal to a Honda 1-2, with Plato again a distant third.
Vauxhall driver Andrew Jordan claimed his first of his BTCC career in the day’s final race. The 21-year-old from Sutton Coldfield finished 7.885s ahead of Tom Onslow-Cole’s Focus and the BMW of third-placed Steven Kane who had started 19th on the grid.
Championship leader Neal heads into the seven-week summer break leading Plato by eight points with team-mate Shedden third, a further 11 points adrift.
Two other Scots enjoyed success at the race meeting on the 2.1-mile circuit near Darlington.
Inverness-based Dave Newsham increased his lead in the British Renault Clio Championship with two dominant wins and fastest laps, while Dundee-born Lewis Hamilton won the latest round of the British Formula Renault Championship.
Williamson, now based in Golspie, finished 3.079secs ahead of Filipino Marlon Stockinger’s Atech GP car. Williamson, who also clocked the fastest lap of 1min 18.032secs, finished ahead of his Manor Motorsport team-mate, Will Stevens from Surrey, who was third.
JM