Fifer Gordon Shedden continued his winning streak in the British Touring Car Championship when he took victory in the final race of the triple-header at Snetterton in Norfolk.
The 30-year-old from Dalgety Bay took advantage of an error by England’s James Nash, who spun his Vauxhall off into a cabbage field when he was leading on the second lap, to comfortably lead the remaining 16 laps and take the chequered flag.
“That was an awesome result in terms of the championship,” Shedden, who earlier had seen championship leader Jason Plato win the opening two races in his Chevrolet, said after climbing out of his Team Honda Civic.
“After winning two of the races at Croft in the last round, it was crucial we maintained the winning form. Having seen Jason extend his lead after today’s first two races, I knew I had to score heavily in the last race.
“We thought coming into the weekend we’d struggle here because it’s a track which suits outright speed and not necessarily the Civic’s nimbleness, but the car was brilliant. Now we have to maintain the momentum we’ve established through the rest of the year.”
Just as crucial as the win and the points for Shedden was the fact he was quicker than his more experienced team-mate and double BTCC champ, Matt Neal, through the whole weekend.
While Shedden finished fourth and eighth behind Plato in the opening two races, Neal retired his identical Civic in the opener with puncture before finishing third in the day’s final race behind his team-mate and the BMW of Rob Collard.
Plato, who finished fifth in the day’s closing race, heads to the next round at Silverstone in a fortnight leading his arch rival Neal by 20 points, with Shedden hovering menacingly just a further four points adrift.
JM