Gordon Shedden piloted his all-new Honda Civic Type R to its maiden BTCC victory at Brands Hatch Circuit in Kent, during the opening round of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship. Interestingly, Shedden was also the man who gave Honda its first Civic Tourer victory back in 2014.
Shedden however, had to work extremely hard to register his first BTCC win of the season. Indeed, Team BMR’s Jason Plato looked odds-on to take the win – leading comfortably at the head of the field before disaster struck – forcing the former BTCC Champion to retire from the race. That left Shedden and triple WTCC Champion Andy Priaulx to fight it out for the top-step on the podium. What ensued however, will likely go down as one of the most thrilling BTCC battles in recent memory. The duo, inseparable over the closing laps, swapped paint on several occasions before Priaulx took lead, only for Shedden to counter with a blistering move down the inside at Druids. Priaulx though, regrouped to mount a final assault on the last corner, and forced his way up the inside of Shedden as they rounded the last corner and raced towards the finishing line. The epic struggle, was eventually won by Shedden by a mere 0.040s of a second. Bringing the crowd and vast TV audiences alike to their feet and confirming what many believe – that the BTCC is one of the most exciting racing series in the World at the moment.
A delighted Shedden commented:
“This car is brand new, so to win in only its second race is incredible. Everybody at Honda and Team Dynamics has bent over backwards to even get the car here this weekend, and I’m chuffed for them all. The new Civic Type R looks fantastic, and now we’ve proved it goes pretty well, too! There’s plenty more still to come from this car – so stay tuned!”
That win, also represents Shedden’s first win at the Brands Hatch Circuit, with the realisation finally sinking in this morning as he tweeted:
Just thinking that’s my first ever win in @DunlopBTCC round Brands Indy!! Only circuit I hadn’t won on
Jason Plato was quick to respond with this counter:
My pleasure! Well done to you and team , cracking results yesterday @gordonshedden @DunlopBTCC @hondaracingbtcc
— Jason Plato (@jasonplato) April 6, 2015
Shedden’s teammate Matt Neal also tasted BTCC victory at Brands Hatch; winning the final encounter of the day. Rob Collard took the other race win, after taking the lead from his teammate Andy Priaulx midway through the race.
Sounce & Picture Credits: Honda Yuasa Racing Press Office
