Gordon Shedden admits that he is expecting a challenging weekend when the BTCC heads to Knockhill in just over a weeks time. The Scot, currently second in the championship, will be carrying 36kg of success ballast and knows that as a result the first race of the weekend could be the hardest.
“We’re not 100% sure how the car will suit Knockhill,” conceded Shedden to the Knockhill website. “We’re heavier than last year due to the turbo engine and we don’t have as much engine braking this time around. And braking is critical around here.
“We’ll also have a lot of ‘success ballast’ in the car – the most likely scenario at the moment will be to rough it out in the first race, lose some weight and then try for podiums afterwards.”
Shedden’s record at Knockhill suggests that at least one win could be on the cards – he took victory in 2007 and again in last year’s first race. At the time last year, however, he was ‘only’ carrying 18kg of ballast and also had the lighter normally-aspirated engine in the car. With Jason Plato having won four times in the last three years at the Scottish venue, Shedden will face tough competition.
As a Scot however Shedden is hoping that the home fans will cheer him on to success.
“The crowd here always creates a fantastic atmosphere, it does inspire you knowing you have the backing of the majority of the crowd,” he added. “It is kind of like a 12th man in football, but it equates to a few extra horse-power in Touring Cars.
“I’d love to win, but l won’t approach the weekend any differentently. It’s the same amount of points up for grabs at Knockhill as any other circuit. I’ll be pretty busy all weekend to think too much about it anyway.
“The vast majority my time will be spent looking at data. The BTCC is just so competitive and finding that fraction of a second in your lap times could be vital.”