Honda’s Gordon Shedden has called his drive from 25th on the grid to sixth in the second British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) race at Brands Hatch as one of his best races of the year, which went on to set him up for the win in the final race of the season.
Shedden started the day in the worst possible way after being involved in a multi-car accident at the start of race one. As the Scot tried to defend fourth position from Airwaves Racing’s Fabrizio Giovanardi he was tagged by the Italian, turning him around in the middle of the pack before being collected heavily in the rear by Rob Austin.
Then in race two the Honda driver, who was the sole representative for Team Dynamics after Matt Neal was taken to hospital for precautionary checks, had a storming drive from the back of the grid to finish in sixth.
“All the guys have worked incredibly hard all year, and in race two, I was desperate to hold onto third position in the championship and repay them for their efforts,” said Shedden. “That was probably one of my best races of the season.”
From fifth on the grid, Shedden then went on to take victory in the final race of the season, held in dark and wet conditions. It is the second successive season that the former champion has won the final race of the year.
“The rain is always a great leveller, and in race three, it just underlined how good the Civic Tourer’s chassis is – this car really handles well. To win was an absolutely fantastic result for everybody at Honda, Yuasa and Team Dynamics. We took on a bold project at the start of this year and created a bit of history with the Civic Tourer. It’s been a rollercoaster of a journey, and now it’s great to go into the winter on a high.”
Honda Yuasa Racing’s Technical Director Barry Plowman admits that the win in the final race came as a huge relief – it was the team’s fourth win of the year – especially after the scale of the damage done to Shedden’s car in race one.
“That’s how you pull off a turnaround!” enthused Plowman. “What started out as a seriously bad day ended up on a much more positive note. Looking at the car after race one, I honestly don’t think many people expected to even see it out on the circuit again today – let alone achieving the results it has done. Gordon produced a storming drive in race two and had race three well under control all the way through.
“We’ve had a disappointing run recently, so to close the season out with a win is hugely satisfying and rewarding for everybody involved. We were all a little bit down after the first race, but we leave Brands Hatch with smiles on our faces and ready to attack afresh in 2015.”
Honda finished the year as runner’s up in the manufacturers’ championship and having secured third overall in the drivers’ championship with Shedden and in the teams’ championship.