Gordon Shedden will return to the British Touring Car Championship in 2025, as the three-time champion joins Toyota Gazoo Racing UK to race one of its Toyota Corolla cars.
Three-time champion Shedden, 46, has spent the past two years out of the BTCC following the withdrawal of Team Dynamics ahead of the start of the 2023 season.
It was there that the Scot enjoyed much of his success in the BTCC, scoring all of his 52 race wins with the team and picking up the 2012, 2015 and 2016 titles.
Following two years in the FIA Touring Car World Cup in 2018 and 2019, and a year away in the pandemic-afflicted 2020 season, Shedden returned to the BTCC in 2021 and was immediately back to being a front-runner, winning twice and scoring a further seven podiums.
He was again a winner and front-runner in 2022, before his plans to continue in the BTCC for 2023 came to an abrupt halt.
Shedden will return with a new team, Speedworks Motorsport, marking the first time since 2009 that he hasn’t raced with Team Dynamics in the series.
He will partner the already-announced Ronan Pearson and Árón Taylor-Smith.
“It’s pretty well-known that I didn’t want to leave the BTCC two years ago; the team I was due to race with pulled out of the championship on the eve of the season, which was a body blow and completely beyond my control,” explained Shedden.
“Since then, my desire to race has never gone away, but I don’t do this just to be on the grid, and I was quite clear that I wouldn’t come back unless it was with a programme that I believed in.
“That is what I am confident I have found here with Speedworks Motorsport and Toyota Gazoo Racing UK.
“The deal has come together in a very short space of time. I don’t think either of us thought the other was available, but once we began talking, we quickly discovered a lot of common ground and a willingness to make something happen.
“Christian [Dick] and Danny [Buxton – Speedworks’ Head of Motorsport] are both racers at heart, and their commitment to continuously improving every aspect of the operation struck me immediately. We’re all very much on the same page.
“Everybody has been working hard and keeping their heads down over the winter, and the team is consequently in a good place.
“Last year, three of the four Toyota drivers won races in the Corolla, so it’s evidently a very capable package and I’m excited to be working with Neil Brown Engineering again on the engine side and with Árón and Ronan as team-mates for the first time.
“The primary objective is to be competitive, so the immediate goal is to tick as many boxes as possible pre-season.
“We all know that success in the BTCC requires a lot of round pegs to fall into round holes, but experience counts for a lot in this championship and hopefully everything will come together and we can fight for race wins – if not more. That’s what we’re here for!”
Christian Dick, Team Principal, is excited to be working with Shedden for the first time in 2025.
“We’re thrilled to be bringing Gordon back to the BTCC,” added Dick. “He is inarguably one of the very best drivers ever to have competed in the championship, and his achievements bear testament to his tremendous talent and tenacity behind the wheel.
“His comeback in 2021 and 2022 proved that he has lost none of his speed or spark, and it’s clear that his motivation and thirst for success still burn very brightly indeed.
“It’s no secret that the BTCC is won and lost by fine margins, and in addition to his unquestionable skill inside the cockpit, Gordon brings with him a wealth of experience.
“That will be invaluable as we continue to develop the Corolla in our efforts to extract the very last tenth-of-a-second out of it.
“With some pre-season testing between now and Donington Park, I am very confident that he can hit the ground running and be a leading contender from the outset.
“In Gordon, Árón and Ronan, we have an exceptionally strong line-up, which I honestly believe gives us our best chance yet of challenging for the coveted Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ crowns.”