Round-up of Knockhill BTCC actionposted in KNOCK05 | 09 | 2010
FIFER GORDON SHEDDEN was left kicking himself after a miscalculation of a few inches ruined what had been, up until that split second, an excellent outing in the British Touring Car Championship at Knockhill.
The 31-year-old from Dalgety Bay, who came into his home round of the series fourth in the championship and 33 points adrift of leader Jason Plato, won the opening race before helping his Team Honda outfit to a commanding 1-2 in the second of today's triple-header.
But the Scot, who had carved his way from sixth on the grid in the day's closing race to lie third, threw it all away when he misjudged his line into the sweeping fast right-hander.
"My car was carrying an extra 45kg of success ballast and that made braking a nightmare"
"I caught the corner a little bit out of line and the car came back and bit me," Shedden explained. "It all happened so fast there was nothing I could do. Then I had to stop and literally let the rest of the field pass before I could rejoin. It's a bitterly disappointing way to finish the day."
Scot controlled the race
Starting second on the grid for the opener, he powered passed the Chevrolet of polesitter Alex MacDowall in his Team Honda Civic to lead into the first corner. The Scot controlled the race to win comfortably by 1.592secs. Steven Kane was third in his BMW.
In the day's second race, Shedden again looked on course for victory but was caught unawares by his Honda team-mate Matt Neal as they approached the tight Hairpin.
"My car was carrying an extra 45kg of success ballast and that made braking a nightmare," Shedden continued. "That allowed Matt to get passed me but then I had the fastest car for the rest of the race but couldn't get back ahead of him. "Still, what was important was we scored a great 1-2 for Honda which gives the team an excellent chance of winning the manufacturer's championship."
Championship leader Jason Plato finished third in the second race before storming to victory ahead of Tom Onslow-Cole's Ford in the day's final race. Neal was third with Shedden recovering to finish ninth.
Highs and lows for a number of Scots
Plato heads to the final two rounds at Donington and Brands Hatch with a 20-point lead over Neal. Shedden remains fourth, nine points behind Onslow-Cole in third and still 33 adrift of Plato. But while Shedden enjoyed something of a mixed day, there were also highs and lows for a number of other Scots battling it out in the support races.
Former BTCC racer Jonathan Adam from Kirkcaldy destroyed the field in the Ginetta G50 cup race. Driving the guest car, the Scot led from pole position to win by 8.6secs from Nigel Moore having finished fourth earlier in the day.
"It was a pretty steep learning curve getting used to the Ginetta," Adam, who hopes to return to touring cars next year, explained, "but after 10 months away from racing it was great to get back into action. To win was just great."
Impact sent the Brazilian's car rolling
There as disappointment though for Golspie's Lewis Williamson. The 20-year-old started the day lying second in the British Formula Renault Championship but headed back to Sutherland having dropped to third. Williamson stormed through the field from 10th to seventh on the opening lap of the first race before his car suffered damage when he was hit at the Hairpin.
The Scot then collided with Fabio Gamberini's car at the foot of Duffus Dip when the steering arm on his car finally snapped. The impact sent the Brazilian's car rolling across the grass but fortunately the South American walked away uninjured.
In the second race, Williamson narrowly missed out on a podium after a thrilling drive. He heads into the final four races 11 points behind leader, Hungarian Tama's Pa'l Kiss and seven adrift of second-placed Tom Blomqvist.
Impressive Porsche outing for Butcher
There was better news for fellow Highlander David Newsham who clinched the Renault Clio Cup with two dominant wins, while the two principal Scots in the Porsche Carrera Cup impressed with their performances.
Aberdeen's Glynn Geddie finished third behind winner and defending champ Tim Harvey in the opener before finishing seventh in the day's second race. But the most impressive performance came from 23-year-old Rory Butcher making his season's debut in the 2006 Celtic Racing Porsche. The Dunfermline youngster outperformed many of the more experienced drivers with newer and more powerful cars to finish fifth and sixth.
"Yeh, I'm really pleased with that," Butcher admitted. "This championship is so competitive I targeted two top 10 finishes as my goal for the weekend, so to get a fifth and sixth is great. Hopefully now I can put a package together for next year."
Jim McGill