'Rock' win boosts Shedden's title chargeposted in BTCC28 | 08 | 2016
DEFENDING CHAMP GORDON SHEDDEN gave his British Touring Car Championship hopes a major boost with a win and a podium in today’s rounds at Rockingham.
The 37-year-old from Auchterarder, who entered the weekend trailing the BMW of championship leader Sam Tordoff by 40 points, slashed the deficit to just 20pts.
“That’s a good weekend’s work done,” Shedden, who won the day’s opener in his Honda Civic to record the 44th BTCC win of his career and third of the year, before finishing second in the final race behind Aron Smith’s Volkswagen, said.
“The key to winning championships is making sure you maximise the points haul available, and I think we definitely did that today.
Related: Shedden splashes to pole at Rockingham
“It’s been tough, but after the frustration of Knockhill a fortnight ago, we’ve put ourselves right back in the title race with just two rounds at Silverstone and Brands Hatch to go.
"I’m actually dead chuffed with the weekend. I broke the slipstream to the guys behind in race one and then focussed on keeping everything nice and smooth.
“In race two, I was on a bit of a hiding to nothing on the hard tyres with maximum ballast, and I really had to get my elbows out at the end because I wasn’t going very fast at all by then.
“It would have been nice to win race three, but Aron (Smith) drove really well and didn’t make any real mistakes and it would have required a fairly monumental lunge to try to get past.
“Then when Colin (Turkington) caught up during the final safety car period, I had to keep an eye on my mirrors too because he clearly had some good pace.
“Still, points make prizes as they say and we’ve closed back up to the top of the championship table. We will keep working hard and fighting to the very end."
Shedden — who finished the day’s second race in 10th place, carrying the maximum 75kg success ballast — now lies third in the title race, just 15 points behind his team-mate Matt Neal.
Tordoff endured a disappointing weekend. Though he won the day’s second race, it was sandwiched between a 10th and a 16th.
Dalkeith 19-year-old, Aiden Moffat, bagged two top 10 finishes in his Mercedes. After an 11th in the opener, the young Scot finished ninth in the day’s remains two races.
Related: Shedden reflects on tough Knockhill weekend
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Jim McGill