Halfords Racing with Cataclean's Gordon Shedden ended a topsy-turvy weekend on the top step of the podium as the three-time champion claimed victory in Round 15 of the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship at Croft.
Scotsman Shedden set the pace in the final free practice session yesterday, which he followed up with a top five lap time during qualifying, but it all unravelled with broken suspension in the opening race in North Yorkshire.
A fightback drive to 12th in the second bout was followed by a dominant lights-to-flag triumph in the finale, as the curtain came down on the first half of the 2022 BTCC season.
Rich Energy BTC Racing's Josh Cook closed the gap in the championship fight with second place, as he too ended a challenging weekend on a high.
Toyota GAZOO Racing UK's Rory Butcher showed solid pace throughout the weekend and he was rewarded with the final place on the rostrum – two Scotsman on the podium before the trip to Knockhill next month surely raising the anticipation for what is always a passionate crowd in Fife.
A trio of BMWs occupied fourth to sixth as Team BMW's Stephen Jelley edged out his West Surrey Racing stablemates Jake Hill and Colin Turkington, the latter having concluded a successful weekend with a couple of impressive moves in the final bout.
Tom Ingram (Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8 TradePriceCars.com), Dan Cammish (NAPA Racing UK), Tom Chilton (Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8 TradePriceCars.com) and Adam Morgan (Car Gods with Ciceley Motorsport) completed the top ten positions.
Gordon Shedden said: “There were some mega moves, the car has felt really good all weekend. That’s why I was so disappointed after race one because it felt like we were just giving it all away. Some points in race two and to finish on top of the box then obviously next time out being Knockhill, you couldn’t script it any better.
“If you think the action here was good, I think the action at Knockhill will be absolutely incredible at the end of July. This has been a really good end to the weekend, and we get a little bit of a summer break now. We have work to do but are in a good place right now and the car feels good so hopefully we can come out fighting in the second half.”
Josh Cook said: “I just needed to get off the line well, try and settle into a bit of a quali stint and bang in as many fast laps as I could and try not to make any mistakes to keep the other guys behind. It was a bit hairy on lap one. Obviously Rory [Butcher] gave me that place back after the chicane cut but I’m just really pleased to end the day with some points on the board because we know that this is about the bad weekends. We thought Oulton was a bad weekend but this has been an absolute nightmare.
"The car handled so well in that race and it just allowed me to settle into a bit of a rhythm. I'm so pleased for the team because it’s been a tense weekend. Everyone has been working really hard, as they always do, but this has been stressful so I'm really pleased to finish it off with a podium for the team.”
Rory Butcher said: “That was my goal: getting the podium. I think this is where we were in practice, P3, and I feel as though this is where we should have been in quali but didn’t make it happen. Today we’ve had three good point scores and I’m just really pleased with the consistency that we’ve got.
“[Josh Cook] was great! I had a little go down at Tower Bend and I’d been thinking about it for a couple of laps but he’s just quite smart isn’t he? He kind of let it happen and got the cut-back and I decided not to do that again. And then the race levelled out after that, and obviously I had Stephen Jelley on my tail putting pressure on and he was just coming at me so I was kind of defending a bit. A fantastic effort by the team. We’ve come back today and managed to score some fantastic points after a tough quali.”
2022 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship – Race 3 – Croft
1. Gordon SHEDDEN (GBR) Halfords Racing with Cataclean 15 laps
2. Josh COOK (GBR) Rich Energy BTC Racing +2.528s
3. Rory BUTCHER (GBR) Toyota GAZOO Racing UK +3.251s
4. Stephen JELLEY (GBR) Team BMW +3.837s
5. Jake HILL (GBR) ROKiT MB Motorsport +4.093s
6. Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Team BMW +4.404s
7. Tom INGRAM (GBR) Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8 TradePriceCars.com +10.404s
8. Dan CAMMISH (GBR) NAPA Racing UK +12.965s
9. Tom CHILTON (GBR) Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8 TradePriceCars.com +13.472s
10. Adam MORGAN (GBR) Car Gods with Ciceley Motorsport +13.942s
11. Daniel LLOYD (GBR) Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8 TradePriceCars.com +14.294s
12. Bobby THOMPSON (GBR) Autobrite Direct with JourneyHero +15.129s
13. Ash HAND (GBR) CarStore Power Maxed Racing +16.181s
14. Jason PLATO (GBR) Rich Energy BTC Racing +20.008s
15. Ollie JACKSON (GBR) Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan +24.315s
16. Dexter PATTERSON (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +24.446s
17. James GORNALL (GBR) Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8 TradePriceCars.com +25.442s
18. Ricky COLLARD (GBR) Toyota GAZOO Racing UK +25.879s
19. George GAMBLE (GBR) Car Gods with Ciceley Motorsport +26.361s
20. Sam OSBORNE (GBR) Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan +27.128s
21. Nic HAMILTON (GBR) Yazoo with Safuu.com Racing +32.553s
22. Will POWELL (GBR) Autobrite Direct with JourneyHero +1 lap
23. Daniel ROWBOTTOM (GBR) Halfords Racing with Cataclean +1 lap
24. Árón TAYLOR-SMITH (IRL) Yazoo with Safuu.com Racing +2 laps
25. Jade EDWARDS (GBR) Rich Energy BTC Racing +3 laps
26. Ash SUTTON (GBR) NAPA Racing UK +4 laps
27. Michael CREES (GBR) CarStore Power Maxed Racing +5 laps
28. Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +8 laps
