A testing weekend in North Yorkshire delivered another podium for Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport, rounding off a hard-fought eighth event of the 2026 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship.
The team arrived looking to carry momentum from a highly successful outing at Donington Park at the previous race weekend.
Both Árón Taylor-Smith and Gordon Shedden ran in the opening qualifying group. The latter showed strong speed to lead the session in its closing stages, only to be ousted to third by the fall of the chequered flag, missing out on P1 by 0.198 seconds. On the other side of the garage, Taylor-Smith endured a trickier run, with the Dubliner taking tenth in the group. With both groups complete, Shedden lined up sixth and Taylor-Smith 20th for the Race to Pole.
The Scot's Qualifying Race unravelled on the opening lap, finding himself facing the wrong way through the first sequence of corners and dropping to the back of the field. The pair then ran closely together for the remainder of the race, with the #50 taking the chequered flag in 15th and the #52 in 17th - a frustrating end to the day's proceedings.
Race day dawned with the sunshine replaced by gloomy skies and tricky, changing conditions. Both drivers ran the formation lap for the day's opener on the harder tyre. Still, both pitted before the start to switch to wet tyres in the sodden conditions, getting the harder compound out of the way and ensuring a better tyre strategy for the remaining two races on the softer tyre. The goal for the race then became to stay clear of trouble and pick up positions where they could, with Shedden finishing 13th and Taylor-Smith 16th.
The second race of the day brought the chance to recover ground. The Irishman battled hard in the thick of the pack and made up several positions, only for a track limits penalty to drop him to 16th at the finish. The Scotsman would charge through the field with a spirited drive and calculated overtakes that earned him eight places and sixth at the flag, along with a healthy points haul.
In the weekend's final bout, entertainment ensued in both directions for either driver; Taylor-Smith got caught up in the opening lap melee and was sidelined with terminal damage. Shedden had a more fortuitous race, climbing several places from his fifth-place start to finish third and bookend a challenging weekend on a high.
Shedden leaves the eighth event tenth in the Drivers' Championship, with Taylor-Smith 15th. Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport lie fifth in the Teams' Championship and remain second among the Independent Teams, while the pair sit second and seventh respectively in the Independents Trophy.
Attention now turns to the penultimate race weekend of the 2026 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship at Silverstone (26/27 September).
Árón Taylor-Smith (#50) said: “It was a seriously tough weekend at Croft, made harder by coming straight off the back of our best one of the year. You put absolutely everything into this, so when things outside of your control keep going against you, it's hard to take — and being wiped out at the start of race three was a brutal way to end it.”
"The three-week gap before Silverstone is much needed. Some time with the family, a chance to reset, and then we go again. Mark my words, we'll finish this year on a high.”
Gordon Shedden (#52) said: "A mixed weekend at Croft. We showed strong pace in qualifying on Saturday, but getting taken out at the opening corner ended race one before we'd even got going. Conditions were tricky, and races one and two were a battle, though making up plenty of places in race two to bag some solid points told us we had a quick, capable car. That showed in the final race with a trip to the podium and another healthy points haul. It was a great feeling to reward the team for their hard work across the weekend, and now the focus turns to Silverstone and getting more good results on the board."
