Shedden wins chaotic Oulton finaleposted in BTCC21 | 05 | 2017

    DEFENDING CHAMP GORDON SHEDDEN eased himself back into the lead in the British Touring Car Championship with a win in today’s latest chaotic round at Oulton Park.

    The 38-year-old from Auchterarder, who entered the weekend trailing the Toyota of Tom Ingram in the title race, left the Cheshire circuit leading the championship by 16 points.

    In contrast to Ingram, who failed to finish yesterday’s (Sun) first two races, before trailing in a disappointing 26th in the third counter, Shedden bagged a healthy haul of points.

    After finishing seventh and fourth in the opening two races, the three-time BTCC champ dominated an action-packed finale to lead home a Honda 1-2 ahead of his team-mate Matt Neal.

    “That was a real battle out there,” Shedden, who started the final race from third on the grid behind the Ford of polesitter Josh Cook, admitted after sealing his second win of the year. “It was chaotic.

    “Andy (Jordan) got away at the start in his BMW, and I got stuck behind Josh. We were fighting for second place and he was making it really tough to get passed; he was moving about all over the place.

    “I made a dash for the inside of the right-hander at Turn 1. I committed to the move down the inside, he saw me late, tried to cover it off, but by that time I was already there and we made contact.

    “It wasn’t great for him because the contact forced him to retire, but you’ve got to stay where you are when you’re on the brakes.

    “Thankfully I was able to continue and hunt down Andrew after the Safety car, and managed to make a really strong overtaking move for the lead.

    “To bring home a Honda 1-2 is always fantastic, and to leave here leading the championship again is brilliant and sets us up for the second-half of the season.”

    It was a mixed day for fellow Scot Aiden Moffat. The 20-year-old from Dalkeith finished the opening race fourth, behind race winner Jordan, before finishing 14th in race two, which was won by the Subaru of Ash Sutton.

    But the youngster’s day ended dramatically when he speared his Mercedes into the tyre wall after contact with the Chevrolet of Inverness-based Dave Newsham.

    Moffat was thankfully uninjured in the incident, which caused the appearance of the safety car which ultimately allowed Shedden to close the gap to Jordan.

    As the BMW driver struggled to get heat into his tyres, Shedden pounced, immediately followed by Neal, allowing the duo brought home their Honda 1-2.

    Related: Shedden starts P5 at Oulton, Moffat P3

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    Jim McGill

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