Nightmare quali for Sheddenposted in BTCC28 | 04 | 2012

FIFER GORDON SHEDDEN will start from 18th on the grid for the first of tomorrow's three British Touring Car Championship races at Thruxton after a dramatic session.

The 32-year-old from Dalgety Bay dominated the opening 18 minutes of the half-hour qualifying session, putting himself top of the timesheets with a 1min 16.894secs.

But all his times were then cancelled after stewards found a technical irregularity in his Honda Civic.

With time running out, and his technicians struggling to cure the 'overboosting' problem to his car's engine, the Scot could only manage one legal lap.

"It's definitely not where we want to be," Shedden, who won two races last time out at Donington, admitted. "The guys realised the turbocharger was 'spiking' during the session, and immediately informed the stewards. It's been playing up all day."

Front row start for Fife Porsche ace Rory Butcher

There was further bad news for Shedden when his team-mate and defending champ Matt Neal crashed after switching from wets to full slicks. The Englishman, second in the title race, lines up 20th.

And championship leader Jason Plato walked away unscathed from a high speed crash which badly damaged his MG.

Despite the impact, the Oxford driver will line up on the front row of the grid, alongside the Honda of polesitter Andrew Jordan.

Jordan's fastest time of 1:16.983s was 0.089s slower than the previous fastest time set earlier in the session by Shedden.

Inverness-based Dave Newsham starts the opening race from fifth on the grid in his Vauxhall Vectra.

Double BTCC win for Fifer Gordon Shedden at Donington

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Jim McGill