Shedden slips to fifthposted in BTCC09 | 06 | 2012

FIFER GORDON SHEDDEN lines up for the first of tomorrow's British Touring Car Championship triple-headers at Oulton Park from fifth on the grid. Championship leader Jason Plato starts from pole.

While Plato, driving his MG6, took full advantage of the drying conditions at the end of a drizzly session, Shedden slipped from second to fifth in the closing minutes.

"Certainly not ideal," the 33-year-old from Dalgety Bay, a double winner last time out in the rain at Thruxton in his Honda Civic, admitted afterwards.

"We held pole early in the session and were then looking good in second, but the other guys got the best out of the track as it dried towards the end of the session."

Double BTCC delight for Gordon Shedden

Shedden (pictured), 0.585s behind Plato and who lines up tomorrow just four points adrift of the Oxford driver in the title race, also saw his Honda team-mate Matt Neal qualify second on the grid.

Plato, who also started from pole at Donington earlier this year, lapped the 2.2-mile Cheshire circuit in 1min 26.872secs with his final run of the session, to pip Neal by just 0.077s.

And with just second of the session remaining, Rob Collard's BMW and the Honda of Andrew Jordan also muscled their way past Shedden to start third and fourth respectively.

Earlier, Aberdeen's Glynn Geddie qualified sixth for tomorrow's Porsche Carrera Cup double-header. Kirkcaldy's Rory Butcher starts both races from eighth in his Celtic Speed Porsche.

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Jim McGill