Consistency is Shedden's secret weapon
Out of 31 drivers racing in the British Touring Car Championship this season, only one has finished every race in the points. And with 20 of those 21 finishes being in the top seven, it is no wonder Gordon Shedden is still a title contender.
The Scot is just 23 points behind championship leader Colin Turkington, and this weekend he hopes to close that gap at a circuit where he's won four time in the past.
“We’ve simply got to keep at it, push as hard as we can and absolutely maximise every available opportunity,” says Shedden.
“The championship can very quickly turn on its head, and you just never know what’s going to happen. There’s almost a third of the season remaining and still plenty of racing left to be done.
“Although Knockhill wasn’t ultimately the weekend we had been hoping for, we still scored points in all three races – and when the BTCC is as competitive as it is this year, that’s the kind of consistency that championships are built on. It’s crucial to stay in the mix even when you don’t have the outright pace.
“The nature of the Rockingham layout has provided some pretty exciting racing over the years, and it has been reasonably kind to us in the past. It’s a totally different prospect to Snetterton and Knockhill and it has some pretty quick corners and high-speed sections – which is where the Civic Tourer truly excels.”
Honda technical director Barry Plowman agrees, but stresses there be no margin for error for any of the leading protagonists.
“After a solid weekend at Knockhill, we head to Rockingham in confident mood. Both Gordon and Matt (Neal) have a strong previous record there, and as the scene of the Civic Tourer’s public debut, it obviously holds special memories for Honda and the team as a whole.
"It will be important to hit the ground running from FP1 on Saturday morning, and three strong points-scoring finishes for both drivers on race day will be vital as the tension mounts in the title fight.”