Gordon Shedden: “I’ll just drive as fast as I can”

Honda Racing Team’s Gordon Shedden says he will just concentrate on driving as fast as he can in the second half of the season, after closing the gap to series leader Colin Turkington to just seven points.

The epitome of consistency in 2014, Shedden took a pair of seconds and a third at Croft, before the stewards demoted him to fourth in the finale for contact with Mat Jackson.

Although Turkington showed him a clean pair of heels in the first two encounters, his non-finish in the last race has ensured the gap at the top remains tight. The gap was five points, but extended slightly after the penalty.

Speaking to TouringCarTimes before the stewards took the decision to penalise him, Shedden said: “I had a good race with Mat Jackson, and really enjoyed it. We had three or four laps side-by-side, around the outside of each other – his tyres were just gone.

“I didn’t expect to be on the podium in that one, especially given the way the first lap went. The doors didn’t open for me and I had to play the long game.

“Once again the Tourer has been great on soft tyres, and I think we had the pace to match Colin [Turkington] for the first time today.

“That’s encouraging, but we’ve got a few weeks now to try and take a step forward.”

Assessing the championship situation, Shedden said he wouldn’t be getting drawn into any front-wheel drive versus rear-wheel drive debates.

He said: “It’s not for me to get involved in. I just do the best job I can, and drive as fast as I can.

“We’re well in there, but let’s not make any mistake – I wasn’t in a position to be challenging Colin. He stroked it home for two races, and he broke down in race three.

“We can’t gloss over the performance, but we’ve got to put our heads together and come up with something. I’m not sure what we are going to come up with, because the car feels great. But we’ll do everything we can.”