Gordon Shedden: “We’ve pushed boundaries with the Tourer”

His 2014 championship challenge may have come to an end at Silverstone, but a philosophical Gordon Shedden said both he and his team have proved a lot of people wrong this season.

The Scot mathematically dropped out of contention after the second race on Sunday, and goes into Brands Hatch exactly 100 points behind champion elect Colin Turkington.

Honda Racing Team’s Shedden took the first win for the new Civic Tourer at Donington Park, and says the decision to run the car has been justified.

Speaking to TouringCarTimes, Shedden said: “If we rewind a little bit to when we said we were going to run the Tourer, I think there were a lot of people sniggering up and down the paddock, saying we were only doing it for a PR stunt.

“I think we shut quite a lot of those people up quite early with the performance that we had. To take another new car which is very different from the hatch, and still win races and be on the podium, you’ve got to take the positives from that.

“We’re in the mix in a bloody competitive championship in a new car, and we’re still pushing the boundaries with what we’ve got.”

Shedden has been the model of consistency throughout the season, finishing in the points in all but one race so far, and says this is an area he has focused on.

“I’ve worked hard to improve myself, and to maximise every opportunity that I’ve had. I’ve tried to introduce a lot more consistency into my driving, and I scored in every race until race three at Rockingham,” he said.

“I think that’s helped me out when we’ve not been on the overall pace, but we’ve still kept badgering away.”

Silverstone turned into another disappointing weekend, with the top speed-deficient Hondas all marooned towards the bottom end of the top 20 in qualifying. The 2012 champion took a best result of eighth on Sunday, after being caught up in incidents with Tom Ingram, Jack Clarke and Rob Austin across the races.

He said: “It’s not worked out at all. It’s quite clear we’re not suited to the nature of the circuit, but it doesn’t stop me from trying any less. From the second the red lights go out to the chequered flag, I do what I always do and give it 100 per cent.”