Gordon Shedden delighted by rude health of the BTCC

Former BTCC champion Gordon Shedden says 2014 should be a classic year for touring cars – and he is delighted to see what rude health the series is in.

Shedden’s Honda Racing Team squad publicly unveiled their new Civic Tourer for the first time at the Autosport International Show yesterday.

And the Scotsman said it was a great indicator of the health of the series that Honda was using the BTCC as a marketing tool to launch a new model.

The move will see an estate car return to the BTCC for the first time since the memorable Volvo 850 of the mid-1990s Super Touring era.

Speaking to TouringCarTimes at the Autosport Show, Shedden said: “The new Civic Tourer is released into the dealerships at the end of January, and that coincides perfectly with the touring cars.

“How fantastic is it that a manufacturer, who is manufacturing cars in the UK, is using touring cars as a marketing platform for a brand new motor car? It is fantastic that they see touring cars as such a big influence on the UK market.

“It is a new year, and an exciting year for touring cars, with 32 cars on the grid for the first time in a long, long time. All cars are the same spec, with some great manufacturer support and some great sponsors coming in.

“We have got to try and get this wave as big as possible, and collectively ride it for as long as possible.”

Many words have already been written drawing comparisons with the 850 estate, but Shedden is hoping his new machine will be much more successful.

He said: “It is a step into the unknown, but that has always been Honda’s philosophy – to push the boundaries of engineering to try and do something different.

“I think the best result for the Volvo was a 4th place with Jan Lammers, so hopefully this is more successful than that!

“I think it looks fantastic and it is great for touring cars – it is something new in the mix, and it shows we are prepared to do something different to try and get our title back.”

Shedden said he didn’t want to dwell on the oft-publicised straight line speed issues from recent years, and said he believed things would be much more equal in 2014.

He said: “I was watching some old touring cars, and it always pops to the top of YouTube when Tim Harvey won the championship at Silverstone, and Cleland and Soper were giving each other the finger.

“That was on the GP circuit, and there was nothing in the speed on the straight – and the racing was brilliant. That’s what we need to get back to.”