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Triple champion Gordon Shedden to leave BTCC

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Three time champion Gordon Shedden has announced that he is to leave the British Touring Car Championship ahead of the 2018 season.

Shedden, who has been linked with a move to the FIA World Touring Car Cup had been part of the Team Dynamics squad for more than ten years and won all three of his titles with the Honda squad.

Having debuted in the Production Class back in 2001, Shedden moved into the top tier of the series for the first time with Dynamics back in 2006, taking a maiden win at Oulton Park in the Honda Integra en-route to fourth in the points.

Returning to the team in 2010 after a year away, Shedden would go on to win the title in 2012, 2015 and 2016 to make him one of only seven drivers to lift the crown three times.

The Scot also sits fourth on the all time winners list, with his 48 wins only bettered by Jason Plato, long-time team-mate Matt Neal, and the legendary four time champion Andy Rouse.

“Today is a really difficult and emotional day for me,” Shedden said. “I can confirm I will not be competing in the British Touring Car Championship in 2018, which obviously means I will not be racing with Honda and Team Dynamics. They have been part of my life for the last eleven years and I have been made to feel a part of the family.

“Steve and Matt Neal gave me a chance in 2006, and we haven’t looked back since. From a Fiesta racer to a triple British Touring Car Champion, I could not have dreamed of the success we have achieved together. That success, along with Matt’s three championships, is a testament to the hard work, determination and passion that is intrinsic in the team.

“To Steve, Matt, [Technical Director] Barry Plowman and everyone at Team Dynamics I will be forever grateful, in particular my race engineer Eddie Hinckley, who has engineered my car since 2006!

“I am very lucky to have had such a successful partnership with the team, Honda and all our sponsors. We have been on a huge journey together, achieving multiple Teams’, Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ Championships. Along the way, we have had a lot of fun and created memories I will take and cherish forever. It may be the end of a chapter, but it won’t be the end of the friendships I have made.”