Gordon Shedden is targeting improved consistency ahead of this year’s British Touring Car Championship, as the works Honda driver targets a record-equalling fourth title, and a third crown in succession.
Shedden, who secured a third title by two points at the expense of Sam Tordoff in a scintillating finale at Brands Hatch last October, returns to partner three-time champion Matt Neal for an eighth consecutive season at Halfords Yuasa Racing.
This season is set for a minor shake-up, with Dunlop introducing new, wider compound tyres amid a compulsory RML control component upgrade for the entire 32-strong field of entries.
The Scot has now staged two successful championship comebacks in as many years, recovering from a deficit of over fifty points after the halfway stage at Croft last season.
Speaking to TouringCars.net at the annual Autosport International Show at the NEC in Birmingham, Shedden emphasised the need to score consistent points amid the increasingly competitive field.
He believes taking individual race victories against a grid boasting some of the brightest young talents in British motorsport, such as Tom Ingram, Ashley Sutton and Adam Morgan, along with championship stalwarts such as Jason Plato, Andrew Jordan, Mat Jackson, Colin Turkington and team-mate Neal, will prove increasingly difficult, further placing importance on the mantra of ‘points mean prizes’.
“I think, more than ever, it’s just about being consistent. This year, winning races is going to be really hard and it’s going to be about the long game.” he explained.
“Last year, when I was nowhere halfway through, it showed you’ve only got to be leading at the end of the last race, and I think it’ll be very similar this year.”
“Because I think you will get some new winners, I think you’ll get some people who were race winners last year that will step up their game to become championship contenders, and I think you’ll have the usual suspects in the mix as well.”
The works Honda outfit will head to Portimao in Portugal next month [February] to kick off their pre-season testing programme, before the series reconvenes at Donington Park on March 16th for the annual Season Launch.