Gordon Shedden: ‘It’s fantastic to have the cards fall my way’

Gordon Shedden revelled in his first British Touring Car Championship pole position in five years, after the Team Dynamics driver posted a record-breaking lap at Donington Park.

Shedden, who is currently eighth overall in the drivers’ championship, was the fastest driver in Q2 and the only person to break below the 1 minute 9 seconds barrier around the National circuit.

After a challenging year for the Scot, which has seen him yet to claim a win in his comeback season, he admitted that securing pole position had been a huge relief.

“The car felt good today, but you’ve got to believe, and today I really believed that I was in it, a cracking lap in both sessions,” said Shedden.

“It’s fantastic to have it go just my way – it was so, so close. These guys did a great job, but it’s fantastic to start from pole. I’m really, really happy.

“The most important thing is that the car feels really nice. It’s been in that sweet spot all day today, so hopefully it will transfer that to tomorrow.

“It’s been a long season and a lot has happened. So, to have the cards fall my way today, you wouldn’t believe how happy that makes me feel inside. You can see it from the looks on everyone’s faces in the team too so that’s really, really great.”

Shedden is hoping to continue to carry the momentum from a strong result near the end of the season, as he currently sits 120 points from leader Ash Sutton and effectively is out of title contention.

“Everyone thrives on a little bit of momentum, and I think we never really got that momentum going this year, but fingers crossed we can finish the season strongly and see how we go.”