Silverstone BTCC: Gordon Shedden wins and stays in title hunt
Gordon Shedden gave his slim British Touring Car Championship hopes a massive boost by winning Silverstone's third race, sprinting through from seventh on the grid in his works Honda Civic
Colin Turkington took the lead off the startline in his WSR BMW, leading poleman Matt Neal's Honda.
Third-placed Sam Tordoff attacked Neal, and after contact at Brooklands and Luffield, Tordoff spun around Neal's bows on the exit of Luffield on lap two.
Shedden was already up to fifth by the end of the first lap, and gained two places as Tordoff spun and Neal was delayed. He passed Aron Smith's Motorbase Ford at Brooklands on lap seven, then chased down Turkington.
Just as he got on terms, there was a quick safety car interlude for marshals to pick up debris at Woodcote. At the restart, Shedden got a great run through Copse and breezed past Turkington before Maggotts.
Smith further demoted Turkington at Becketts, but Shedden was able to make a break at the front and would win by two seconds.
Neal passed Turkington for third at Becketts on lap 20, and then, a lap later, Turkington found himself spinning around.
His rear suspension appeared to have broken, but whether that was due to contact from a close-following Mat Jackson or a failure is not yet clear.
Neal's third place means he is Andrew Jordan's closest title rival going into the Brands Hatch finale, 34 points in arrears.
Jordan finished fifth, ahead of Dave Newsham and Jason Plato.
Shedden's victory puts him within 35 points of Jordan, with Turkington's exit leaving him 48 points adrift, and Plato 49 behind.
Results - 23 laps: Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap 1. Gordon Shedden Honda 23m07.578s 2. Aron Smith Motorbase Ford +2.045s 3. Matt Neal Honda +3.710s 4. Mat Jackson Motorbase Ford +4.935s 5. Andrew Jordan Eurotech Honda +5.647s 6. Dave Newsham Spedworks Toyota +5.920s 7. Jason Plato MG +6.412s 8. Adam Morgan Ciceley Toyota +6.737s 9. Jack Goff Hard Vauxhall +7.241s 10. Daniel Welch Welch Proton +7.581s 11. Nick Foster WSR BMW +7.856s 12. Rob Collard WSR BMW +8.009s 13. Tom Onslow-Cole Motorbase Ford +8.378s 14. Sam Tordoff MG +11.101s 15. Howard Fuller Hard VW +14.761s 16. Warren Scott BMR VW +15.904s 17. Rob Austin Austin Audi +16.484s 18. Andy Neate IP Chevrolet +18.241s 19. Aiden Moffat Hard VW +20.171s 20. Lea Wood Wood Vauxhall +27.278s* Retirements: Colin Turkington WSR BMW 21 laps Ollie Jackson Speedworks Toyota 13 laps Will Bratt Austin Audi 7 laps * S2000
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