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Donington Park BTCC: Shedden fends off Lloyd for victory

Three-time British Touring Car champion Gordon Shedden scored the first win of his comeback season in the series by leading all the way from pole at Donington Park.

Gordon Shedden, Team Dynamics Honda Civic Type R

Gordon Shedden, Team Dynamics Honda Civic Type R

JEP / Motorsport Images

The Scot converted his prime spot on the grid into the lead off the line, and his Team Dynamics Honda Civic Type R was never seriously challenged.

Dan Lloyd finished second for the second consecutive race in his Power Maxed Racing Vauxhall Astra, and kept Shedden honest for almost the entire distance.

The Yorkshireman never let up in his pursuit of the Honda, which was carrying 21kg of success ballast to the weight-free Vauxhall, and Shedden only managed to eke the gap over one second on the penultimate lap before taking the flag 1.331s in front.

Lloyd’s team-mate Jason Plato started his Astra from third on the grid, but couldn’t convert that on the opening lap.

Rory Butcher went side by side down the Craner Curves with the two-time champion, and completed the move into the Old Hairpin.

Senna Proctor then got a run on Plato around the outside of the following Schwantz Curve to move into fourth.

Dan Lloyd, Power Maxed Racing Vauxhall Astra

Dan Lloyd, Power Maxed Racing Vauxhall Astra

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images

Butcher’s Speedworks Motorsport Toyota Corolla, on 27kg of ballast, could never entirely escape the attentions of Proctor’s BTC Racing Honda, on 21kg, but, like his brother in law Shedden, Butcher was never subjected to a serious bid to oust him.

Colin Turkington was another to pass Plato. The four-time champion had 48kg of success weight on board his West Surrey Racing-run BMW 330i M Sport, and ran sixth early on.

Turkington then pulled a move on Plato just past half-distance, getting an overlap on the exit of Coppice and completing the move by the time they reached the chicane.

Plato then came under pressure from championship leader Ash Sutton’s Laser Tools Racing Infiniti Q50, which made progress from 10th on the grid with the maximum 75kg of ballast.

Sutton moved up to ninth when a second-lap move from Chris Smiley on Dan Rowbottom failed to come off, and Josh Cook and Sutton both took advantage to get past the Excelr8 Motorsport Hyundai i30 N.

The safety car then emerged following an incident at the Old Hairpin: Ollie Jackson passed the Ciceley Motorsport BMW of Adam Morgan on the entry to the corner, but ran wide on the exit.

Rory Butcher, Toyota Gazoo Racing UK Toyota Corolla

Rory Butcher, Toyota Gazoo Racing UK Toyota Corolla

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images

In turn, Jackson’s title-contending MB Motorsport Ford Focus team-mate Jake Hill got a run on Morgan on the exit, but the BMW became pincered between the two Fords.

Contact was made between Hill and Morgan, with Morgan shunting backwards into the barrier and Hill taking a trip across the grass – he was forced to pit before resuming at the rear.

On the restart, the Dynamics Honda of Rowbottom tried a move on Turkington at Redgate – contact was made and Rowbottom lost momentum.

Cook in his BTC Honda tried to take advantage around the outside of Schwantz, but found himself run out of road. There was more contact, Rowbottom ran through the gravel at McLeans, and Cook lost a position to Sutton.

That allowed Sutton, who set fastest lap despite his ballast, to close on Plato, while Cook finished eighth with 39kg of success weight on his BTC Honda.

Smiley and Jackson completed the top 10, in close formation to the finish.

Tom Ingram, on 66kg of ballast in his Excelr8 Hyundai, scored points for 11th, while Hill recovered to 17th.

Donington Park BTCC - Race 1 results - 19 laps

Cla Driver Time Gap
1 United Kingdom Gordon Shedden 24'43.829  
2 United Kingdom Daniel Lloyd 24'45.160 1.331
3 United Kingdom Rory Butcher 24'46.353 2.524
4 United Kingdom Senna Proctor 24'46.618 2.789
5 United Kingdom Colin Turkington 24'47.188 3.359
6 United Kingdom Jason Plato 24'48.129 4.300
7 United Kingdom Ashley Sutton 24'48.380 4.551
8 United Kingdom Josh Cook 24'51.027 7.198
9 United Kingdom Chris Smiley 24'54.460 10.631
10 United Kingdom Ollie Jackson 24'54.855 11.026
11 United Kingdom Tom Ingram 24'57.479 13.650
12 United Kingdom Sam Osborne 24'57.824 13.995
13 United Kingdom Aiden Moffat 24'58.098 14.269
14 United Kingdom Daniel Rowbottom 25'00.514 16.685
15 United Kingdom Stephen Jelley 25'00.950 17.121
16 United Kingdom Tom Oliphant 25'01.716 17.887
17 United Kingdom Jake Hill 25'02.805 18.976
18 Ireland Aron Taylor-Smith 25'03.899 20.070
19 United Kingdom Tom Chilton 25'04.205 20.376
20 United Kingdom Jack Goff 25'04.657 20.828
21 United Kingdom Sam Smelt 25'05.174 21.345
22 Rick Parfitt Jr. 25'05.574 21.745
23 Jersey Jack Butel 25'05.942 22.113
24 United Kingdom Jack Mitchell 25'07.951 24.122
25 Jade Edwards 25'08.500 24.671
26 Andy Neate 25'11.062 27.233
27 United Kingdom Carl Boardley 25'13.486 29.657
28 Nicolas Hamilton 25'18.018 34.189
  United Kingdom Adam Morgan 17 laps  

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