News

Driver’s Blog – ‘Flash’ Gordon Shedden on Thruxton & the first ever Type R 1-2

Thruxton is a unique challenge. It’s the fastest circuit we go to and, as it’s an old airfield, it’s very hard on the tyres. So hard that Dunlop actually produce a specific hard compound tyre just for the weekend to make sure we can get to the end of the races. It is very marginal in terms of how aggressive you can be on car setup and this means that we’ve really got our work cut out to try and create a car which is going to leave us somewhere in a position to fight for the top places.

Going into qualifying, Matt had 75 kilos of success ballast and I had 57 so realistically our expectations were for me to get into the top six and Matt to get into the top eight. That is where we thought we were going to be, so to qualify in second with Matt third was a blinding run for both of us. Qualifying gives you the bragging rights overnight but the big points are to be had on Sunday, especially around Thruxton.

With the Type R still being so new we spent a lot of time on Saturday trying to give ourselves a car with some good race pace that was going to get us to the end. That’s pretty much what happened and we really took advantage of this on the Sunday in Race One.

Gordon Shedden (GBR) Honda Racing Team Honda Civic Type-R

Qualifying exceeded the team’s expectation with Flash second on the grid and Matt third

As far as touring car races go Race One was probably one of the easier ones to have had. We cleared off in the first couple of laps and, once again, the strength of the chassis on the new Type R was absolutely fantastic. Nobody could get near us! That was the first one-two we’ve had this year, the first for the new Type R and a great start to the day.

Gordon Shedden (GBR) Honda Racing Team Honda Civic Type-R

Flash wins Race One at Thruxton with Matt in second place

That momentum continued for Race Two which was a little bit tougher. I obviously gained a bit of weight – up to 75 kilos, Matt went to 66 kilos. So to finish on the podium with maximum ballast was a great result, I was really happy with that. Matt got involved in a little bit of argy-bargy which unfortunately gave him a puncture and a bit of damage. So Race Two was a bit disappointing from his point of view, but from mine two podiums out of the first two races was a fantastic run.

Gordon Shedden (GBR) Honda Racing Team Honda Civic Type-R

Race Two was tougher but Flash was happy with his second podium finish of he day

Race Three is always a difficult one because of the reverse grid system. I had a lot of weight again and, for me, it was about trying to stay out of trouble and keeping the momentum from earlier on. Had I failed to score in Race Three all the good work from earlier would have been undone so I had to be a little bit cautious in the early part of the race. There was a bit of bumping and barging which I was trying desperately to stay out of, and in the end I brought it home for some more good points in fifth.

Matt started from the back with no weight which was the first time he’d been round Thruxton with zero ballast. His car came alive and he had a fantastic run through to sixth.

The results have pumped us up to first and third in the championship which is fantastic. We didn’t expect to be here with these kind of points this early in the season. Hopefully we can continue to improve the car as we go ahead. We’re planning to test the car before the next round at Oulton Park so with a bit of luck we can go forward and make this car even better.

 

By Gordon Sheddon

Pictures Jakob Ebrey

Gordon Shedden (GBR) Honda Racing Team Honda Civic Type-R

Gordon Shedden and Matt Neal celebrate the Type R’s first ever one-two finish

Back