Good Points Haul Sees Honda Pair Edge Clear In The Championship
Honda Racing had a successful weekend at Knockhill as both their drivers took sizeable points hauls and seemingly established themselves
as the two main championship protagonists as their rivals endured difficult weekends.
Gordon Shedden took victory at his home circuit which he also works at as commercial manager, in the second race, and backed it up by taking a third and a fifth in the other two races. As a result he now leads the standings with 182 points.
He said: “I knew it would be crucial to get at least 30 points over the course of the three races at Knockhill, and the results went better than I could have expected. I scored 32, and I was able to win a round in front of my home fans which is always special.”
Shedden explained that the key strength of the Civic was its handling over the tight and twisty track, which he said gave him optimism for the remaining nine races in the championship. He said: “We knew we had to exploit our chassis at Knockhill, and that is exactly what has helped us here. Some of the other cars have big turbochargers and were able to have an advantage on the straights, but our car came into its own in the corners. It shows what a great package we have with the Civic.”
Matt Neal had an equally productive weekend claiming two second place finishes as well as a fourth place in the final race. The former double champion fractured a bone in his hand in a martial arts exam in the weeks leading up to the race and was racing with his right hand strapped up while he was at the wheel but this didn’t seem to affect his progress and he sits just one point behind Shedden in the championship.
He said: “To bounce back from the last meeting at Snetterton, where I had two non-scores, was vital in terms of the title run in. It is going to be a fight between myself and Gordon now for the rest of the season, but we aren’t going to take our eye off the ball. There are so many competitive people in this championship and some really strong cars out there that we will have to keep pushing until the end of the season.
“It’s funny, it didn’t hurt (his hand) all the while I was racing but it is starting to ache now the adrenaline is wearing off. We have had some amazing results this weekend and once again we have shown that the Honda is the best all-round package in the series. “
The duo’s nearest championship rival Mat Jackson, trails Shedden by 23 points after a torrid weekend. This makes it look ever more likely that the drivers’ crown will head to one of the Honda drivers at the end of the season.
The championship continues at Rockingham on the weekend of the 17th/18th of September.
Photo Credit: Jonathan Hobley
Thomas Surgay
