Knockhill boss Gordon Shedden will return to action in the British Touring Car Championship this weekend after signing a season-long deal to lead the Glasgow-based Clyde Valley Racing team.
And Fifer Shedden, who has 10 BTCC wins to his name but who has not raced since the season opener at Brands Hatch, admits it’s going to be a testing debut because he hasn’t even seen his new Seat Leon race car, let alone driven it.
“Believe me, the first time I’ll see the car will be when I turn up at Snetterton on Saturday morning,” the Dalgety Bay racer admitted today. “It’s all going to be rather testing, but I’m confident we’ll be able to pull something out of the bag.
“The team have already shown this year that they’re capable of pushing for victories and I’m determined to pick up the baton and run with it. I know the team and the car are competitive; now we all just have to work together to deliver the right results.”
Shedden, one of the fastest touring car drivers of the current generation, replaces England’s Dan Eaves in the Cartridge World-backed team which prides itself on its environmental stance and runs its cars on bio-ethanol fuel.
And Shedden, who will partner England’s Adam Jones in the team, was surprised at how quickly initial discussions developed with Clyde Valley Racing boss Colin Neill resulting in his signing for the rest of the season.
“Colin and I talked soon after my deal with Team Dynamics ended after the races at Brands Hatch at the start of the season,” Shedden explained, “but really that was just a case of ‘well, if anything happens, we can talk again,’ sort of thing.
“Then last week we talked again, considered what we could do together and really that was that. It was a case of ironing out a few minor points and then we signed. Now I can’t wait to go racing again.”
And the Fifer — backed by Lochgelly-based FFDR and the UK race division of Seat — believes the Scots team has everything in place to become a consistent challenger at the front of the grid.
“What people have to remember is in March this year the team didn’t even exist,” Shedden continued. “What Colin and his very small team have done in such a short space of time is really exceptional.
“I have always wanted to be part of a team where I can make a difference, and I know I can contribute to Clyde Valley Racing’s future development. I was team leader at Team Dynamics and helped developed their Honda Civic.
“With the terrific back I have received from Seat, now I want to do exactly the same at Clyde Valley Racing and make sure we have a Scottish-based team capable of regularly winning in the BTCC. But I know it won’t happen immediately.
“We all understand this weekend will be challenging and I will have to get used to the race characteristics of the car, but we’re a close-knit team and we’ll be doing everything we can to get the best results possible.”
JM