Gordon Shedden is 2016 British Touring Car champion!

  • Gordon Shedden, 2016 BTCC champion
  • 2016 BTCC champion Gordon Shedden
  • Gordon Shedden , 2016 BTCC champion

Gordon Shedden (Halfords Yuasa Racing, Honda Civic Type R) is the 2016 British Touring Car Championship winner! The 37-year-old Scotsman took his third title in the thrilling finale at Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit, finishing third in the last race of the season and beating Sam Tordoff (West Surrey Racing, BMW 125i M Sport) by two points (308-306). The Race 3 winner Mat Jackson (Motorbase Performance, Ford Focus) finished third in the final championship standings.

2016 BTCC finale Brands Hatch Colin Turkington

Turkington was the fastest qualifier and winner of two races

Turkington converted two pole positions to two wins

The BTCC finale at Brands Hatchs started with Colin Turkington‘s fastest qualifying lap, ahead of Rob Austin (Handy Motorsport) and teammate Jason Plato. Turkington converted his pole into fourth season’s victory, crossing the finish line with 4.570 seconds advantage over Rob Austin. Josh Cook (MG Racing RCIB Insurance) completed the podium.

With his lights-to-flag victory, Turkington remained in the championship fight. Of eight drivers who were in the game prior to season’s finale, only Jason Plato felt off. Andrew Jordan was caught up in an incident on Lap 2, finishing his race prematurely, but he was still inside the points-margin for the championship battle. Sam Tordoff’s lead was decreased to six points ahead of Gordon Shedden.

BTCC 2016 Sam Tordoff

Sam Tordoff was in the championship lead until the last race

Three title contenders remained for the last race

Turkington’s victorious performance was repeated in Race 2 with one more lights-to-flag victory. His teammate Jason Plato was attacking for a while, but few nice words through the team radio calmed him down. For the rest of the race, he was defending Turkington’s position against Gordon Shedden, one of the main rivals for the title. Plato finished second, Shedden was third.

Sam Tordoff finished fifth and added eleven points to his account, to remain in the lead ahead of final race, with two-point gap over Shedden. Turkington came to ten-point gap, remaining one of three title contenders.

Of other title contenders, Matt Neal had the most dramatic race, as he went off into tyre barrier on Lap 3. He received medical help and was diagnosed with slight concussion. Because of safety reasons, he missed the final race. Mat Jackson finished seventh. The reverse grid lottery put him on pole position for Race 3.

Mat Jackson, 2016 BTCC Motorbase Performance Ford Focus

Fifth win for Mat Jackson

Fifth win and third championship place for Mat Jackson

Jackson converted his pole into fifth season’s victory. Aiden Moffat, who started second in the Laser Tools Mercedes, finished second, scoring his first podium of the season.

Sam Tordoff started third on the grid and remained on P3 until Lap 7, when Shedden overtook him. In such a order, they were tied in the points, but Shedden has more wins and he would take the title. Tordoff lost one more position from Adam Morgan on Lap 13 and the championship fight was resolved. Colin Turkington finished 12th in Race 3, taking the fourth place in the final championship classification.


Check the full results of BTCC races at Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit


Photos: btcc.net,

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