Best weekend so far for Gordon Shedden in the WTCR

Gordon Shedden had his best weekend yet, making the top-five shootout and taking three top ten finishes at Zandvoort.

The Audi Sport Leopard Lukoil Team driver qualified third on both days in the FIA World Touring Car Cup race weekend at the Circuit Zandvoort, where more than 100,000 fans arrived to see the WTCR field as well as national hero Max Verstappen demonstrate his Formula 1 car.

Shedden converted third on the grid into fourth in Race 1, losing out one position at the start of the race. The Scotsman battled throughout the race with UK rival Rob Huff, making a daring pass into the first corner, Tarzan, on lap ten, but lost the position again on the exit.

For Monday’s races on the Dutch bank holiday weekend, Shedden put his Audi RS 3 LMS in the ‘super-pole’ one-lap qualifying format for the first time, and was able to again secure third on the grid for the main race.

In the reversed grid second race, Shedden made up two spots to finish sixth, fighting throughout the race to try and find his way past the other Volkswagen Golf of Mehdi Bennani, with Shedden’s WRT-prepared Audi proving to be on the pace all weekend. While fighting with the Moroccan, Shedden briefly lost a spot to the Honda of Esteban Guerrieri, but was able to reclaim the place with a daring pass two laps later.

In the third race, Shedden again lost ground at the start, and found himself battling Guerrieri again, but this time was unable to find his way past the wily Argentinian.

Shedden had to settle for fifth place, but with his weekend comprising of a fourth, a sixth, and a fifth-place finish, it was his best weekend to-date in the WTCR, and he more than doubles his points haul of the season.

Gordon Shedden said:

“It’s been a fantastic weekend for us at Zandvoort, and a real turnaround thanks to the latest changes by the FIA and TCR which have finally given us a car we can fight with.

“It’s been great be actually racing for position again, although it’s very hard to pass here.

“I had a go at Huffy in Race 1 as he made a mistake at the corner before and I had a good run on him. We were always going to make it through the corner, but it was definitely worth a go to try for our first podium.

“In Race 2, I was quicker than Mehdi but just couldn’t find a way past and then nearly lost a place to Esteban, but thankfully I was able to get him back a lap later.

“We didn’t have a great start in Race 3 and were stuck behind Esteban again and this time I wasn’t lucky enough to find a way through, but it’s been a great weekend, finishing just off the podium and qualifying in the top three for both races. It was also my first time in the super-pole format, which was great fun and something new for me.

“The team did a fantastic job all weekend and puts us in a great place as we now have a little gap before we go to Vila Real next month.”
 


Sunday qualifying result

1 - Rob Huff - Sébastien Loeb Racing - Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR - 1:43.945
2 - Yann Ehrlacher - Münnich Motorsport - Honda Civic Type R FK8 TCR - 0.113
3 - Gordon Shedden - Audi Sport Leopard Lukoil Team - Audi RS 3 LMS - 0.157
4 - Jean-Karl Vernay - Audi Sport Leopard Lukoil Team - Audi RS 3 LMS - 0.307
5 - Benjamin Lessennes - Boutsen Ginion Racing - Honda Civic Type R FK8 TCR - 0.395

Sunday race result

1 - Yann Ehrlacher - Münnich Motorsport - Honda Civic Type R FK8 TCR - 14 laps
2 - Aurélien Comte - DG Sport Compétition - Peugeot 308TCR - 1.217
3 - Rob Huff - Sébastien Loeb Racing - Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR - 1.566
4 - Gordon Shedden - Audi Sport Leopard Lukoil Team - Audi RS 3 LMS - 1.879
5 - Jean-Karl Vernay - Audi Sport Leopard Lukoil Team - Audi RS 3 LMS - 2.44

Monday qualifying result

1 - Jean-Karl Vernay - Audi Sport Leopard Lukoil Team - Audi RS 3 LMS - 1:43.994
2 - Rob Huff - Sébastien Loeb Racing - Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR - 0.459
3 - Gordon Shedden - Audi Sport Leopard Lukoil Team - Audi RS 3 LMS - 0.596
4 - Frédéric Vervisch - Comtoyou Racing - Audi RS 3 LMS - No time
5 - Esteban Guerrieri - Münnich Motorsport - Honda Civic Type R FK8 TCR - No time

Monday reversed grid race result

1 - Aurélien Comte - DG Sport Compétition - Peugeot 308TCR - 14 laps
2 - Yann Ehrlacher - Münnich Motorsport - Honda Civic Type R FK8 TCR - 4.757
3 - James Thompson - Münnich Motorsport - Honda Civic Type R FK8 TCR - 5.255
4 - Pepe Oriola - Campos Racing - Cupra TCR - 6.657
5 - Mehdi Bennani - Sébastien Loeb Racing - Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR - 7.120
6 - Gordon Shedden - Audi Sport Leopard Lukoil Team - Audi RS 3 LMS - 7.458

Monday final race result

1 - Jean-Karl Vernay - Audi Sport Leopard Lukoil Team - Audi RS 3 LMS - 15 laps
2 - Rob Huff - Sébastien Loeb Racing - Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR - 1.199
3 - Frédéric Vervisch - Comtoyou Racing - Audi RS 3 LMS - 3.065
4 - Esteban Guerrieri - Münnich Motorsport - Honda Civic Type R FK8 TCR - 4.405
5 - Gordon Shedden - Audi Sport Leopard Lukoil Team - Audi RS 3 LMS - 5.019


The next round of the 2018 FIA World Touring Car Cup takes place at the Viila Real street circuit in Portugal on June 23rd-24th.