Honda BTCC drivers enjoy success at Silverstone Classic

Honda Racing Team teammates Gordon Shedden and Matt Neal made the most of their “busman’s holiday” as they took victory in the Warwick Banks Trophy at the Silverstone Classic.

The pair took the wheel of the Team Dynamics owned Ford Lotus Cortina, starting from 14th in the race for Under 2 Litre Touring Cars, after their car struggled in a Mini-dominated wet qualifying session.

However, by the end of the first lap Neal had managed to move in to the top five, carving his way through the field before the safety car brought everyone down to a controlled speed.

Once the safety car period was over and the pitstop cycle began to wind down, Shedden found himself battling for effectively second place with Richard Shaw’s BMW 1800. Meanwhile Richard Meaden and Grant Tromans, who had a 45-second lead with the latter’s Cortina, lost their lead in the pitstops to Shedden, who had passed Shaw at Luffield on the same lap.

The 2012 BTCC champion never looked back from that point, crossing the line to take the win ahead of the two BMW 1800 pairings of Richard Shaw & Jackie Oliver and Mark Sumpter & former BTCC race winner Mike Jordan – meaning 50% of the podium positions were made up of BTCC drivers past and present.

“It was a long shot because we started 14th, we didn’t make a good job of qualifying, its tough out there,” said Shedden to TouringCarTimes. “The safety car was OK for us, it didn’t really help us and it didn’t really hinder us, Matt made up ten places in the first lap and then I just got my head down and it seemed to go OK.

We want to race the Cortina more and more, it’s just a bit of fun, it’s a busman’s holiday for all of the guys. You can chill out, you can relax and just have some fun with it.”

The victory comes after the pair struggled in the Under 2 Litre race this time last year, suffering tyre issues with their Cortina in its race debut. Neal was delighted to take the win, and was quick to praise the event as a whole, likening it to the Goodwood Revival Meeting, another historic event that often attracts top professional drivers.

“It’s just such an event,” explained Neal, talking to TouringCarTimes. “It’s like Goodwood, you struggle to explain the magnitude of it, the amount of cars here, the people here, I never expected to come and win!

The three-time BTCC also stated how much he enjoys the chance to race alongside Shedden, rather than against him in the Civic Type-R, hinting at more outings for the pair in the future.

“I hope [racing the Cortina at the Silverstone Classic] will be an annual thing, we always work together but we’re always working against each other so it’s lovely, it’s the first win we’ve had as a pairing, let’s hope it’s the first of many!”