Gordon Shedden says he's "no chance" of winning the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship in his debut season, despite having moved up to third in the points standings with 12 races still to go in this year's title race.
Scottish ace Shedden will arrive at Snetterton in Norfolk this coming Sunday (13 August) 53 points behind Team Halfords team-mate and series leader Matt Neal who, having lifted the champion's trophy last year is currently on course for an historic double.
In the three most recent rounds, at Donington Park, Shedden achieved a near-perfect score with two wins and a third to take 26 points out of Neal. But Shedden insists Donington was a one-off and that Neal remains his tip to win the title. In between them in second, 31 points ahead of Shedden and 22 behind Neal is Team RAC MG driver Colin Turkington.
Shedden, whose ultimate ambition is to emulate his fellow countrymen Jim Clark and John Cleland in lifting the BTCC title, said: "I've no chance of winning the title. Matt is miles ahead. I have to be realistic - he just had a really unlucky time at Donington, but at Snetterton he'll be back on form and right up there.
"Whether or not I can get second and give Team Halfords a 1-2 I don't know - Colin also has quite a big lead over me and is doing fantastically well.
"My money's still on Matt to win the title, but it's getting close between him and Colin. Plus there are a lot of other driver-car combinations that are capable of winning races and mixing up the order. It's going to be a very close finish to the season."
Incredibly, Shedden has achieved four victories in just 18 races since making his BTCC debut at Brands Hatch in April. That gives Shedden the highest win ratio of any driver currently on the BTCC grid, better even than the likes of Neal, Turkington and SEAT's pair of former champions Jason Plato and James Thompson.
Shedden added: "I'm making the best of what I've got at my disposal - one of the best cars on the grid, the Honda Integra, run by the reigning champion team. I just want to go out and win as many races as possible."
But he dismissed claims by some that the Team Halfords drivers enjoy an unassailable car advantage over their rivals and hinted that at Snetterton - with its two long straights one of the fastest tracks in the country - will be wide open.
He said: "Everyone has preconceived ideas that our Honda is the fastest thing out there - it's not. The MG and Vauxhall both dragged past me in a straight line at Donington.
"The MG will be as good as the Honda around Snetterton and Vauxhall has solved its tyre wear problems and its Astra is phenomenal in a straight line. Snetterton's races are going to be very hard-fought."
