Honda Yuasa Racing driver Gordon Shedden says that his new mount for the 2014 British Touring Car Championship campaign, the Honda Civic Tourer, will become one of the series’ most memorable cars.
The Fife ace, who collected the BTCC crown in 2012 with the hatchback Honda Civic, has been testing the Tourer version in the build up to the new season. He says he has been blown away by the reaction of the public to the new chassis, which made its public debut at the championship’s media day at Donington Park last Tuesday.
The new car has undergone an extensive testing programme ahead of the new campaign, which starts at Brands Hatch on Sunday, March 30.
Shedden, 35, said: “We have come on so much in the last three weeks with this car in terms of its handling. I think this car will become iconic because everyone’s noticing it. It has been a hit with the fans and the public and it deserves to be.
“It is different to drive – even down to psychological things like when you look at the rear-view mirror and the back window is so far away. That happened the first couple times I drove it and I did a double-take, but that’s going away now and it is becoming familiar.”
Shedden, who is the commercial director of the Knockhill circuit in Scotland, says he is also relishing the prospect of going up against seven former champions this season. Shedden explained: “With all of the champions returning to the grid this year it is going to be very exciting - but you have to look beyond that as well.
"There are half a dozen more strong cars on the grid as well as title winners, so you have real strength in depth. It is going to be tough, but if you want to win the British Touring Car Championship, then you have to beat the best that’s out there. That has always been the case, and it won’t be any different this season.”
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