Gordon Shedden narrowly missed out yesterday in his quest to become only the third Scot to win the British Touring Car title.
The Dalgety Bay driver headed into the Silverstone finale just five points behind Honda team-mate Matt Neal with 52 points available in the day’s three races.
In the end, he took the fight to Neal right to the last, with the Englishman edging to his third title courtesy of an eighth-place finish in the final reverse-grid race.
Shedden was two places back in 10th but was still celebrating his best title finish, with second spot in Britain’s premier motorsport series.
It was also a title triumph for the Honda team, with the outfit retaining their leading pair for next season.
Neal started on pole after an excellent performance in Saturday’s qualification and took the honours in race one, with Shedden second.
The duo swapped positions in race two, ensuring the fight went right to the wire before Neal eventually took the title, with a winning margin of eight points.
“I took it all the way to the end and gave it everything I had,” said Shedden. “This is a great result for Honda.”
Neal added: “It’s going to take some time to sink in. It means everything, not just for me but the whole team.”
n Casey Stoner celebrated his 26th birthday yesterday on a drama-filled day as he sealed his second MotoGP championship with his fifth successive Australian Grand Prix win.
With rival Jorge Lorenzo, the reigning champion, in hospital for plastic surgery after a warm-up lap crash, Stoner was a shoo-in to seal the title with two races to spare but had to survive the odd hair-raising wobble, as driving wind and rain sent riders scattering like nine-pins in the race’s latter stages.
“Phillip Island doesn’t let you go home without a wet session and we got it during the race unfortunately,” said Stoner. “I’ve gone into that last turn and as soon as I’ve cracked that throttle again the rear came around and my heart was up in my throat.”
Stoner, after extending his MotoGP record total to 11 poles at Phillip Island, celebrated his ninth win in 16 starts in his first season racing a Honda.
“This championship definitely felt the best,” he said, before looking forward to next season and the reintroduction of 1000cc engines.
“With more power I feel more comfortable. With a lot of circuits it’s going to be a lot more fun,” he added.
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