The BTCC’s second visit to Thruxton encapsulated the highs and lows of motorsport for Halfords Racing with Cataclean.
Qualifying
While Gordon topped the times in free practice on Saturday, he struggled to match that success in qualifying and ended the session in 14th place. It was Dan who claimed the top spot and his second pole position of the season.
Race 1
Dan made a great start to Race 1, but he got run out wide on the exit out of turn 3 and dropped back down the pack. Front end grip was hard to come by for both drivers and while they fought valiantly, it was difficult to make progress up through the field. However, they still managed to claim valuable points with Dan finishing in 6th and Gordon in 13th.
Race 2
Race 2 was the team’s toughest of the season so far, with both Dan and Gordon experiencing technical issues and having to withdraw from the race.
Race 3
Gordon’s bad luck continued in Race 3, when contact with another car at the first corner damaged his car beyond repair. Dan faired better, managing to fight his way up from the back of the grid to finish in a very credible 14th.
Reactions from the drivers
Gordon Shedden: “It was always going to be a difficult weekend for me following qualifying. I unfortunately had a wee excursion out the back on my fastest lap and that ended my challenge. Race 1, I struggled to make progress and then Race 2, a technical issue ended my race before it started. The third race was just a closing of the gap into turn one which unfortunately caused contact with Jade and again ended my race early. But onwards and upwards now to Croft and [to] get my points tally back on track.”
Dan Rowbottom: “What can I say! A frustrating weekend for me after a mega qualifying. Race 1, I just got run out a bit wide at the start in turn 3 and that pushed me back into the pack, then I just got caught in the train and that was it, I couldn’t make further progress. Race 2, I had an electrical gremlin on the start that switched all the electrics off! I reset it but had no power, so then had to pit to get it repaired and that was [the] race over. Race 3, I drove as hard as I could, but it is so difficult to overtake here. However, I managed to claim a couple of all important points by finishing 14th.”
Driver standings
| Position | Driver | Points |
| 1 | Ash SUTTON | 210 |
| 2 | Tom INGRAM | 180 |
| 3 | Josh COOK | 173 |
| 4 | Jake HILL | 171 |
| 5 | Colin TURKINGTON | 169 |
| 6 | Adam MORGAN | 144 |
| 7 | Rory BUTCHER | 136 |
| 8 | Dan ROWBOTTOM | 134 |
| 9 | Gordon SHEDDEN | 132 |
| 10 | Senna PROCTOR | 131 |
| 11 | Stephen JELLEY | 117 |
| 12 | Aiden MOFFAT | 114 |
| 13 | Jason PLATO | 113 |
| 14 | Tom OLIPHANT | 110 |
| 15 | Chris SMILEY | 83 |
| 16 | Dan LLOYD | 75 |
| 17 | Jack GOFF | 71 |
| 18 | Ollie JACKSON | 41 |
| 19 | Dan CAMMISH | 30 |
| 20 | Carl BOARDLEY | 25 |
| 21 | Tom CHILTON | 24 |
| 22 | Aron TAYLOR-SMITH | 15 |
| 23 | Sam OSBORNE | 5 |
| 24 | Jack BUTEL | 3 |
| 25 | Sam SMELT | 2 |
| 26 | Jade EDWARDS | 1 |
| 27 | Jack MITCHELL | 0 |
| 28 | Paul RIVETT | 0 |
| 29 | Jessica HAWKINS | 0 |
| 30 | Nicolas HAMILTON | 0 |
| 31 | Andy NEATE | 0 |
| 32 | Rick PARFITT | 0 |
| 33 | Glynn GEDDIE | 0 |