Silverstone surge: 51-point haul for Laser Tools Racing
Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport delivered its second-biggest points haul of the 2026 BTCC season at Silverstone, with Gordon Shedden and Árón Taylor-Smith combining for 51 points across an action-packed penultimate round.
Arriving at the home of British motorsport on the back of a strong run since the summer break, both Toyota Corolla GR Sports were quickly into their stride. Saturday practice saw Shedden finish P10 and Taylor-Smith P14, providing plenty of useful data ahead of qualifying.
Both drivers were drawn into the second qualifying group, with the combined times putting Taylor-Smith ninth and Shedden 15th on the grid for Saturday afternoon’s Qualifying Race.
With the field running bumper-to-bumper around Silverstone’s short, fast National layout, there was little room for error. Taylor-Smith held firm to take P9, while Shedden worked his way forward with a series of calculated moves to grab P10 — putting both Laser Tools Racing Toyotas inside the top ten for Sunday’s opener.
Race day arrived under threatening skies, with rain beginning to fall on the formation lap for Race 1. The entire field stayed on slicks, setting up a tense opening encounter as grip levels shifted from corner to corner.
Shedden made the most of the softer tyre, charging from 10th to sixth with another determined drive through the pack. Taylor-Smith had the tougher medium compound but battled hard to bring the second Toyota home ninth, getting Sunday off to a strong points-scoring start.
Race 2 flipped the tyre advantage. Now running the softer rubber, Taylor-Smith went on the attack, picking his way forward to P7 with a string of well-judged overtakes. Shedden faced a tougher task on the medium tyre and crossed the line 10th after a race-long scrap, although a post-race, track-limits penalty ultimately dropped him to P12.
Then came a properly wet Silverstone finale.
The reverse-grid draw handed Taylor-Smith P3, with Shedden starting 12th, and torrential conditions promised plenty of drama. Both survived a chaotic opening before settling into a rhythm as spray and standing water made visibility and grip a constant challenge.
Taylor-Smith ran right at the sharp end in the early stages, while Shedden began another charge through the field. By half-distance the Scot was already up to fifth and closing rapidly on the podium battle.
The chase went all the way to the flag. Shedden piled on the pressure in the closing laps but missed P3 by just 0.309 seconds, taking a superb fourth after starting back in 12th. Taylor-Smith completed another strong drive in eighth, rounding out an excellent team performance in some of the toughest conditions of the weekend.
The numbers added up to 51 points — Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport’s second-best weekend of the season and another impressive showing from both sides of the garage.
Shedden remains eighth in the Drivers’ Championship, while Taylor-Smith moves up to 14th after his third-best points haul of the campaign. Laser Tools Racing holds fifth in the Teams’ Championship and, crucially, remains second in the Independent Teams’ standings. Shedden and Taylor-Smith sit second and seventh respectively in the Independents’ Trophy.
Árón Taylor-Smith (#50) said:
"It was a consistent weekend for us at Silverstone; we stayed out of trouble and navigated each race successfully. It was good to secure my third-best points haul of the year, and the four top-ten finishes give us plenty of positives to take into the season finale.”
"Now it's time to regroup for one last push at Brands Hatch, a happy hunting ground for me, with the scene of my first win with the team on the Indy circuit and also my first ever BTCC win on the GP loop, where we'll be giving it everything to finish the season as strongly as possible!”
Gordon Shedden (#52) said:
"It was a positive weekend. We made the most of every opportunity to score valuable points as the season comes to a close, even if we didn't quite get the podium we were after! We had good pace throughout, which showed in the battles through the pack in race one and again in tricky conditions in race three, where we only just missed out on the podium.”
“It's great to have banked so many points, and now the focus is on finishing strongly at Brands Hatch as we remain firmly in the fight for both the Independent Drivers’ and the Independent teams’ championships, so we will definitely be giving it all we have out on track.”
Mark Blundell, Sporting Director, Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport, said:
"It was a solid weekend for the team, with our second-biggest points haul of the year and both cars scoring in all four races. Both drivers performed well. Árón collected four top-ten finishes and showed some good consistency across the weekend, while Gordon showed his quality with a superb race day, capped by a charge through the field in race three that left him so close to the podium.”
"We'll take all the positives from Silverstone and look to finish our season in the best possible way at Brands Hatch, with us still very much in the battle for the Independent Drivers’ and Teams’ championships.”
Just one round remains. Next stop is Brands Hatch on 10–11 October for the 2026 BTCC season finale.
Photos: Jakob Ebrey & Richard Moir
