Snetterton: another weekend, another win!
After the wet-weather fireworks of Brands Hatch, Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport proved this was no one-off by doing it all over again at Snetterton—this time in searing heat, with Gordon Shedden producing a proper defensive masterclass to claim his first win for the team.
If Brands Hatch was about seizing chaos, Snetterton was about controlling it. And in 60-degree cockpit temperatures on a sun-soaked Norfolk weekend, Shedden did exactly that. He didn’t just win the race; he managed it, fought for it, and stared down some of the biggest names in the business to keep it.
The team arrived at the 2.97-mile circuit in buoyant mood after Árón Taylor-Smith’s sensational win in the rain a fortnight earlier, but nobody in the garage was under any illusion that Snetterton would hand over another result on a plate. Qualifying was messy, and both cars found themselves starting further back than they would have liked.
Race 1:
Both Shedden and Taylor-Smith made the sensible call to get their mandatory medium-tyre run out of the way early, and that meant the first race was always going to be about damage limitation, progress, and keeping the bigger picture in view.
Using the sort of racecraft that only comes from an enormous volume of touring car miles, both cars made steady gains in the opening contest. The BTCC is often sold on headline moments, but weekends are built on exactly these kinds of races: survival, patience, and making sure the tyres, the car and the plan are still intact when the pressure really bites.
Race 2:
Once the grippy soft Goodyears came into play, Shedden began to look very much like a driver in no mood to waste an opportunity.
The pace picked up, the car came alive, and the Scot charged forward to seventh while banking another Independents win. It was the kind of drive that quietly shifts the tone of a weekend. No theatrics and no unnecessary risks.
Taylor-Smith was not letting himself drift either. The Irishman kept pushing, kept fighting, and kept the points hunt very much alive. The result was a team that had started the day slightly off the pace but was now building into a real threat by the time the final race arrived. And thanks to the reverse-grid draw, the best was still to come!
Race 3: a proper old-fashioned touring car scrap!
Shedden lined up on pole for the finale, and from that moment on it was clear what was coming: a full-blooded BTCC knife fight, with a win available for whoever could keep their head longest. And that turned out to be Gordon Shedden.
What followed was a defensive performance of the highest order. Boost management, tyre preservation, track position, temperature control—everything mattered, and everything had to be done while two of the best racers in the field, Ash Sutton and Tom Ingram, were breathing down his neck. Between them, they have collected five of the last six championships. This was the best of the best trying to get past. Shedden told them no.
Lap after lap, he placed the car exactly where it needed to be, absorbing pressure, denying opportunities, and refusing to give the leaders even a sniff. In cockpit temperatures approaching inferno levels, it was a display of calm under fire that only a three-time champion could really deliver.
And when the chequered flag finally fell, the garage erupted.
It was Shedden’s 54th career BTCC victory, his first in the iconic Laser Tools blue, and a second successive win for the team after Taylor-Smith’s Brands Hatch triumph. For Shedden, it also marked a move to the top of the Independents Trophy standings. For the team, it left Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport just four points off the summit in the Independent Teams’ battle.
Not bad for a weekend that began with a frustrating qualifying session.
Taylor-Smith deserves his share of the credit too. Just as he had done at Brands Hatch, he kept his head down and got on with the job, making solid progress on the soft tyres in both of the day’s later races. From P19 to P14, then P12 by the flag, he banked two points finishes and gave the team more of the kind of scoring depth that championship campaigns are built on.
Gordon Shedden (#52) said:
“It’s a great feeling to get the first win with Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport, and to make it two wins in two weekends for the team.
“Considering we started the day in 13th, we’ve had to work really hard throughout the day to extract the maximum from the Corolla and move forwards, but everybody’s dug in and chipped away at it, then we were able to get the reverse grid draw.
“It was hard work out there, even before you add in the heat. It was important to manage the boost well, and it took every bit of my experience to keep the likes of Ash and Tom behind me. A real workout, but a worthwhile result at the end of it!
“It’s nice to give the team some reward for all their hard work, and a good feeling for me to stand on the top step of the podium in the iconic Laser Tools blue.”
Árón Taylor-Smith (#50) said:
“It’s been a bit of a challenging weekend on my side of the garage, we had a few small issues that put us on the back foot. It was always going to be a challenge, due to the nature of Snetterton but I feel we fought as hard as we could over the three races to salvage some points for Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport.
“I’m happy to come away with some points, considering those challenges, and now we move on to Oulton Park, where I feel the hatchback will be a bit stronger, and we can get back to our usual performance and be at the sharp end.”
Mark Blundell, Sporting Director, Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport said:
“It’s fantastic to end what has been a tough weekend at Snetterton with another victory, our second of the season. Gordon’s drive was magnificent, a real masterclass in defending, and it’s a just reward for him and the team, because we’ve had to show a lot of character and be resilient this weekend, with the challenges thrown at us.
“Equally, Árón had to dig in deep and has driven very well to come away with some points. It’s an exceptionally close championship, and I’m sure every point will matter come the end of the season.
“Snetterton isn’t the strongest circuit for the Corolla; we’re now the only hatchback car on the grid, and there is a bit of a deficit in performance for us to make up versus some of the other saloon-shape models. But I couldn’t be prouder of the team for how they’ve knuckled down today, and worked to extract the maximum from what we have, that’s a real hallmark of a strong group.
“Oulton Park should be a better platform for us to go on and keep building from this result - it’s two wins in two weekends now, so we have a bit of momentum to work with, and it’s still a long season ahead.”
Where it leaves the championship:
After Snetterton, Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport head to Oulton Park with real momentum behind them. They sit fifth in the Teams’ Championship, with Shedden seventh and Taylor-Smith 12th in the Drivers’ standings, but the headline is bigger than the table.
Oulton Park awaits on 6-7 June.
Photos: Jakob Ebrey
