A QUALITY NAME FOR BTCC GRID
Just as Motorsport News closed for press last week, the British Touring Car Championship rumour mill went into overdrive. The signs were all pointing to major things happening at Team Dynamics, the multiple title-winning squad owned and operated by racer Matt Neal, himself a three-time champion. And so it has come to pass: Dan Cammish has been axed from the line-up despite having signed a two-year deal at the end of 2019, and three-time champion Gordon Shedden is back. There has been no news on the second seat as yet – that’s certainly true as MN was closing for press, but things could well change – but it seems that Neal’s tenure in the cockpit in the BTCC, which stretches back to 1991, is likely to be at an end.
That is something that Neal had rumoured during the course of 2020 and was printed in the pages of MN. He was questioning himself as to whether he was actually enjoying racing anymore. With the driver shuffles that are still likely to play out, it seems the answer he arrived at was no.
The big headline about the rejig is that Gordon Shedden is back. The Scot, who left Team Dynamics to chase a chance in the FIA WTCR series in 2018, left a big hole in the British Touring Car Championship line-up. There is no question about his speed, his overtaking prowess and his ability to put a title campaign together.
It was painful to watch his struggles on the global stage, and he told MN in 2019 that there were several reasons behind it, most of which it was not prudent to make public. Shedden’s ability is established, so there were obviously some pretty big problems. Now, after a year on the sidelines, the Fife flier is back, and the men who expect to be at the front of this season’s grid will now be looking over their shoulders. The BTCC will be all the better for it.
Of course, Shedden’s return means that there is no room for Cammish, and it is very hard not to feel sorry for the two-time Porsche king. He had done nothing wrong in his three-year stint with Honda and came within a hair’s breadth of claiming the 2019 crown after a brilliant, tenacious year. He sets out his thoughts to MN on page 26 and, as much as Shedden is welcome back, Cammish’s talents will be missed. Motor racing can be a cruel mistress sometimes.
Elsewhere in this week’s MN, Nick Tandy settles in to our readers’ Q&A chair, we go behind the scenes at the
Jordan Racing Team and speak to ousted WRC battler Esapekka Lappi. Enjoy.