Shedden to make BTCC return with Toyota

Three-time British Touring Car Championship title winner Gordon Shedden is back in the series for 2025 at the wheel of a Toyota.

The 46-year-old Scot has been absent from the BTCC – and any form of modern racing – for the past two seasons after Team Dynamics, the team with which he claimed his three crowns and 52 race wins, was forced to pull the plug on the eve of the 2023 campaign.

But now Shedden is the statement signing among the Speedworks Motorsport-run quartet of Toyota Corolla GR Sport machinery, and will race under the Toyota Gazoo Racing UK banner alongside multiple race winner Aron Taylor-Smith and promising fellow Scot Ronan Pearson.

Speedworks is yet to assign its fourth car, but there are understood to be at least two drivers in serious contention for the seat.

“Ultimately I stopped because of the Halfords situation at Team Dynamics – it was horrific how late their decision to pull out was,” Shedden told Autosport. “By that time it was too late for me to get anything else.

“The phone rings every year with a variety of people asking, ‘Would you be interested?’ But this was different. I always said I’d only go back if it was to something with a genuine opportunity of winning, and the enthusiasm from Toyota themselves has been very flattering.”

In returning with Speedworks, Shedden is moving into the seat occupied successfully by his brother-in-law Rory Butcher, who was one of the leading contenders with Speedworks from 2021-23.

He also reunites with engine supplier Neil Brown Engineering, which built the Honda powerplants that took him to glory with Dynamics and is now entering its third season providing Toyota units for Speedworks, which has been on a development drive with the Corollas over the winter.

“Between Christian [Dick, team boss], Danny [Buxton, head of racing] and everything happening at Speedworks, and the insider info from Rory, I know this is the right time and the right place,” said Shedden, who has remained active in historic racing over 2023-24.

“It’s almost perfect timing. Now that hybrid is gone from the BTCC, it’s going to be very similar to what I’m used to.

“It’s a Neil Brown engine in the Toyota, and almost all my time in touring cars has been with a Neil Brown engine. And the Corolla is a short-wheelbase car – it’s very similar to the Civic.”

Buxton added: “Since I entered into initial discussions with Gordon, the amount of hunger to make this happen has got it over the line.

“I’ve relayed to Christian, ‘Do you know what? It’s like winding the clock back 20 years! He’s the man we want.’”

Dick said: “We’re thrilled to be bringing Gordon back to the BTCC. He is inarguably one of the very best drivers ever to have competed in the championship, and his achievements bear testament to his tremendous talent and tenacity behind the wheel.

“His comeback in 2021 and 2022 [following a spell in the World Touring Car Cup] proved that he has lost none of his speed or spark, and it’s clear that his motivation and thirst for success still burn very brightly indeed.

“It’s no secret that the BTCC is won and lost by fine margins and, in addition to his unquestionable skill inside the cockpit, Gordon brings with him a wealth of experience. That will be invaluable as we continue to develop the Corolla in our efforts to extract the very last tenth of a second out of it.

“With some pre-season testing between now and Donington Park, I am very confident that he can hit the ground running and be a leading contender from the outset.

“In Gordon, Aron and Ronan, we have an exceptionally strong line-up, which I honestly believe gives us our best chance yet of challenging for the coveted drivers’ and manufacturers’ crowns.”