Triple British Touring Car champion Gordon Shedden has pulled the covers off the weapon he hopes will take him to a successful 2017 title defence.
The flying Scot is the man with the target on his back this season after securing back-to-back BTCC crowns in a final race thriller at Brands Hatch last October.
Knockhill racing circuit business manager Shedden and Honda Yuasa Racing teammate Matt Neal took the wraps off their 2017 Honda Civic Type R during the traditional pre-season Autosport International Show at Birmingham’s NEC on Thursday.
And the defending champ – who won his first BTCC title in 2012 – said he is well ready for the challenge of becoming the first driver since Andy Rouse more than 30 years ago to triumph three times in swift succession.
The 37-year-old said: “I always feel like we’re a little in the lap of the gods at this stage of the year, waiting to see what weird and wonderful things the engineers have come up with over the winter.
“The Civic Type R was already an excellent all-round package last year, so we’ve adopted an approach of evolution rather than revolution because there’s no point in trying to reinvent the wheel – although there are definitely some developments in the pipeline.
“There have been a few subtle rule changes over the off-season and it will be interesting to see how the new Dunlop tyre performs because everybody will need to get their head around it as quickly as possible.”
He added: “As far as I’m concerned, going into a new season as the defending champion is the best position to be in and I’m hopeful that we will be there or thereabouts from the outset – even if we fully expect the competition to be tougher than ever this year.
“It never ceases to amaze me how people constantly raise their game in this championship, which is reflected in the quality entry list that the BTCC invariably attracts – and that’s what makes it so unpredictable and exciting.
“With the variables of success ballast and reversed grids, you’re not going to win every race so it’s all about playing the long game.
“It would be fantastic to mirror Andy Rouse’s achievements – he is a true legend of touring car racing – but there’s a long way to go yet and ultimately, we need to just focus on ourselves. I can’t wait to get started.”
Honda is the most successful marque in the modern era of the BTCC – commonly regarded as the world’s toughest tin-top series – having raced to no fewer than six Drivers’, five Manufacturers’ and six Teams’ titles since 2005.
