BTCC: Gordon Shedden will make his return to the championship in 2025

Yesterday saw a lot of buzz about Gordon Shedden signing for Toyota Gazoo Racing and with his signing confirmed today that he will join the team for 2025.

The three time BTCC champion is one of the most successful in the sport, claiming his titles in 2012, 2015 and 2016, Toyota is bolstering their ranks with three top tier drivers with a mix of experience, speed, consistency and young talent.

Shedden initially left the series in 2017 before returning in 2021 for a two season stint in the Honda Civic. He claimed 15 podiums, 4 of them being wins in those two seasons before once more departing the series.

He now returns this time in the Toyota Corolla as he joins the team with hopes of bringing them home the title. The Toyota backed team itself has claimed 17 wins with almost a third of them were claimed in 2024. The team has also claimed 30 podiums in it's time in the BTCC, and with Shedden now at the helm, both stats will only increase.

After signing with the team, Gordon Shedden said: “It’s pretty well-known that I didn’t want to leave the BTCC two years ago; the team I was due to race with pulled out of the championship on the eve of the season, which was a body blow and completely beyond my control. Since then, my desire to race has never gone away, but I don’t do this just to be on the grid, and I was quite clear that I wouldn’t come back unless it was with a programme that I believed in. That is what I am confident I have found here with Speedworks Motorsport and TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK.”

“The deal has come together in a very short space of time. I don’t think either of us thought the other was available, but once we began talking, we quickly discovered a lot of common ground and a willingness to make something happen. Christian [Dick] and Danny [Buxton – Speedworks Head of Motorsport] are both racers at heart, and their commitment to continuously improving every aspect of the operation struck me immediately. We’re all very much on the same page.”

“Everybody has been working hard and keeping their heads down over the winter, and the team is consequently in a good place. Last year, three of the four Toyota drivers won races in the Corolla, so it’s evidently a very capable package and I’m excited to be working with Neil Brown Engineering again on the engine side and with Árón and Ronan as team-mates for the first time.”

“The primary objective is to be competitive, so the immediate goal is to tick as many boxes as possible pre-season. We all know that success in the BTCC requires a lot of round pegs to fall into round holes, but experience counts for a lot in this championship and hopefully everything will come together and we can fight for race wins – if not more. That’s what we’re here for!”