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A battling weekend in North Yorkshire delivered another podium for Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport, rounding off a testing round eight of the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship.
The team arrived looking to carry momentum from a highly successful outing at Donington Park in the previous round. Saturday opened with the customary free practice session, where both drivers banked plenty of running and laid a solid foundation for qualifying, with Gordon finishing tenth and Árón seventeenth.
Both drivers ran in the opening qualifying group. Gordon showed strong speed to lead the session in its closing stages, only to be ousted to third by the fall of the chequered flag, missing out on P1 by 0.198 seconds. On the other side of the garage, Árón endured a trickier run, the Dubliner taking tenth in the group. With both groups complete, Gordon lined up sixth on the grid and Árón 20th.
Gordon's qualifying race unravelled on the opening lap, turned by a competitor through the first sequence of corners and dropped to the back of the field. The pair then ran closely together for the remainder of the race, with Aron taking the chequered flag in 15th and Gordon in 17th — a frustrating end to the day's proceedings.
Race day dawned with the sunshine replaced by gloomy skies and tricky, changing conditions. Both drivers ran the formation lap on the harder tyre, but both would pit before the start to switch to wet tyres with the sodden conditions, thus getting the harder compound out of the way and ensuring a better tyre strategy for the remaining two races on the softer tyre. Now, the goal for race one was to stay clear of trouble and pick up positions where they could, but the harder tyre made overtaking a challenge around the 2.1-mile circuit, with Gordon finishing race one 13th and Árón 16th.
Race two brought the more favourable, softer tyre and the chance to recover ground. Árón battled hard in the thick of the pack and made up several positions, only for a track limits penalty to drop him to 16th at the finish. Gordon charged through the field, a spirited drive and calculated overtakes earning him eight places and sixth at the flag, along with a healthy points haul.
More chaos ensued in the final race of the day; Árón caught up in the melee through no fault of his own and was sidelined with terminal damage. Gordon was in a determined mood, climbing several places from his 5th start to finish third and cap a challenging weekend on a high.
Gordon leaves round eight tenth in the Drivers' Championship, with Árón 15th. Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport lie fifth in the Teams' Championship and remain second among the Independent Teams, while Gordon and Árón sit second and seventh respectively in the Independents Trophy.
Attention now turns to round nine of the 2026 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship at Silverstone on 26-27 September.
Árón Taylor-Smith (#50) said:
“It was a seriously tough weekend at Croft, made harder by coming straight off the back of our best one of the year. You put absolutely everything into this, so when things outside of your control keep going against you, it's hard to take — and being wiped out at the start of race three was a brutal way to end it.”
"The three-week gap before Silverstone is much needed. Some time with the family, a chance to reset, and then we go again. Mark my words, we'll finish this year on a high.”
Gordon Shedden (#52) said:
"A mixed weekend at Croft. We showed strong pace in qualifying on Saturday, but getting taken out at the opening corner ended race one before we'd even got going. Conditions were tricky, and races one and two were a battle, though making up plenty of places in race two to bag some solid points told us we had a quick, capable car. That showed in the final race with a trip to the podium and another healthy points haul. It was a great feeling to reward the team for their hard work across the weekend, and now the focus turns to Silverstone and getting more good results on the board."
Mark Blundell, Sporting Director, Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport, said:
"A challenging weekend at Croft for us as a team. A mixed qualifying for Gordon and Árón, followed by a disappointing opening race, was not the start we had hoped for. Sunday brought tricky, changeable conditions, so we looked to maximise our tyre strategy and set ourselves up for the final two races. Gordon drove superbly to climb the order in race two and rounded out his day with a hard-fought podium in race three, which was exactly what we needed. Aron battled hard all weekend, but luck was not on his side, with a track limits penalty and an early end to his final race."
"Now it is time to regroup ahead of Silverstone and keep working hard as a team to make the final two rounds of the season as successful as possible."
