Gordon Sheddon wins BTCC crown

Gordon Sheddon is a dear friend of Top Gear's. When we needed expert, professional assistance in choosing a suitable mass transit for the good people of central London, we called upon his delicate, gentle, easy-going driving skills in a bout of bus racing.

Seems he's rather handy behind the wheel of a touring car, too, as he's just wrapped up the 2012 British Touring Car Championship.

The penultimate race took place over the weekend at Brands Hatch, and - thanks to some rain occurring - was a smorgasbord of safety cars and smashery. On the opening lap, Sheddon's Honda Civic was shunted from behind, sending him into Robert Collard's eBay Motors BMW, which ended up spinning at the Druids Hairpin, before being collected by Will Bratt's Audi A4 and Adam Morgan's Speedworks Toyota Avensis - both Bratt and Collard were taken out on the spot.

And it was more drama for Morgan's Avensis in the later stages too, as his attempt to avoid a rejoining MG along the Cooper Straight left him careering towards the barriers and ending up with quite a massive crash on his hands (it's picture number 8, above).

The race itself was won by Aron Smith - the first win of his inaugural season in BTCC - but Sheddon's second-placed finish and unassailable points lead means he takes the crown. He's also the first Scot to take the title since John Cleland in 1995.

"All I ever wanted as a kid was to race touring cars," Sheddon admits, "it was never about Formula One. And it was John Cleland who was my hero. I never thought I'd ever get the chance to race [touring cars] though, let alone win a race and now I'm the champion... it is mind blowing."

Congrats, Mr Sheddon. But we're not sure it quite reaches the heady heights of his bus racing stint way back on TG telly...