GORDON SHEDDEN insists the British Touring Car Championship is all to play for despite suffering a "bodyblow" to his chances at Knockhill on Sunday.

A rollercoaster weekend saw the 35-year-old end the opening race with a place on the podium by edging out Mat Jackson into third place after what he described as "the most eventful podium I have ever had in my life."

Shedden had qualified in fourth, but after stalling his Honda Civic Tourer, as well as making contact with Andrew Jordan on the exit of Butcher's in lap 14, he commented, "I had a good qualifying but it was a wild first race.

"I stalled the car but somehow managed to get third place and on the podium which I was pleased with. But was race two that wrecked my weekend."

During that race 'Flash' could only manage a 12th place finish after endured contact from the Audi of Rob Austin that spun him into the rear of the field before ending a frustrating day with sixth place in the final race.

Those results saw the gap between second-placed Shedden and standings leader Turkington remain at 23 points with three rounds remaining, but Shedden said, "From a neutral point of view, it was a fantastic event but it didn't quite work out for me on a personal level. The weekend promised a lot but I don't feel as though there was additional pressure racing at Knockhill. It was a special atmosphere and it's special to race at home, but it's about scoring points and that is the same whether it's at Knockhill or elsewhere.

"It was an opportunity to try and close the gap so I'm a bit disappointed. It's a bit of a bodyblow but that's Touring Cars for you - it's up and down and bad luck can happen to anyone. But there are nine races still to go, which is almost a third of the championship. I didn't expect the car to be as strong as it was around here, so we're going to keep pushing on for the rest of the season at circuits that should suit us better. It was always going to be difficult to make progress with so many cars and such a tight circuit, but we're still in touch."

The next round of the BTCC takes place at Rockingham, Northamptonshire, on Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th September.