The 36-year-old Dalgety Bay ace suffered a mixed set of results at Brands Hatch as his victory in the second race was sandwiched by a sixth place in the opener and a failure to make the final classification in the last race due to mechanical problems.

But the sensational second race triumph - achieved by just 0.040 seconds from WSR’s Andy Piraulx - was not only the first victory for his Honda Yuasa team’s new Civic Type R, but it was Shedden’s first victory around the Brands Hatch indy circuit.

He said, “That’s my first ever win in the BTCC round at Brands Indy, and the only circuit I hadn’t won on so I’m delighted. Race two was exciting. I had a moment on the last lap with back markers which made it a photo finish, but you’ve only got to win by the tiniest of margins and they don’t come much smaller than that.” The opening round finished on a disappointing note for Flash, but the overall standings made for positive reading as he accumulated 32 points to sit in fifth place, just five behind leader and Honda Yuasa team-mate Matt Neal.

The wheels on Shedden’s new car only turned for the first time a fortnight ago and after qualifying in seventh place, he was unable to make inroads towards the podium positions as he claimed 10 points for finishing in sixth, 5.8 seconds behind winner Rob Collard. But it was in race two that the biggest drama of the day unfolded as he snatched what seemed to be an unlikely win.

After making his way through the pack, race leader Jason Plato’s Volkswagen appeared comfortable with four laps to go but his car careered off the track with a puncture that allowed Shedden and Piraulx to battle for victory, with the latter squeezing into the lead before Flash wrestled it back.

Piraulx attacked Shedden on the final corner but a tap from the Guernsey driver sent both cars side by side towards the finish line but the Fifer held on for one of the most dramatic BTCC victories.

Shedden added, “This car is brand new, so to win in only its second race is incredible. Everybody at Honda and Team Dynamics bent over backwards to get the car there and I’m chuffed for them all.

“The new Civic Type R looks fantastic and now we’ve proved it goes pretty well too, and there’s plenty more still to come from this car.”