Scotland's hidden gem: Knockhill is one of the world's best tracks

BTCC always serves up argy-bargy, especially around this tricky track Amid a sea of better-appreciated and well-appointed UK race tracks, Knockhill has a knack for holding its own. It is Scotland’s only FIA-approved track and is notorious for its narrow, complicated and steeply undulating twists and turns – and this coming weekend, it will host the seventh round of this season’s BTCC. I can’t wait. I think of it as the UK’s Laguna Seca: one of its corners, Duffus Dip, has a sharp downward gradient much like the Californian track’s Corkscrew. If you’ve never driven on it before, you will begin each lap with blind faith before negotiating the steep, unforgiving kerbs and tight turns that can make or break victory. It has taken a while to get here. Back in the early 1970s, a sheep farmer called Tom Kinnaird had a bold vision for a race track – and a digger in his shed. He carved out what would become Scotland’s answer to the Nürburgring or Spa-Francorchamps, albeit on a slightly smaller scale. The circuit complex would be made up of old farm service roads and a disused mineral railway that closed in the early 1950s. By 1974, there lay a snaking, undulating ribbon of asphalt that dips and rises by around 60 metres from the track’s highest point to its lowest. The first race was held in 1975 and, thanks to a large catchment area that includes both Edinburgh and Glasgow, it proved as popular as it was profitable. By the time it was inaugurated into the BTCC calendar in 1992, Knockhill had become one of Britain’s best-known race tracks. I grew up watching BTCC racers there with my dad. It’s where I learned to appreciate the skill required for drivers to pound round at the limit, and it’s where I found out anyone could drive their car on a track – whether it was a new BMW M5 or a ratty Renault Clio. It’s also where I got a first taste of on-track driving and the techniques required to do so, from left-foot braking to the trusty heel-and-toe gearshift. I drove a Honda Civic Type R and a single-seat racer, despite the fact that the fastest car I had experienced at that point was a diesel BMW 1 Series. Quite the unforgettable day. But something else makes Knockhill memorable: its totally unvarnished, down-to-earth honesty: the greasy pit lanes are always open to the public; the track inspection and cleaning vehicle is nothing more than a rag attached to the back of a Ford Transit; tired old Mitsubishi pick-ups are used for on-circuit maintenance; there are two very earthy eateries; there’s a pervading year-round wind chill; and the camaraderie between drivers on a public track day makes for a fantastic atmosphere. Look at it this way: last year, I interviewed every BTCC driver and asked them what their favourite track was and, ignoring Silverstone or Brands Hatch, more than half of them chose the plucky, damp Scottish circuit. Quite telling, that.

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Scotland's hidden gem: Knockhill is one of the world's best tracks

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