SCOTLAND’S KNOCKHILL CIRCUIT SET FOR BUMPER BTCC WEEKEND
The countdown has begun! There are less than three weeks
to go before the spectacular Knockhill circuit in Fife, Scotland
plays host to Britain’s biggest and most exciting motor
racing spectacle – the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car
Championship – on Sunday 28 August.
The BTCC’s annual arrival at Knockhill marks Scotland’s
biggest motor racing event of the year. The racing will be
filmed by ITV1 and shown the following weekend nationwide.
Recently, more than 1.5 million people have been tuning into
watch the BTCC action. The circuit itself is looking forward
to a bumper crowd.
And tensions are bound to be high at Knockhill as the BTCC
title race enters its final stages – this is the eighth
of ten race meetings in 2005. Team Halfords Honda driver Matt
Neal currently leads the standings, but he is only 16 points
ahead of Vauxhall’s Yvan Muller. Neal’s team-mate
Dan Eaves is not too far behind and with the likes of SEAT
superstar Jason Plato – a winner at Knockhill 12 months
ago – also in the mix, anything could happen.
In addition, Vauxhall driver Colin Turkington will very much
see this as a home event – the 23-year-old might hail
from Northern Ireland, but nearby Stirling is without doubt
his second home having spent the last five years of his life
studying at the city’s university.
“If you were to take a pen and a piece of paper and
dream up your ideal BTCC circuit, then it would probably look
something like Knockhill,” says BTCC Series Director
Alan Gow. “The place is full of character and its hills
and off-camber corners provide the drivers with a real rollercoaster
ride and a huge test of nerves. They love the place. Then
there is the fabulous scenery that surrounds the circuit with
the wonderful Forth Road Bridge in the distance on one side
and the surrounding Scottish countryside on the other. And
there’s also the nearby Edinburgh Festival to explore.
“Knockhill is a fantastic sporting venue for Scotland.
Its natural gradients mean that spectator viewing is probably
the best of any of the circuits on the BTCC calendar. The
circuit never fails to conjure up some of the season’s
most dramatic racing and, with the BTCC title race reaching
a crucial stage, tensions will be running extra high so the
crowds are in for a very exciting day.”
The BTCC’s stars will be in race action three times
at Knockhill on 28 August. Crowds will be able to meet the
drivers for autographs during the BTCC’s hugely popular
Pit Lane Walkabout session. A Drivers Parade around the circuit
will also be held. In addition to the BTCC, there will be
eight more races from the high-profile supporting race championships
run by prestige motor manufacturers BMW, Porsche, Renault
and SEAT
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