This weekend promises to be special for motor racing fans as Knockhill circuit celebrates 30 years of the British Touring Car Championship.
The 30-round competition has featured Knockhill as one of its 10 circuits continuously since 1992 and fans have contributed photographs from over the years and they will feature in the programme for the 2022 event which takes place over Saturday and Sunday.
Advance ticket sales suggest there could be a record crowd with around 16,000 enthusiasts gathering at the circuit over the weekend to watch the 29 drivers battle it out over three separate races with a total of 72 laps.
Family members Rory and Gordon will go head to head
As well as the top drivers in the UK and some of the most competitive teams and cars, this year there are no fewer than four Scots in the line-up.
Leading the points is Rory Butcher, who’ll be glad to be back at his home circuit in his Toyota Corolla GR Sport, along with brother-in-law Gordon Shedden who is lying only five points behind him in the championship standings in his Honda Civic Type R.
Further down the table are Midlothian’s Aiden Moffat and 19-year-old Dexter Patterson from Glasgow who’ll be aiming to score valuable points in their Infiniti Q50s for the Livingston-based Laser Tools Racing team.
For the first time, fans will be able to see how the drivers use the hybrid electric boost which was introduced this year to replace the former ballast handicap system.
Drivers are allowed up to 15 seconds of the 30 hp boost in each lap so they have to decide when they call on it, for the best advantage to defend or attack, although the hybrid element can be a bit of a distraction, says Rory Butcher.
“You have to be strategic because when it’s gone there’s no more available,” he says. “It would be good to have even more extra power and that would certainly spice things up.”
Joys of driving the home circuit
This year has seen Rory racing even closer to brother-in-law Shedden.
“It’s always a bit weird racing door-to-door with him and sometimes I wonder if we’ll be speaking to each other at the end of the race.
“It’s a unique experience to race alongside another family member but whatever happens, we always have Christmas dinner together.”
Rory’s father, Derek, established Knockhill many years ago and it has always been part of his life.
I do get an extra spring in my step in front of the Scottish crowd
“It’s great to race at Knockhill and get to sleep in my own bed before the race. The home support is massive and it’s wonderful walking through the paddock and getting patted on the back by well-wishers,” he says.
“It always amuses me when the other drivers complain about having to travel up here for the Scottish round but the four Scots have to travel long distances to all the other circuits the rest of the time.”
Gordon Shedden is married to Rory’s sister Jillian, who is managing director of Knockhill, and he also knows the circuit like the back of his hand. But that doesn’t give him any great advantage over the other drivers, he says.
“Every professional racing driver knows every circuit but I do get an extra spring in my step in front of the Scottish crowd.
“Of course, I mix with Rory on the track all the time but we’re racing for ourselves and our teams who work hard to get the results. Rory may look baby-faced but he is very experienced.”
Support races promise some action
As well as the touring car action, there are support races featuring several Scottish drivers in the Mini Challenge while 15-year-old Oliver Stewart from Beauly will be competing in a single-seater racing car in F4.
In his first year, he has attracted a lot of attention and support from Scottish business and has been having training sessions at Knockhill.
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There are practice sessions and qualifying for all the classes on Saturday with the first race on Sunday just after 9 o’clock.
There will also be live TV coverage on ITV4 throughout the day and for the first time on STV for three hours in the afternoon.
Hello Race Week! 👋
The summer break is over and we're raring to go at Knockhill this weekend 🥳#BTCC pic.twitter.com/iIMFShrw6Y
— BTCC (@BTCC) July 25, 2022
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