BTCC Preview: Knockhill

Credit: BTCC

The British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) returns this weekend as the drivers head to the challenging Knockhill circuit as the championship heads north of the border and into Scotland.

Another massively successful outing at Thruxton for NAPA Racing UK’s Ash Sutton allows him to remain in a dominant position when considering the overall championship standings, with Team VERTU’s Tom Ingram chasing him down in second. PMR’s Mikey Doble continues to lead the Independents standings, ahead of WSR’s Daryl DeLeon

Two major headlines take centre stage heading into the annual Scottish round at Knockhill. Nick Halstead returns to the championship, racing a fourth PMR Audi; it marks his return after leaving at the end of the 2025 season. 

Secondly, Team VERTU, along with Ricky Collard, confirmed they had reached an agreement allowing Collard to continue with the team for the next three race weekends with the team. 

This comes after extensive speculation surrounding budget issues for the former British GT champion, hinting that the team already have a driver lined up to replace him for the remaining two weekends at Silverstone and Brands Hatch.

The announcement will certainly come as welcome news for many fans due to the competitive and unique experience Collard brings to the BTCC; he currently sits fifth in the overall standings.

Last season’s trip to Knockhill saw two wins for Jake Hill as well as victory in Race 2 for Ingram, marking a track for the double BTCC champion to certainly look to close down the gap to Sutton in the standings. 

All three BMW’s performed well last season, locking out the top three in qualifying, and one can certainly watch out for DeLeon and Charles Rainford this weekend, as well as newcomer Lewis Gilbert, who heads to his home track for his second weekend in the championship. 

It will certainly be an important weekend for all the Scottish drivers, including Gilbert, Aiden Moffat, Dexter Patterson and Gordon Shedden.

The track

Credit: BTCC

Following the unique challenge of Thruxton, Knockhill presents an opposite, but equally unique and challenging track for the drivers to attack this weekend. 

The track includes three blind corners: Duffus Dip, the chicane and Clark’s. Furthermore, overtaking at Knockhill is never easy, with the hairpin posing as the best option, but other opportunities will present themselves to the drivers who are willing to take risks on the tight Knockhill circuit.

Recent track upgrades have seen the sausage kerbs removed at the chicane; whether this will remain for BTCC is yet to be seen, but it will certainly pose a significant change in approach to the corner, which is key for achieving an optimal lap time. 

Schedule

Track action for the BTCC gets underway with Free Practice at 10:30 local time (BST) on Saturday, followed by qualifying and the qualifying race at 14:00 and 15:05 respectively. Sunday brings the usual three races at 11:15, 14:15 and 17:20.

Support action this weekend includes the Mini Challenge, the Porsche Sprint Challenge GB, the Caterham Seven Championship UK and finally the Scottish Legends Championship returns, which is likely to produce some excellent action across the weekend.

Edited by Vyas Ponnuri