The BTCC is back in action as it makes its annual trip north of the border and the action is bound to be fast and frantic with 31 cars racing around the tight and undulating circuit.
Look for the championship to tighten-up again as Colin Turkington will have an 8 place grid penalty for race 1, putting him back in the danger zone of the mid-field. Jason Plato has seemingly already written-off his chances this weekend saying that the MG is unsuited to the circuit, and the Honda drivers are sure to be quick with the excellent chassis of their Civics (will Matt Neal finally win his first race of the season?). Also expect some fireworks from Rob Collard, who'll be starting from the back of the grid.
2014 marks the 40th anniversary of Knockhill's opening and the 50th anniversaries of Jim Clark's BTCC championship win and the opening of the Forth Road Bridge. In celebration, there will be a parade of ex-Clark and current Scot-driven BTCC cars crossing the bridge on Thursday and an on-track display on Sunday.
There might be another race going on in Belgium at the same time, but I'm sure many people will have their eyes glued to the tin-tops instead. The only worrying thing is that some of the support series teams might decide that the event is "too far away" and we'll get an even more pitiful entry than last time at Snetterton.
Code:
Circuit length: 1.2669 miles
No. of laps: 3x 24
Race distance: 3x 30.4056 miles
Races held: 52
First race: 26/07/1992
First race on current layout: 26/07/1992
Lap record: 0:52.888, Andrew Jordan, Honda Civic 2KC, 2013
2013 Winners:
Race 1: Colin Turkington
Race 2: Colin Turkington
Race 3: Andrew Jordan
All-time Winners:
Drivers:
8: Jason Plato
4: Matt Neal
3: Alain Menu, Rickard Rydell, Anthony Reid, Darren Turner, Gordon Shedden, Rob Collard
2: Frank Biela, Fabrizio Giovanardi, Colin Turkington
1: Jeff Allam, Tim Harvey, John Cleland, Julian Bailey, Steve Soper, John Bintcliffe, Derek Warwick, Laurent Aiello, Gabriele Tarquini, Simon Graves, Andy Priaulx, Yvan Muller, Mat Jackson, Tom Chilton, Tom Boardman, Dave Newsham, Andrew Jordan
Manufacturers:
10: Vauxhall, Honda
8: SEAT
6: BMW
3: Audi, Ford, MG, Chevrolet
2: Renault, Volvo, Nissan
1: Toyota
Championship Standings:
1. Colin Turkington 279
2. Gordon Shedden 256
3. Jason Plato 236
4. Andrew Jordan 201
5. Rob Collard 184
6. Mat Jackson 173
7. Matt Neal 161
8. Sam Tordoff 138
9. Árón Smith 125
10. Adam Morgan 97
Timetable
Live Timing
Live Circuit Commentary/Direct link
Live Stream
