When was the track built?

Local farmer Tom Kinnaird began cutting a hillside ribbon in 1972, linking it to a disused mineral railway to form a tight, rising-and-falling lap. The 1.3 mile course opened in September 1974 and quickly gained status as Scotland’s national motorsport centre. Elevation change is around 60 m from lowest to highest points.

When was its first race?

The venue’s first race meeting was a motorcycle event in 1974, with the first car race on 18 May 1975. Through the 1980s and 1990s the circuit grew into a BTCC and BSB mainstay.

What's the circuit like?

• Duffus Dip: The downhill, blind right at T1 is one of the UK’s most intimidating entries - miss the crest by a metre and you’re wide at McIntyres.
• Kerb commitment: Butchers and the Chicane reward precise kerb use without unsettling the car over the compressions.
• Launch zones: Clarks onto Railway Straight and the uphill Taylors Hairpin create Knockhill’s best passing chances.
• Two ways to race: Running the track anti-clockwise flips reference points and loadings, giving teams effectively a second circuit.
• Benchmark pace: BSB race lap 0:47.126 (2022). BTCC NGTC benchmark 0:50.876 (Ashley Sutton, 2020). Sprint outright 0:41.880 (Hillclimb-spec single-seater).

Lap records and benchmarks (by series)

• BSB Superbike (race lap): 0:47.126 - Rory Skinner, 2022.
• BTCC NGTC (race lap): 0:50.876 - Ashley Sutton, Infiniti Q50, 2020.
• Porsche Carrera Cup GB (race lap): 0:48.594 - Gus Burton, 2023.
• British F4 (race lap): 0:48.216 - William Macintyre, 2023.
• Anti-clockwise sprint outright: 0:42.940 - Heather Calder, 2018.

Why go?

A compact amphitheatre with huge sightlines and constant action. Short laps compress the field, the hairpin breeds late-brake heroics and the place oozes character when BTCC and BSB roll into Scotland. With the twin-direction format, you can watch two very different race days at the same venue.

Where's the best place to watch?

• Duffus Dip (T1): Starts and restarts plunge into a blind, downhill apex - pure commitment.
• McIntyres to Butchers: See who balances rotation and kerb usage through the technical mid-sector.
• Clarks exit and Railway Straight: Traction matters - it sets up the dive into Taylors.
• Taylors Hairpin: The signature uphill stop - passes, cutbacks and photo finishes onto the line.

Not just one series: headline events at Knockhill

BTCC: Touring cars on the 2.0389 km International course with elbows-out racing into Taylors.

BSB: Superbikes showcase bravery over the crests and compressions - one of the calendar’s most dramatic rounds.

SMRC, Porsche Carrera Cup GB, British F4, TCR UK: Deep national grids keep the calendar packed, plus Super Lap Scotland and sprints reset class records annually.