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| Home of Scottish Motor Racing | |
|---|---|
 | |
 All circuit layouts from 2018 | |
| Location | Fife, Scotland |
| Coordinates | 56°7′43.90″N3°30′12.68″W / 56.1288611°N 3.5035222°W /56.1288611; -3.5035222 |
| FIA Grade | 3[a] |
| Opened | September 1974; 51 years ago (1974-09) |
| Major events | Current: BTCC (1992–2002, 2004–present) BSB (1996–2019, 2021–present) Former: British GT (2001–2003, 2005, 2008–2010) TCR UK (2018, 2023) British F3 (2001–2005) |
| Website | https://www.knockhill.com/ |
| Clockwise International Circuit (1974–present) | |
| Length | 2.0389 km (1.2669 mi) |
| Turns | 9 |
| Race lap record | 0:41.880 ( Heather Calder,Gould GR55, 2018, British Sprint Championship) |
| Anti-clockwise International Circuit (1974–present) | |
| Length | 2.0389 km (1.2669 mi) |
| Turns | 9 |
| Race lap record | 0:42.940 ( Heather Calder,Gould GR55, 2018, British Sprint Championship) |
| National Circuit (1974–present) | |
| Length | 1.609 km (1.000 mi) |
| Turns | 10 |
| Tri-Oval Circuit (1974–present) | |
| Length | 0.482 km (0.300 mi) |
| Turns | 3 |
Knockhill Racing Circuit is amotor racing circuit inFife, Scotland. It opened in September 1974 and is Scotland's nationalmotorsport centre. The circuit is in the countryside about 6-mile (9.7 km) north ofDunfermline. It is the onlyFIA-approved circuit in Scotland.
The circuit opened in September 1974.[1] It was created by joining service roads to a nearby disused mineral railway, closed in 1951, which had served Lethans Colliery. The first car race was held on 18 May 1975.[2]
Between 1974 and 1983 the circuit had several owners, who helped to steadily develop the circuit's facilities and attractions.[3][4] Derek Butcher became the owner in 1984[5] and since then Knockhill has been developed to a point where it is able to host rounds of most of the major British car and motorbike championships. The circuit hosted a round of theBritish Touring Car Championships for twelve years until the deal ended in 2002 with the promoters seeking infrastructure upgrades.[6] Knockhill made improvements and the touring car series returned to Knockhill in 2004 with ITV televising the event live.[7][8][9] TheBritish Formula Three Championship andBritish GT Championship returned to Knockhill in May 2005.[9]
In 2008 Knockhill named a cornerLeslie's Bend in honour of the racing-car driverDavid Leslie shortly after his death in a small jet-aircraft accident atFarnborough.[10]
In 2012 the circuit restarted racing and track days in the anti-clockwise direction.[11] It gained a licence for motorbikes and cars to compete in both directions, the first racing circuit to achieve that in the UK in modern times.[12] As of 2025[update] the circuit has an FIA grade 3 licence, the only circuit in Scotland issued with a licence by the FIA at this time.[13]
The circuit has three layouts, the 1.300 mi (2.092 km) International layout with 9 corners, the 1.000 mi (1.609 km) National layout with 10 corners and the 0.300 mi (0.483 km) tri-oval. On all layouts the circuit is 10 m (33 ft) wide[14] and has a total elevation change of 37 m (121 ft).
A lap of Knockhill, beginning at the start line (which unusually for a motor-racing circuit is at a different point from the finish line. Whilst the start line is roughly in the middle of the pit straight, the finish line is slightly to the west, towards the final corner), first involves passing over the crest, which marks the highest point of the circuit. The circuit then levels out and passes under the pedestrian bridge before a short braking zone preceding the first of the nine corners,Duffus Dip, a fast, blind apexed downhill right-hand corner widely regarded as one of the most challenging corners in the United Kingdom. At the foot of this decline is a quick left-hand corner namedLeslie's,[10] followed swiftly by a tricky braking zone, owing to vehicles possibly still being unsettled from the levelling out of the track through Leslie's, for the next corner, a ninety-degree right-hand bend namedMcIntyre's.
After the exit ofMcIntyre's there is a short straight leading to the next corner, a shallow right-hand corner namedButcher's. After this the track dips downward (reaching the lowest point of the circuit) before rising fairly steeply towards another very challenging corner.The Chicane is a challenge because the second, right-hand part of the corner is completely blind and drivers do not see the apex of the second part until after they have turned in and it is this combined with the presence of a sausage kerb on the inside of the track to deter corner cutting that results in vehicles often going through the chicane on two wheels (and occasionally off the ground completely). After a run down the short back straight comes the next corner,Clark's, a blind uphill right hander, frequently the scene of vehicles getting onto two wheels and/or running wide into the gravel on the outside of the corner. Fairly quickly following this is a corner now namedHislop's but previously namedRailway, with reference to the fact that it is this section of the track that runs along the location of the old railway line. This corner is a left-handed kink taken at relatively high speeds.
Then comes the second-longest straight of the circuit, also named Railway, where vehicles often slipstream one another in preparation for the heaviest braking zone, belonging to the ninth and final corner.Taylor's is a hairpin corner that is one of the tightest found anywhere in the UK. It has an uphill apex, is arguably the best overtaking point of the circuit and was previously known as theReal Radio Hairpin for sponsorship reasons. LeavingTaylor's vehicles accelerate hard on the partly uphill pit straight towards the finish line.
The circuit hosts different events throughout the year, with the main points usually being the annual rounds of theBritish Touring Car Championship andBritish Superbike Championship. There are also lesser events such as the monthly meetings of the Scottish Motor Racing Club, Knockhill Motor Sports Club and Super Lap Scotland and regulartrackdays for cars and bikes.[15] Some events are exclusive to the circuit, such as legend racing and theScottish Formula Ford Championship races.[citation needed] Highlights of these events are televised as part of a show onMotors TV.[16]The circuit has on-site parking for 3,000 cars located in the areas south of Taylor's hairpin, Hislop's, Clark's and the Chicane.[6]
Knockhill offers a range of motorsport facilities. In addition to the main circuit it has a concreterally stage to the south of the hairpin, a 500-metre longkarting circuit located east of the main paddock area, a skid pan to the east of the karting circuit and an offroad course located to the north of the main circuit. There is also another offroading course in the main circuit's infield, which is now used for Rallycross events following its re-profiling in 2019.[17]
The main circuit offers track-driving experiences using a choice ofFerrari F430,Aston Martin Vantage,Legend race car,Honda Civic Type Rs andAudi-powered,Van Diemen single-seater formula cars.[15] The rally stage can be used for a rally driving experience in modifiedFord Fiestas, the skid pan for a skid-control driving experience in a number of different cars, and the offroad course using aJeep Wrangler. The circuit offers motorsport taster days for people with disabilities,[18] as well as a driving experience for those too young to legally drive on the public roads usingFord Fiestas.[19]
The circuit was the location forKaiser Chiefs' "Hole in My Soul" music video, part of theirStay Together album,[20] and appears in several video games, includingProject CARS 2,Colin McRae: Dirt and some of the games in theTOCA series. It appeared on television in Episode 7 of Series 8 of the British motoring programmeTop Gear[21] and the first episode ofIdris Elba: No Limits.[22] The track also appeared inThe Grand Tour presents: Lochdown, where the track is featured in a series of time trials performed by the presenters.[23]
As of August 2025, the fastest official race lap records at the Knockhill Circuit are listed as:[24][25]
