The iconic Knockhill circuit awaits WSR and BMW this weekend as the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship makes its annual trip north of the border to Scotland.
With Jake Hill riding high in the Drivers’ Championship and BMW occupying the second spot in the Manufacturers’ points, they seek a record 10th title and there is plenty at stake at the hillside track near Dunfermline.
Hill is set to reach a milestone moment in his BTCC career as Race Two is set to be the Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport driver’s 250th start in the UK’s premier series. He is aiming to use it to strengthen his bid for the title.
The Kent-racer holds second place in the Drivers’ Championship thanks to five wins already in 2024 and is only 21 points away from the top spot with 12 races to go.
Knockhill was the scene of his first BTCC win in 2019, a 59-point weekend haul (from a potential 67) in 2022 and a double success last year, including an imperious wet-weather drive, making the #24 as one of the drivers to beat at the track.
Team BMW’s Colin Turkington was the fastest driver at Croft last time out as he set pole position and won Race One, but the four-time champion suffered poor results in the subsequent races.
The Northern Irishman has a strong record at Knockhill however with three wins and 20 top-three finishes there including podium doubles in three consecutive years from 2020-22 in the BMW 330i M Sport and its hybrid successor, the 330e M Sport.
Adam Morgan is a two-time podium-finisher at Knockhill and looked likely to win in the wet last year before contact ruled him out of victory.
The Lancashire racer produced one of the drives of the weekend at Croft as he stormed through from the penultimate row of the Race-Three grid to finish ninth and aims to summon all his speed as he aims to score a maiden Knockhill win on Sunday.
Jake Hill, Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport, said: “Croft was incredibly frustrating, but that’s in the past now and our full focus is on Knockhill. I took my first win here, had some of my best-ever weekends in the BTCC here too and I’ll be aiming for another like that this time. It’s quite funny to think that I’m about to hit 250 races in the BTCC. Every year’s been a building year and right now I feel I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been to win the championship and have the best car and people around me to help me achieve that.
Colin Turkington, Team BMW, said: “Knockhill is one of those tracks that always feels like a bit of a second home to me. I went to University in Scotland, so I feel pretty connected here and the welcome is always incredibly warm from the fans. Despite the disappointment of what happened at Croft, the big positive is that we were really quick and if we can get the BMW performing as well as that this weekend, there’s no reason why we can’t be in for a big points score, which will feel even more useful right now as we get towards the business end of the season.”
Adam Morgan, Team BMW, said: “Knockhill’s an amazing place. It’s one of those tracks where you can gain so much time by really attacking, but if you attack just a tiny bit too much then it can blow your laptime, so you’re always right on a knife-edge. That makes it so much fun to drive and fantastic for the fans, who feel closer to the track here than anywhere else. The target is to regain our early-season qualifying form and use that to lead us onto the podium, which should be achievable as the big acceleration zones should suit the BMW very well.”
Dick Bennetts, Team Principal, said: “It’s been a very big job to get three cars ready for Knockhill as we sustained a lot of damage at the hands of other drivers at Croft and because the sheer distance between our base and Knockhill means we have to start transporting the cars a day earlier than on a normal race week. The team at WSR have done a fantastic job in double-quick time to get the BMWs ready and we’ll aim to see them rewarded for their efforts with podiums and hopefully wins as we continue to push for the Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ titles.”
