KNOCKHILL OFFERS SPECTACULAR VIEWS OF THE ICONIC FORTH BRIDGES MATT HOOPER
FIFE HAS LONG BEEN KNOWN AS THE HOME OF GOLF, BUT FOR NEARLY 50 YEARS IT HAS ALSO BEEN THE HOME OF SCOTTISH MOTORSPORT, WITH FARMERS FIELDS NORTH OF DUNFERMLINE BEING TURNED INTO A MECCA FOR MOTORSPORT LOVERS. TOM KINNAIRD HAD THE VISION TO TURN THE TRACK AND DISUSED RAILWAY LINE INTO A MOTORSPORT TRACK AND IN 1974 THE TRACK HELD ITS FIRST MOTORBIKES RACE.
OVER THE LAST 47 YEARS KNOCKHILL HAS GONE ON TO BECOME SYNONYMOUS WITH THE SPORT IN SCOTLAND, AND REGULARLY HOSTS THE BRITISH TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP, FIA FORMULA 4 BRITISH CHAMPIONSHIP, BRITISH SUPERBIKES AND THE KNOCKHILL MOTORSPORTS CLUB SUPERBIKES CHAMPIONSHIP. IN THE PAST IT STAGED FORMULA RENAULT 2.0 RACES WHICH SAW THE LIKES OF LEWIS HAMILTON RACE IN THE FIFE COUNTRYSIDE AT THE VERY BEGINNING OF HIS CAREER IN MOTORSPORT.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE RACES STAGED AT KNOCKHILL CHECK OUT https://www.knockhill.com/
OVER THE LAST 47 YEARS KNOCKHILL HAS GONE ON TO BECOME SYNONYMOUS WITH THE SPORT IN SCOTLAND, AND REGULARLY HOSTS THE BRITISH TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP, FIA FORMULA 4 BRITISH CHAMPIONSHIP, BRITISH SUPERBIKES AND THE KNOCKHILL MOTORSPORTS CLUB SUPERBIKES CHAMPIONSHIP. IN THE PAST IT STAGED FORMULA RENAULT 2.0 RACES WHICH SAW THE LIKES OF LEWIS HAMILTON RACE IN THE FIFE COUNTRYSIDE AT THE VERY BEGINNING OF HIS CAREER IN MOTORSPORT.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE RACES STAGED AT KNOCKHILL CHECK OUT https://www.knockhill.com/
THE KNOCKHILL INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT IS ONLY 1.27 MILES LONG MATT HOOPER
WHERE IS KNOCKHILL?
KNOCKHILL IS 6 MILES NORTH OF DUNFERMLINE IN FIFE
KNOCKHILL IS 6 MILES NORTH OF DUNFERMLINE IN FIFE
FORMULA 1 DRIVERS TO HAVE RACED AT KNOCKHILL SINCE 2000
LEWIS HAMILTON
LANDO NORRIS
Kimi Räikkönen
Paul di Resta
LEWIS HAMILTON
LANDO NORRIS
Kimi Räikkönen
Paul di Resta
THE CIRCUIT FEATURES A RARE UPHILL START-FINISH LINE MATT HOOPER
COULD KNOCKHILL HOST A FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX IN AN INDEPENDENT SCOTLAND?
JIM CLARK, SIR JACKIE STEWART and DAVID COULTHARD ARE SCOTLAND'S 3 MOST SUCCESSFUL FORMULA 1 DRIVERS, WITH 65 GRAND PRIX VICTORIES BETWEEN THEM, AND CLARK AND STEWART CLAIMED 5 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, MAKING SCOTLAND the 5th most successful nation in the history of the sport. SCOTLAND HAS MORE GRAND PRIX WINS THAN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AUSTRALIA, ITALY AND SPAIN, AND SCOTLAND'S 5 WORLD TITLES IS ONLY LESS THAN BRAZIL, GERMANY AND ENGLAND.
SCOTLAND IS WITHOUT A DOUBT THE MOST SUCCESSFUL NATION IN THE WORLD NOT TO HOST A FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX, SO COULD IT HAPPEN ONE DAY? MAYBE. SHOULD IT HAPPEN? YES. FOR A NATION OF JUST UNDER 6 MILLION PEOPLE SCOTLAND IS A SPORTING SUPERPOWER, HAVING PRODUCED SOME OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL ATHLETES ACROSS THE SPORTING SPECTRUM. FROM SIR CHRIS HOY TO SIR JACKIE STEWART, from CATRIONA MATTHEW TO ROSE REILLY, FROM OLD TOM MORRIS TO SANDY LYLE, FROM LIZ MCCOLGAN TO KATHERINE GRAINGER, FROM ALEX JAMES TO KENNY DALGLISH SCOTLAND HAS SOME OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL SPORTS MEN AND WOMEN THE WORLD HAS EVER SEEN.
SCOTLAND DESERVES TO STAGE AN ANNUAL EVENT OF THE GLOBAL SCALE OF A FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX.
BUT IT IS EXTREMELY UNLIKELY WHILST SCOTLAND REMAINS PART OF THE UK, WITH THE BRITISH GRAND PRIX THE FLAGSHIP EVENT OF THE SPORT IN THE UK, AND F1 LOOKING TO EXPAND INTO NEW MARKETS, PARTICULARLY THE US AND MIDDLE EAST. BUT IN A FUTURE WORLD WHERE SCOTLAND IS AN INDEPENDENT NATION IT IS VERY POSSIBLE SCOTLAND COULD REPLACE THE LIKES OF BAKU, AZERBAIJAN ON THE CALENDAR.
OF COURSE IF THIS DID HAPPEN I AM SURE THERE WOULD BE CALLS FOR A STREET CIRCUIT IN EDINBURGH, BUT THAT BRINGS ENORMOUS LOGISTICAL PROBLEMS FOR THE CITY OF EDINBURGH AND DOESN'T DELIVER A TRUE LEGACY FOR THE SPORT IN SCOTLAND. SO NATURALLY KNOCKHILL, AS THE EXISTING HOME OF SCOTTISH MOTORSPORT WOULD BE THE MOST SUITABLE VENUE.
BUT SEVERAL CHANGES WOULD NEED TO BE MADE TO ENABLE KNOCKHILL TO HOST AN EVENT OF THE SIZE OF A FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX. FIRSTLY, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, THE CIRCUIT WOULD NEED TO BE EXTENDED TO BRING IT INTO LINE WITH THE OTHER CIRCUITS ON THE CALENDAR. BELOW IS AN ILLUSTRATION OF THE KIND OF CHANGES THAT MAYBE COULD HAPPEN TO HELP ESTABLISH KNOCKHILL AS A FORMULA 1 , THE EXTENDED ROUTING IS MODELLED ON PART OF THE Nürburgring AND WOULD BE PARTIALLY ROUTED THROUGH THE NEARBY WOODLAND, GIVING THAT PART OF THE INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT AT KNOCKHILL A FEEL SIMILAR TO THE OLD CLASSIC TRACKS OF EUROPE.
THE EXISTING START/FINISH STRAIGHT WOULD BE REMODELLED TO DECREASE THE INCLINE, AND THE ENTIRE SPACE OUTSIDE THE TRACK WOULD BE ALSO REMODELLED TO ALLOW FOR TEMPORARY AND PERMANENT GRANDSTANDS, WITH A NEW, EXPANDED PIT LANE, PADDOCK AND MEDIA FACILITIES HAVING TO ALSO BE BUILT. EXISTING CORNERS SUCH AS CLARK'S WOULD REMAIN AND OVERALL THE EXISTING TRACK WOULD NOT CHANGE ASIDE FROM THE CHANGES TO THE START/FINISH STRAIGHT AND AN OVERALL WIDENING OF THE CURRENT TRACK.
JIM CLARK, SIR JACKIE STEWART and DAVID COULTHARD ARE SCOTLAND'S 3 MOST SUCCESSFUL FORMULA 1 DRIVERS, WITH 65 GRAND PRIX VICTORIES BETWEEN THEM, AND CLARK AND STEWART CLAIMED 5 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, MAKING SCOTLAND the 5th most successful nation in the history of the sport. SCOTLAND HAS MORE GRAND PRIX WINS THAN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AUSTRALIA, ITALY AND SPAIN, AND SCOTLAND'S 5 WORLD TITLES IS ONLY LESS THAN BRAZIL, GERMANY AND ENGLAND.
SCOTLAND IS WITHOUT A DOUBT THE MOST SUCCESSFUL NATION IN THE WORLD NOT TO HOST A FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX, SO COULD IT HAPPEN ONE DAY? MAYBE. SHOULD IT HAPPEN? YES. FOR A NATION OF JUST UNDER 6 MILLION PEOPLE SCOTLAND IS A SPORTING SUPERPOWER, HAVING PRODUCED SOME OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL ATHLETES ACROSS THE SPORTING SPECTRUM. FROM SIR CHRIS HOY TO SIR JACKIE STEWART, from CATRIONA MATTHEW TO ROSE REILLY, FROM OLD TOM MORRIS TO SANDY LYLE, FROM LIZ MCCOLGAN TO KATHERINE GRAINGER, FROM ALEX JAMES TO KENNY DALGLISH SCOTLAND HAS SOME OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL SPORTS MEN AND WOMEN THE WORLD HAS EVER SEEN.
SCOTLAND DESERVES TO STAGE AN ANNUAL EVENT OF THE GLOBAL SCALE OF A FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX.
BUT IT IS EXTREMELY UNLIKELY WHILST SCOTLAND REMAINS PART OF THE UK, WITH THE BRITISH GRAND PRIX THE FLAGSHIP EVENT OF THE SPORT IN THE UK, AND F1 LOOKING TO EXPAND INTO NEW MARKETS, PARTICULARLY THE US AND MIDDLE EAST. BUT IN A FUTURE WORLD WHERE SCOTLAND IS AN INDEPENDENT NATION IT IS VERY POSSIBLE SCOTLAND COULD REPLACE THE LIKES OF BAKU, AZERBAIJAN ON THE CALENDAR.
OF COURSE IF THIS DID HAPPEN I AM SURE THERE WOULD BE CALLS FOR A STREET CIRCUIT IN EDINBURGH, BUT THAT BRINGS ENORMOUS LOGISTICAL PROBLEMS FOR THE CITY OF EDINBURGH AND DOESN'T DELIVER A TRUE LEGACY FOR THE SPORT IN SCOTLAND. SO NATURALLY KNOCKHILL, AS THE EXISTING HOME OF SCOTTISH MOTORSPORT WOULD BE THE MOST SUITABLE VENUE.
BUT SEVERAL CHANGES WOULD NEED TO BE MADE TO ENABLE KNOCKHILL TO HOST AN EVENT OF THE SIZE OF A FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX. FIRSTLY, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, THE CIRCUIT WOULD NEED TO BE EXTENDED TO BRING IT INTO LINE WITH THE OTHER CIRCUITS ON THE CALENDAR. BELOW IS AN ILLUSTRATION OF THE KIND OF CHANGES THAT MAYBE COULD HAPPEN TO HELP ESTABLISH KNOCKHILL AS A FORMULA 1 , THE EXTENDED ROUTING IS MODELLED ON PART OF THE Nürburgring AND WOULD BE PARTIALLY ROUTED THROUGH THE NEARBY WOODLAND, GIVING THAT PART OF THE INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT AT KNOCKHILL A FEEL SIMILAR TO THE OLD CLASSIC TRACKS OF EUROPE.
THE EXISTING START/FINISH STRAIGHT WOULD BE REMODELLED TO DECREASE THE INCLINE, AND THE ENTIRE SPACE OUTSIDE THE TRACK WOULD BE ALSO REMODELLED TO ALLOW FOR TEMPORARY AND PERMANENT GRANDSTANDS, WITH A NEW, EXPANDED PIT LANE, PADDOCK AND MEDIA FACILITIES HAVING TO ALSO BE BUILT. EXISTING CORNERS SUCH AS CLARK'S WOULD REMAIN AND OVERALL THE EXISTING TRACK WOULD NOT CHANGE ASIDE FROM THE CHANGES TO THE START/FINISH STRAIGHT AND AN OVERALL WIDENING OF THE CURRENT TRACK.
OTHER NECESSARY CHANGES WHICH WOULD NEED TO BE MADE WOULD INVOLVE THE CREATION OF PARKING FACILITIES AND SPACE FOR ADDITIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE, IN ADDITION THERE WOULD NEED TO BE A PUBLIC TRANSPORT ROUTE PUT IN PLACE TO SERVE KNOCKHILL, AS CURRENTLY THERE ISN'T ONE. OF COURSE FOR THIS TO HAPPEN THERE WOULD NEED TO BE MAJOR INVESTMENT EITHER FROM THE STATE, A PRIVATE INVESTOR OR BOTH, AS CHANGES ON THIS MAGNITUDE ARE LIKELY TO COST IN EXCESS OF £500 MILLION. BUT SURELY THE BENEFITS WOULD BE HUGE FOR MOTORSPORT IN SCOTLAND, THE LOCAL ECONOMY AND SCOTLAND ON THE GLOBAL STAGE.
