Bumper thrills
Crowds enjoy BTCC visit to Knockhill as rally crews battle in Grampian forests
BOSSES at Knockhill were delighted to welcome back crowds for the visit of the British Touring Car Championship last weekend.
With Covid restrictions lifted, motorsport fans were able to enjoy plenty of thrills and spills during one of the major highlights of the Fife circuit’s calendar.
And Scots drivers were in the thick of the BTCC action on their home track, which also included F4, Ginetta, Porsche Carrera and MINI competitions.
Events director Stuart Gray said: “The whole team at Knockhill would like to send a huge thank you to everyone who made the 2021 BTCC race meeting so memorable.
“The pandemic has effected everyone around the world in so many different ways and, for us, the last two seasons have been so challenging – primarily because we’ve not had fans at race meetings.
“But the weekend was so special and emotional – and not only for everyone involved, as the feedback from the spectators has shown us just how much they missed coming, too.
“And that’s not only to see such quality racing but also just to get back to some degree of normality and experience going to an event again.
“For everyone involved, it was a giant feeling of relief mixed with excitement and it was just so great to see so many smiles on the fans’ faces and Saltires flying high again all around the venue.”
A trio of title protagonists took the honours, with Team BMW’s Colin
Turkington claiming a commanding lights-to-flag win in the opener, earning West Surrey Racing its 100th BTCC victory in the process.
Reigning champion Ash Sutton struck back to triumph in race two as he forced long-time leader Turkington into a minor last-lap mistake.
Tom Ingram arguably saved the best until last as he produced a standout move to secure success in the final encounter around the 1.3-mile circuit.
Meanwhile, Scots racers Aiden Moffat, Gordon Shedden and Rory Butcher all took valuable points in the first contest, finishing seventh, eighth and ninth respectively.
And the day kept getting better for Shedden, as he pressed on to fifth and then fourth-place finishes in the remaining races, while Moffat bagged seventh place in the finale.
Unfortunately, Butcher crashed out of race two and finished outside the points in the third clash.
The MINI CHALLENGE races saw Dan Zelos claim a brace of victories, with Scot Jack Davidson topping the podium in the third race.
He had earlier finished with a fine second place in race two, while fellow Scot Joe Tanner had grabbed the final podium spot in the opener.
Meanwhile, a stellar line-up of 120 rally crews were battling it out for British and Scottish championship honours in the Banchory-based Grampian Forest Stages.
And Matthew Wilson, with Elliott
Edmondson on the notes, enjoyed a convincing BRC victory – his first in the championship since 2005.
The M-Sport chief test driver took three stage wins out of six in the pair’s Ford Fiesta Rally2 and, after opening up an early advantage on the first stage, never relinquished the lead.
In the end, the duo won the 44 miles of competitive action by a comfortable 20 seconds from the Volkswagen Polo GTi crew of Osian Pryce and Noel O’Sullivan.
Rhys Yates wrestled with pop-off valve issues in his Michelin-backed Fiesta Rally2 to finish 18 seconds shy of Pryce to round out the top three, with James Morgan as co-pilot.
It was the BRC’s first visit to the area in almost 30 years and, afterwards, Wilson said: “It’s a great rally and we are really pleased with that result. I enjoyed it all to be honest.
“With the pace of the BRC, you certainly have no time to bed yourself into these super stages. You’ve really just got to go for it and that’s what we did.”
The National Rally Title battle also saw a new winner as Berwickshire driver Garry Pearson and Niall Burns took their maiden category victory in a Skoda Fabia R5.
Their impressive sixth-place finish overall also meant they took maximum points in the Scottish Rally Championship.
Leading the SRC contenders all the way to the final stage, Jock Armstrong and Cammy Fair suffered a puncture late on and the Fiesta Rally2 crew finished second.
Fiesta R5 pair Freddie Milne and Jamie Edwards took the third podium step in the Scottish contest after a storming run in the closing stages.
Elsewhere, Dumfriesshire’s Ross Wylie and SB Racing team-mate Paul Bailey gave Brabham’s BT62 a historic first overall GT Cup Championship race victory in a thrilling endurance conte at Silverstone – much to the delight o a spectating David Brabham, the youngest son of triple F1 World Champion Sir Jack.
Wylie said: “Scoring Brabham’s maiden ‘customer’ outright race win with the BT62 is something very special.
“The fact that the race was staged o the Grand Prix circuit makes it more exceptional as it’s where Jack Brabha won the 1960 British Grand Prix.”
On two wheels, Scot Tarran Mackenzie now sits in second place i the British Superbike Championship after impressive first and third place finishes at Donington Park.
The McAMS Yamaha rider said: “It was awesome to get my second win o the season, I felt really dominant in t race, probably the best I’ve ever felt o the bike.”
The series heads to Cadwell Park in Lincolnshire this weekend, where Perth’s Rory Skinner hopes to do wel
Overseas, West Lothian’s Paul Di Resta will compete in the famous Le Mans 24 Hours – having won it last year – on board a United Autosports LMP2 Oreca 07.
The experienced Scot said: “There’s going to be a lot of pressure given ou win last year and with this year’s line-up looking so strong, but I’m looking forward to that challenge and take it as a positive.”
Joining the fray for a sixth time wil be Airdrie’s Ryan Dalziel racing a similar machine for IDEC Sport/Era Motorsport and he said: “I can’t wait get the race started.”
And Midlothian’s Colin Noble will once again partner Tony Wells in a Nielsen Racing LMP3 Ligier JS P320 i the two 55-minute supporting Road t Le Mans races.
The pair are right in the hunt for th Michelin Le Mans Cup, just two point shy of the series leaders.