The British GT At Knockhill (Part 1)

I’m fairly confident in saying that whilst this is certainly not the last time I’ll be attending the British GT as it was some bloody brilliant motorsport (GT3 and a couple of GT4 cars in case any of you were paying attention or were actually there), I can safely say that it’s the last time I’ll be heading up North at 4.30 in the morning to get there on time for the test laps.

Whilst being one of the hardcore few to arrive on time, the fact of being up for 17 hours straight was a pretty painful one, especially the brandy – but more on that later.  The journey up to Knockhill (it’s in Scotland for those of you unfamiliar with the race circuit) was a largely uneventful one, barring a stop at a nice little Little Chef – with a wonderful waitress whom I have now forgotten the name of (yes, I’m actually James May).

Having stopped for breakfast, my friend and I decided to consult the timetable for today’s proceedings, to discover that there were various races throughout the day including the eponymous British GT, the Legends, a VW race featuring a wide variety of cars (though all equalised via power-to-weight), stock cars, single seaters and more.  All in all, something for everyone really – on a great circuit to boot.

Getting there just on time, we saw some of the British GT cars screeching around the track on a warm-up session.  Seeing the Ferraris, a very rare Ascari, a Dodge Viper and even a Ford GT was bloody brilliant.  The Ford GT in particular is far more handsome (note not beautiful) a car in the flesh than it ever could look when seen on television.

Whilst Knockhill is a short circuit compared to some others, it offers a nice blend of straights and corners.  When I arrived, I positioned myself by the Real Radio Hairpin turn – it was great to see the cars screeching their brakes, slamming down a few gears then tearing up the start finish straight.  It’s probably worth mentioning the weather at this point – it was amazingly hot.  A great day for racing, or rather lounging around as others do the hard work!

Next were more buildup and qualifying events for the VW race and the single seaters.  I particularly enjoyed seeing the new VW Scirocco out on the track – it proved to be a nimble performer that had quite a good presence on track, despite being a smaller car.

Look out for part 2 – coming this weekend!  Enjoy the photos of the day below!

Look at the Ferrari tackling that turn!

A Dodge Viper set for the race.  I’m not normally a car fan, but for some reason seeing this at the British GT at Knockhill made me really, really want one.