Knockhill Motor Sports Club and Scottish Championship bike racing returns to Knockhill this weekend (6/7 June), for rounds 6 to 10 (5 & 6 SACU) of the 2015 season; with the action set to take place on the Knockhill Reverse Circuit.
Up to 100 of the best bike racers in Scotland will go head-to-head on the second Knockhill track configuration – The Reverse Circuit – which offers a completely different challenge for competitors to that of the traditional International (clockwise) track, despite being run on the same piece of tarmac.
The track has been in operation for a number of years now and will be used at two of the four bike race meetings this year. As expected, the Reverse track has its fans, whilst others prefer the International Circuit, and that preference can be sometimes be seen in the race results on the Reverse Circuit – with the leading riders sometimes not figuring as prominently as they do on the International track. That provides an opportunity for other riders to challenge for podium positions and adds an extra competitiveness to the racing action.
This weekend will see six Championship classes take to the track, on both Saturday and Sunday, for five races each – with 2 of those races, one per day, acting as Scottish Championship rounds for the Superbike, Superstock 600 and Lightweight classes.
Bruce Birnie (Montrose) marked his return to competitive racing action by taking three race wins last time out. However, he’ll face stiff competition this time around from Andrew Tasker (Clackmannan), Tim Hastings (Bonnybridge), Donald MacFadyen (Inverness) and Sean Gilfillan (Crossgates) in the KMSC & Scottish Superbike races this weekend – with Tasker and Gilfillan particularly strong on the Reverse track.
In the Clubman class which runs on track within the Superbike races it is series’ sponsor Shirlaw’s Motorcycle backed rider Kris Duncan (Turrif) who leads the way ahead of 2014 Cupar Motorcycles Pre-Injection 600 Champion Des Burns. Duncan will be a busy boy over the course of the weekend as he also races in the Superstock 600 Championship; which will see him take to the track on sixteen separate occasions for warm up, qualifying and racing action.
In the Skinner Motorcycles Superstock 600 Championship it’s turning out to be a monumental battle between the ‘Young Guns’ in the class, with the top three riders still in their teenage years. Lewis Rollo (16), Paul McClung (19) and Callum Grigor (16) occupy the top three positions and accounted for eleven of the fifteen podiums on offer at the last round. Add in Kris Duncan, Paul Bowerbank and Jodie Chalk as potential podium scorers and that makes the Superstock 600 class arguably the most competitive class on the schedule this weekend.
In the Cupar Motorcycles MV Agusta backed Pre-Injection 600 Championship it is Michael Burke who leads the way after taking four races wins at the opening event in April. Burke also helped himself to two new lap records on way to a scintillating performance and should be favourite this weekend to record further podium success. However, with Kyle Harper (2nd), Patrick Forman (3rd) and Russell Will (4th) hot on his tail, Burke will have to make sure he gets to grips with the Reverse Circuit as quickly as possible if he is to maintain his Championship lead come Sunday evening.
Twenty riders will line up for the Lightweight races on board an array of Mini Twin, Formula 400 and Classic machinery with Grant Reid looking to add the 2015 Mini Twin title to the F400 title he won last year. North West and TT Lightweight rider Adrain Clark claimed all five races wins last time out, but with his omission this weekend, the top step of the podium will be up for grabs this weekend. Reid, Keith Dickie, Joe Toner and Lee Nailer enjoyed some close racing last time and more of the same should be expected this weekend.
Youngsters as young as 13 years old will also be participating in racing action this weekend in our Formula 125 Championship. Lewis Paterson leads with a 14-point advantage over James McLaren and Marc Gibson in 3rd; additional entries from Jo Bavidge, Finaly Milne and Lewis Nicol should provide plenty of competition for the leading trio.
In addition to a fantastic 27-race programme, set to run from 9am to 4pm on both days, bike fans will also get to see a number of bonus activities for their entry fee. The weekend will see the Knockhill debut of motorcycle stunt rider Housty. He’ll be performing an exhilarating array of 2-wheeled stunts on Sunday during the lunch break and throughout the event in Paddock 2. Make sure you stop past and check out his eye-watering stunts on the day.
And as a special treat, bike fans will get their first glimpse of MCE British Superbike machinery on track during an exclusive test session set to take place between 4.00pm and 5.30pm on Sunday after the KMSC racing concludes. BMW Buildbase pairing Ryuichi Kiyonari and Lee Jackson will be joined on track by Bennetts Suzuki duo Josh Waters and Christian Iddon; with PR Racing’s Jed Metcher also taking to the track for some testing ahead of the MCE British Superbike weekend scheduled for 3/4/5 July.
The same riders will also be staying over and taking part in an all-day test on Monday 8th June (free admission); where they’ll be joined by a host of other BSB and support riders including Anvil Hire TAG Racing duo Richard Cooper and Filip Backlund; Scottish stars Michael Robertson and Jimmy Storrar and Ducati Tri-Options Cup racers Sean Neary, Marty Nutt, Leon Morris and potentially, KMSC race commentator, Dennis Hobbs; as well as others. It’s a great opportunity to see British Championship spec machinery in the flesh, without the hustle and bustle of a full-on MCE British Superbike event to contend with. And who knows, you might even want to come into the office and take advantage of our special MCE British Superbike ticket offer on the day.
Tickets for the weekend’s KMSC racing can be booked online via the Knockhill website (subject to pre-booking discounts). Alternatively, tickets cab be bought at the gate all weekend at the following prices.
Saturday: Adult £5, Conc. £4, Family £14 and kids under 12 go FREE.
Sunday: Adult £13, Conc. £8, Family £34 and kids under 12 go FREE.
Weekend: Adult £13, Conc. £8 and Family £26
