Rory Butcher “back home” to race at Knockhill

Rory on the podium at Brands Hatch earlier this year.

The Kirkcaldy racing driver will compete in rounds 22-24 of the British Touring Car Championship on the Fife circuit that he revealed he first raced on as a child.

“I actually raced bikes when I was around 12 years old,” he said, “so my first experience of the track at Knockhill was on two wheels.

“It was on a smaller bike for youngsters though it could exceed 100mph quite easily. So that was my introduction to Knockhill.”

Butcher says that a return to the venue is “the weekend I’ve been waiting for all year”.

“It’ll be my only opportunity to race in Scotland in front of my friends, family and all the people that back me,” he said.

“It’s really exciting. It’s the only British Touring Cars event in Scotland and the fans come out in flocks and get behind the Scottish drivers. It’s amazing to have that home support.”

Whilst Knockhill has a special place in Butcher’s heart, he says it’s also one of his favourites to race on.

“I absolutely love it. It’s quite a short track, it’s only 1.3 miles but within that you’ve got some really fast, undulating, technical corners.

“You just have to approach it differently to other circuits.”

Butcher and his co-driver Aiden Moffat currently sit in fifth place in the BTCC standings which he says he is feeling “really good” about.

“We had a tough time at Thruxton the last time out so that was disappointing.

“We lost a bit of ground, we were sitting third in the Championship and now we’ve dropped to fifth but I really love the next three tracks that are coming at us.

“Obviously we have my home race at Knockhill, then we have Silverstone and Brands Hatch.

“So my goal is to claw back some time and points from the guys ahead of me and try and fight for that third place.”