TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK fired-up for BTCC’s annual Highland Fling
Scottish ‘rollercoaster ride’ awaits Toyota Corolla duo
Huff predicts ‘hectic’ weekend ahead in Fife
Watson returning to scene of best BTCC result to-date
The British Touring Car Championship is headed north of the border to Knockhill this weekend (10-11 August), as TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK bids to maintain the momentum it has carried into the second half of the season with a successful Scottish jaunt.
Former FIA World Touring Car Champion Rob Huff came within a whisker of adding a fourth career victory to his CV in the UK’s premier motor racing series last time out at Croft, after leading the way for more than half of the second race in North Yorkshire.
The Cambridgeshire star similarly reached the rostrum at Knockhill as he climbed the national racing ladder in the Clio Renaultsport UK Cup, and he tallied a pair of top six finishes there during his only previous full campaign in the BTCC back in 2004. The tortuous and undulating Fife circuit was, moreover, the scene of Huff’s first competitive appearance in the championship in almost six years last summer, and he returns 12 months on occupying ninth spot in the standings amongst the 21 high-calibre protagonists.
In the sister Speedworks Motorsport-prepared Toyota Corolla GR Sport, team-mate Andrew Watson has his sights firmly set on silverware. The Northern Irishman – the BTCC’s reigning Jack Sears Trophy winner – expertly conquered changeable conditions at Knockhill last season to convert 15th on the grid into a second-place finish, representing his best result in the series to-date.
Having taken the chequered flag fourth prior to two of the drivers ahead of him failing post-race ride-height checks, however, Watson did not actually get to stand on the second step of the podium that day – a disappointment he is aiming to avenge this weekend, around a circuit where he picked up trophies in both the Ginetta Junior Championship and Ginetta GT SuperCup.
The 29-year-old Belfast native can take further encouragement from the Corolla’s recent form at Knockhill, with the British-built Japanese ‘hot hatch’ tallying a trio of top three finishes at the track since 2020.
Following Saturday afternoon’s qualifying session at 15:20 – streamed on ITV Sport’s YouTube channel – every moment of Sunday’s doorhandle-to-doorhandle action will be broadcast live and in high-definition on ITV4, beginning at 11:10. All three races will also be shown on the ITV Sport TikTok channel, in the UK and globally.
Christian Dick, Team Principal, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK, said:
“Rain or shine – often both at the same time – Knockhill is always one of the most enjoyable events on the BTCC calendar. It’s a compact layout but one that packs a real punch – a proper rollercoaster ride that tests drivers to the limit and generates some incredible racing. We receive such an enthusiastic reception from the passionate Scottish fans, and hopefully we can put on a fantastic show for them all this weekend.
“Rob has his tail up off the back of his most competitive and successful outing of the season to-date at Croft, while Andrew has achieved some extremely strong results at Knockhill in the past and revels in mixed conditions, which can never be ruled out in Scotland! He is overdue a podium finish now in the Corolla, and with the upgrades brought to the car over the summer and his previous record at the circuit, this weekend could represent his best chance so far.
“Both drivers will also benefit from full hybrid allocation in qualifying and race one, although being such a short lap, the biggest challenge will arguably be squeezing all 15 seconds in – it’ll be a question of using it pretty much everywhere they can!”
Rob Huff, Driver, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK, said:
“Knockhill is probably one of the most complicated weekends of the season. It’s completely unique, not only in terms of its layout and elevation changes but it even has its own little microclimate, which means teams need to be absolutely on-point and ready to make set-up changes at the drop of a hat in accordance with the prevailing conditions.
“It’s a circuit that is massively difficult to get right. There might be just a handful of corners, but every single one of them is a real challenge and it’s very intense driving a BTCC car around Knockhill, let alone in the heat of battle when you’re trying to factor in everything else as well from hybrid deployment to overtaking and defending. You have to really monster the circuit’s massive kerbs, too, so all-in-all, there’s a lot going on around what is a very short lap – it’s certainly going to be hectic!
“It’s a track I really enjoy and is where I reignited my passion for the BTCC last year – even if the weather that weekend was enough to put anybody off! I’m feeling excited to go back again in a car I’m much more familiar with and that produced some very good results at Croft, thanks to the updates the Speedworks crew managed to bring to the Corolla in a very limited timeframe.
“The Toyota seems to go well at Knockhill, and while there’s a bit more time yet to extract, we’re continually chipping away as we work towards really hitting the ground running in 2025. After a 20-year absence, it’s still a learning process for me in the BTCC – but I’m thoroughly enjoying being back!”
Andrew Watson, Driver, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK, said:
“Knockhill is a track I love. I’ve always gone well there, and I obviously have very good memories from last year. It’s just so much fun to drive, and I look forward to returning every time. It invariably produces good racing, and we are aiming to be right up at the sharp end and in amongst it all.
“I’m pretty confident. We got off to a slow start at Croft and then never caught up, so we need to avoid a repeat of that, but even if things didn’t work out for me there, Rob and Josh [Cook] showed that the team has unlocked a bit more pace from the car over the summer break and we’re hopeful that will carry over to Knockhill and the remaining events this season.
“Knockhill is clearly a very different type of circuit to Croft and the weather is never guaranteed – even in the summer – so that’s definitely a potential curveball to add into the equation, but I’m feeling very positive. We’re constantly making improvements, and while they have not yet been translated into results on my side of the garage, there has been a lot of progress behind-the-scenes. There are four race weekends still to go, and we’re targeting a really strong end to the season.”
Images: Jakob Ebrey Photography