Race Weekend Summary: Knockhill Park

Two directions. Limited testing. A power problem. And plenty of racing.

Knockhill has a reputation for being the rollercoaster of British motorsport — a short, fast and incredibly technical circuit where Caterhams regularly get airborne over its dramatic crests.

As if that wasn’t challenging enough, Knockhill is unique in being licensed to race in both directions, effectively giving the team two different circuits to learn over one weekend.

For Crawley Racing, the challenge was even greater.

Due to family commitments, Dan was only able to take part in Friday’s official test day, while many of the regular championship contenders had already completed additional running on Wednesday and Thursday.

That left just four sessions to learn Knockhill — two clockwise and two anti-clockwise.

With track time at a premium, Dan and the team had to make every lap count. A carefully managed test programme allowed the team to develop a tyre model and car setup that provided a good compromise for both configurations.

However, there was another challenge developing behind the scenes.

Early in testing, the team identified that the engine appeared to be down on power. Diagnostic checks throughout the weekend failed to uncover the cause, leaving the team with little option but to put the issue to one side and concentrate on extracting everything possible from the car.

Saturday 15th August – Anti-Clockwise

Saturday morning qualifying took place in the anti-clockwise direction.

Considering the limited track time and ongoing engine issue, P14 represented a solid starting position and put Dan right in the middle of the action for Race 1.

And at Knockhill, the midfield is rarely quiet.

Dan kept his head as incidents unfolded around him, picking his way through the battles, making up positions and avoiding the drama to bring the Crawley Racing 270R home in P11.

Race 1: P14 → P11

Sunday 16th August – Clockwise

Sunday brought another challenge as Knockhill switched direction — effectively pressing the reset button and giving the drivers a completely different circuit to attack.

Race 2 started brilliantly.

Dan made an excellent getaway and immediately became involved in some incredibly close Caterham racing. After a race full of tight battles and committed driving, he crossed the line in a very respectable P8.

Race 2: P8

Then came the final race of the weekend.

Once again, Dan made an electric start.

Some determined driving saw the Crawley Racing car fight its way up to P6, putting another strong result firmly within reach.

Unfortunately, the engine’s lack of straight-line performance increasingly became a factor. Despite fighting hard to hold position, Dan eventually had to concede two places — but still brought the car home in P8.

Race 3: P6 at its peak → P8 finish

A Strong Finish to the Season

Knockhill was a weekend that could easily have become frustrating.

Limited testing, two circuit configurations to learn and an unresolved engine problem certainly weren’t the ingredients for an easy weekend.

Instead, the team kept pushing.

From P14 in qualifying to fighting as high as P6, Crawley Racing once again demonstrated that the pace is there to compete towards the sharp end of the Caterham 270R field.

Most importantly, the weekend brought the team’s 2026 racing programme to a close with another strong performance — and plenty of reasons to be excited about what could come next.

Donington showed potential. Oulton Park showed the pace. Knockhill showed the fight.

A huge thank you to everyone who has supported Crawley Racing this season, and particularly to our sponsors and partners Smart Vision Tech and Stan the App who have made these race weekends possible.

Dan Crawley, Crawley Racing 

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