[1] It was created by joining service roads to a nearby disused mineral railway, closed in 1951, which had served Lethans Colliery.

[3][4] Derek Butcher became the owner in 1984[5] and since then Knockhill has been developed to a point where it is able to host rounds of most of the major British car and motorbike championships.

The circuit hosted a round of the British Touring Car Championships for twelve years until the deal ended in 2002 with the promoters seeking infrastructure upgrades.

[11] It gained a licence for motorbikes and cars to compete in both directions, the first racing circuit to achieve that in the UK in modern times.

After this the track dips downward (reaching the lowest point of the circuit) before rising fairly steeply towards another very challenging corner.

The Chicane is a challenge because the second, right-hand part of the corner is completely blind and drivers do not see the apex of the second part until after they have turned in and it is this combined with the presence of a sausage kerb on the inside of the track to deter corner cutting that results in vehicles often going through the chicane on two wheels (and occasionally off the ground completely).

Then comes the second-longest straight of the circuit, also named Railway, where vehicles often slipstream one another in preparation for the heaviest braking zone, belonging to the ninth and final corner.

It has an uphill apex, is arguably the best overtaking point of the circuit and was previously known as the Real Radio Hairpin for sponsorship reasons.

[16] The circuit has on-site parking for 3,000 cars located in the areas south of Taylor's hairpin, Hislop's, Clark's and the Chicane.