Smart and McGuinness fired up for Knockhill.

The THINK! British Superbike Championship heads north of the border this weekend for the eighth round of the 2004 series. The tight and twisty 1.3 mile Knockhill circuit, in Fife, is the only Scottish track on the BSB calendar, but never fails to deliver excitement and high drama.

Hawk Kawasaki's Scott Smart is looking to muscle his way back to third in the championship - which he held going into the last round at Brands Hatch - but is aware that Knockhill's notoriously changeable weather may have as much say in the race results as the riders.

"Knockhill's a handling circuit so the Hawk ZX-10s should work well for us because we've focused really hard on getting our chassis right," said Smarty. "But being where the track is, on the side of a mountain, you can never predict what's going to happen with the weather. Last year qualifying was nothing short of a gamble due to the rain. The good thing for us is that we proved the ZX works in the rain, at Brands Hatch, so if the weather does turn nasty I'm confident we'll still be up there."

Smart's team-mate, John McGuinness, who is standing-in for injured Glen Richards, is all fired-up to ride the Hawk Kawasaki ZX-10R at Knockhill after his superb performance at Brands two weeks ago, where the Lancastrian took to the podium first time out on the bike.

"Brands was brilliant," explained McGuinness. "To get on the podium was awesome. A result like that is great for my confidence, obviously, so I'm looking forward to riding for the team in BSB again this weekend. I raced a superbike at Knockhill last year, so I know what's required, and to be honest I just can't wait to get out there again. My main aim is to bring the bike home in both races and if I can get near the front again that'll be a
bonus."