The British Touring Car Championship BTCC is now ditching hybrid technology to instead promote the use of synthetic petrol.
The BTCC is dropping the hybrid technology and will henceforth use sustainable fuels instead of the hybrid engines that have been in use for the past three seasons.
The decision means that from 2025 the British Touring Car series will replace the current Cosworth-supplied hybrid solution with a new set-up without hybrid technology. It saves the cars quite a bit away.
The hybrid engines, which were introduced in BTCC in 2022, have given the cars around 60 extra horsepower. But now a new turbo discharge must deliver the same number of horsepower.
This means that the total output remains at around 350 horsepower. But that the cars will now be a good 55 kilos lighter, as the hybrid components will no longer be necessary.
That's what Autocar writes.
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Another change that comes with the transition away from hybrid technology is that the BTCC will no longer display information about the activation of turbo boost on the teams' live timing screens. This decision is made to create more unpredictable lobs, as previously teams could see activations in real-time and strategically react to opponents' boost usage.
In contrast, LED lights on the cars' windows as well as graphics on live TV will continue to show the audience when the boost function is being used in each car.
Alan Gow, head of the BTCC, emphasized that the series with this change marks a direction towards more sustainability, including by introducing 100 per cent fossil-free fuel from 2025.
Gow explained that the BTCC no longer sees hybrid technology as a necessary part of development, now that it has gained the experience it wanted. According to Gow, the series can therefore now focus on making motorsport more environmentally friendly with alternative energy sources, without compromising on competitiveness and the key aspects that characterize the BTCC.
This development reflects a general trend in motorsport, where several series are working to reduce the environmental impact and without compromising on the number of horsepower.
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