How hybrid tech will change the BTCC

The British Touring Car Championship has set itself on a clear path to embracing a hybrid future, with the announcement that Cosworth Electronics will supply the systems that will be employed in all cars from the 2022 season.

There is, of course, a necessity for any series that caters for manufacturers to keep itself relevant to a road-going range. That is the whole point of manufacturers joining competition in the first place. The road car landscape is changing dramatically, with increasing demands on companies needing to make vehicles adhere to ever-tighter regulations.

Motorsport knows it needs to meet these issues head on, and Formula 1, the World Endurance Championship and ABB FIA Formula E have been trailblazers on a global scale. On a national level it is harder to introduce, but the BTCC has bitten the bullet and provided details of how its new hybrid future will look.

Speedworks Motorsport joint boss Christian Dick is pleased that the plan has been set in stone so early, and he is roundly in favour of the scheme. His squad runs the factory-backed Toyota Corolla for Tom Ingram.

"This has got to be a good thing," he says. "As a series, the British Touring Car Championship is supposed to be the pinnacle of motorsport in the UK, and it simply has to keep itself relevant to what is happening on the broader scale.

"If the BTCC hadn't looked into hybrid systems and adopted them, in a few years we would have been running in what would be, in effect, a historic championship. It is vital to change to keep manufacturers interested and involved."

Dick Bennetts, the boss of 2019 championship-leading team WSR, which runs the three BMW 330i M Sports for reigning champion Colin Turkington, Andrew Jordan and Tom Oliphant, says: "The idea and the way it has been set out is very good.

"I am particularly pleased that there will be a long lead-in time to its introduction. It is going to be essential that the new parts are endurance tested in all types of conditions over a period of time.

"It is really interesting that the BTCC is going to be the first championship at this level to introduce such a system. I haven't studied the deployment options yet, but it is going to add some excitement and strategy for the teams and drivers."

"Of course there are people who are going to [still] be worried about costs. But it has been as tightly controlled as it can be" Christian Dick

When the hybrids are introduced, success ballast will be ditched from the championship to compensate for the extra weight of the system. From 2022, cars will instead be pegged back by restricted deployment of the boost.

The system will be able to be used after the opening lap of each race, and there will be an alternative deployment strategy when the track is damp or wet.

Much of the debate about the implementation of the hybrid technology was around cost. While the Cosworth hybrid system will be able to be leased for £20,500 per year, that also includes maintenance and refurbishment throughout the season.

"Of course there are people who are going to [still] be worried about costs," says Dick. "But it has been as tightly controlled as it can be. Yes, there will be an initial cost in terms of converting the cars so that they can carry the leased equipment."

Without a fitment taking place, it is hard to know the exact costs of installing the equipment, although Dick estimates it will be between £40,000-50,000. As well as the lease fee, an upgraded gearbox case will be required, plus additional electronic connections, and changes to the intercooler locations and pipe. The 64kg system also requires a new Cosworth electronics suite.

But Bennetts reckons that there could be extra costs involved with the implementation of the systems.

"I think that everyone on the grid - the leading teams especially - may have to employ hybrid specialists to work on the cars," he explains. "There is certainly going to be more pressure on the teams."

Dick adds: "The NGTC spec cars that we have will have been around for 10 years when this system comes in - and the cars will then be relevant for another five years after that, so the costs can be spread over those seasons. This was something that the championship was always going to have to adopt anyway."

The relatively low level of voltage - 60v - means that intensive retraining will not be needed across the whole team, but some level of training will be required. Part of the deal with Cosworth means that its technicians will be able to develop the skills of team personnel.

Speedworks boss Dick is impressed with the thought process that has gone into the system and how it will be deployed in the races. There is 15 seconds of extra boost per lap after the opening tour, when the car is in full traction (i.e. not wheel-spinning), and the drivers can choose how often they use the boost over the course of a lap.

Some observers are not yet sure how the placement of the systems will affect the balance of power between the front- and rear-wheel-drive formats of the cars, but that difference could also alter the way the drivers deploy their extra energy.

"It is really going to spice things up," says Dick. "There are going to be more strategies at play during the races, and there is perhaps going to be a lot more investment in time away from the track as drivers and team bosses plot how best to use the system at any given race. It is going to bring an extra element to the show, for sure.

"There will be a way to use the extra power which will become apparent when people get used to the mechanics of it" Josh Cook

"But there could be other angles which teams will be able to exploit as well. There are some backers who might want to get on board now because there is a greener theme to the championship. There are other spin-offs that could help the teams."

The challenge of the new technology will also present strategical options for the drivers. The gameplan of how the extra power is deployed will create a new dimension and thought process.

Josh Cook, who drives a BTC Racing Honda Civic Type R, reckons the tactics will become clear pretty early on.

"There will be a way to use the extra power which will become apparent when people get used to the mechanics of it," he says. "It is going to be something extra up your sleeve that you can use, but it is going to be the same for everyone. We will all be in the same boat."

Although it will bring a new element to the tactical side of things, Cook has some other concerns - particularly about the additional weight added to the cars.

"I know everyone will have the same, but we have seen what 75kg [the former top level of success ballast] can do to the cars. Although the hardware is 64kg, it could still have a big impact on how the cars handle. At some circuits the tyres and the brakes are marginal anyway.

"I would be cool if they would let us make some weight-saving elsewhere on the car to bring it back to the level we have now. But I am sure with the development of the hybrid technology, there will be some weight saving from the system itself."

Cook says the option of having extra boost is something that could have been implemented anyway even without hybrids - but believes achieving it with this level of technological revamp is far better for the BTCC's future.

"This is all about the technology that we are showcasing," he explains. "We could have had something like that now easily with engine mapping. It would be simple.

"But this is all about the hybrid systems and making the cars relevant to the modern-day automotive world. It will take the whole championship forward."