Revised success ballast for 2009

The World Touring Car Championship will revise its success ballast system next season, with weight placed on car models rather than individual drivers.

The previous system was widely criticised as it prevented drivers from producing consistent results, but series bosses believe the compensation weight will balance the performance of the rival cars, leaving the drivers to compete freely.

The new system will be calculated by taking an average of the two fastest lap times of each car in qualifying and the race over three rounds. The weight changes will then be applied for the following three rounds.

If a car's average time over three events is within three tenths of a second of the fastest model, no action will be taken. If it is outside the 0,3s mark, 10kg will be deducted for every 0.1s up to a maximum of 60kg.

Then if the average times of a car with reduced weight gets within 0.3s of the quickest, 10kg will be returned per 0.1s.

Series bosses explained that the system is not intended to be an absolute equaliser, but to help slower into a more competitive position. They are confident that success will still depend on the best driver and car combination, rather than the compensation system.