TOCA, the series organiser of the British Touring Car Championship, has revealed (18th February) that its hybrid power project is currently progressing ahead of its intended schedule.

Back in August 2018, the Championship became the first major touring car championship to commit to the move towards hybrid power. Teams and partners alike have been advised of the rapid progress made during the recent meeting if the BTCC Hybrid Working Group. The BTCC was also the first to announce a roadmap specifying specific timings and technical details of its transition into hybrid powered cars. Every car involved in the BTCC with feature hybrid power from the start of the 2022 season with its integration being part of an adaption of the current technical regulations.

With the hybrid power contract being given to Cosworth Electronics, they will be the source of the design, supply and servicing of the new hybrid system, with both TOCA and Cosworth selecting an existing BTCC race car for its initial tests.

TOCA has confirmed that the targets set for Cosworth are currently being met during the design and build stage of the project and the hybrid power equipped test car is set to make its track debut in June, just before its public debut during the annual tyre-test and Snetterton in July. During the tyre test, intense testing and simulations will be conducted in order to find any glitches and test the driver-selectable hybrid power delivery as well as configuring regeneration amounts that intend to replace the current ballast system. The new hybrid systems intend to provide new strategic options during each BTCC race.

“I’m pleased with the progress we are making on this project,” said BTCC Chief Executive Alan Gow. “One always assumes there will be some technical glitches along the way, but nothing so far. And that’s great testament to the high quality of the technical partners involved.”

New updates will continue to be released by TOCA over the weeks leading up to the tyre test at Snetterton in July.