British Touring Car Championship organiser TOCA has called time on its hybrid power system, whilst committing to 100% sustainable fuels from the 2025 season onwards.
The hybrid power system was announced in 2018 and introduced for the start of the 2022 season, replacing the previous system of success ballast in the championship.
It has thus been used for the past three seasons, featuring an increase in power for the 2024 season, but will now be discontinued.
The Cosworth Electronics-developed system had been the subject of criticism from the teams due to the higher costs associated with running it.
A boost system will remain in place next year, using the turbo power already available to cars, with the 2024 system already augmenting hybrid power with turbo boost power to deliver the increase in performance when drivers applied the push-button system.
The BTCC seeks to hold on to its ‘green’ credentials by adopting a 100% sustainable fuel for 2025, designated ‘Hiperflo ECO102 R100’. The fossil-free fuel has already been tested in the CUPRA run by Un-Limited Motorsport in 2024.
The changes to the rules were agreed as part of a recent end-of-season teams meeting with TOCA.
Cosworth Electronics will remain involved in the championship, with cars continuing to use its systems to bring the turbo-delivered performance boost, which will remain at the same level in 2025 as in 2024.
As a result of ditching the hybrid aspect, however, cars are set to be nimbler, with a reduction in weight of 55 kg.
Additionally, when cars use the boost function in 2025, the data will no longer be relayed on the live timing screens, although it will remain visible via the existing side lights within the car windows and on the ITV graphics. This change is intended to make it less obvious to rival teams when a driver is using the system, preventing the quick ‘cancelling-out’ of the system’s benefits.
“The introduction of 100% fossil free sustainable fuel for 2025 shows that the BTCC remains committed to innovation in motorsport,” said BTCC Chief Executive Alan Gow.
“As the highest profile championship in the UK, this introduction is a significant and essential step in maintaining the competitiveness and excitement synonymous with the BTCC, but in a more sustainable and forward-thinking way.
“The hybrid era was a great one for the BTCC. Six years ago, when we first announced hybrid, it was a technology still in its relative infancy within motorsport.
“We’ve successfully completed that programme – and really have no more to prove in that respect – whilst others have yet to catch up.
“But, as we’ve now ticked that box we can move further forward with the introduction of the fossil-free sustainable fuel, whilst very importantly delivering the same performance parameters that made this year’s BTCC such a memorable one.
“We don’t just sit still with the BTCC – we evolve, and we advance, as today’s announcement firmly underlines.”
Additional rule tweaks have been ratified by TOCA ahead of the 2025 BTCC season, with information on these regulation changes to be made public in the coming days.