Prologue: The 2025 BTCC Season Part 1

As the countdown to the start of the 2025 BTCC Season continues, a number of changes to the regulations have come to light which could have quite a significant impact on the upcoming season.

Sustainable Fuel replaces Hybrid Technology

With the dawn of the 2025 season fast approaching, TOCA, the organiser and administer of the BTCC, have made quite significant changes to the current NGTC regulations, only weeks after the extraordinary title finale in Brands Hatch. The abolishment of the hybrid system after only three years of use, have now been replaced by 100% sustainable fuel in an effort to bring down costs of the series while also maintaining their position at the forefront of national motorsport, being the first to adopt this sustainable fuel approach.

However, the use of power boost through energy deployment will still be used with the turbo becoming the sole source for it. The loss of the Hybrid system means the cars will now be fifty-five kilograms lighter making them significantly nimbler and better for racing.

Changes to the boost deployment have also meant changes to how it is shown to us. While the LED board remains on the side of the car, the information on deployment will be removed from the live timing screen so it is no longer available to the teams during races. It will continue to be used on the live broadcast with its usual few seconds of delay.

With the change to 100% sustainable fuels, a two-year engine freeze across 2025 and 2026 will come into effect to ensure that costs are brought down further for both teams and manufacturers while keeping the competitiveness of each supplier’s engine.

BTCC Chief Executive, Alan Gow, said: “The introduction of 100% fossil free sustainable fuel for 2025 shows that the BTCC remains committed to innovation in motorsport. 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.”

Qualifying adjustments

The Qualifying format has also been changed slightly after the 2024 season with drivers who do not progress to the second part of qualifying being affected. The drivers eliminated in Group One of Qualifying will be lined up on the even numbered side of the grid while Group Two’s eliminations being on the odd side of the grid. This is to ensure that weather changes between each groups qualifying have a limited effect on the positions of the drivers in the back end of the grid, with the drivers effected by adverse weather conditions not being penalised for being in that group.

The Safety Car Procedure

The Safety Car Procedure has also changed ahead of next season to ensure a closer restart while also being safer for the drivers. Once the Safety Cars lights have gone off and it has accelerated away from the pack before entering the pits, the drivers will stop weaving and all sudden movements maintaining a two-car length gap at the same pace as what they were doing under Safety Car conditions.

At each track there will be a predetermined ‘Restart Point’ between the final corner and the start/finish line where the leader will begin to go back to normal racing speed. No one is allowed to overtake or draw alongside one another until after the start/finish line.

Goodyears tyre regulation changes

Another change to the regulations is the tyre regulations. While Goodyear remain the sole tyre supplier for the BTCC, from 2025 it will be mandatory for the three overall podium finishers in Race 1 to run the hardest tyre compound available to them for the second race of the weekend, instead of the top ten finishers as of previous years. All events apart from Thruxton will carry a standard an option tyre compound with the latter being available to use in one of the three races during the race weekend.

The Jack Sears Trophy

One final adjustment to the regulations is the driver’s eligibility for the Jack Sears Trophy. Drivers who have won the Jack Sears trophy or have an overall podium finish in the BTCC being ineligible for it.

Alan Gow on the changes to the changes to the regulations stated: “I’m sure that these tweaks will all have a positive effect and will further add to the great racing that is the hallmark of the BTCC.”