TOCA UPDATES 2025 REGULATIONS
Series Organiser of the British Touring Car Championship – TOCA – has today (31 October) announced some of its latest rules and regulations with the introduction of 100% sustainable fuel headlining developments for 2025, whilst the use of hybrid power has been discontinued.
The BTCC becomes the first championship in the UK to adopt fully sustainable fossil-free fuel for all its cars, once again underlining its position at the forefront of national motorsport innovation and industry-leading standards.
All aspects of the fuel’s BTCC test and development programme have been completed successfully, and following a full assessment and consultation the decision has been made to introduce the 100% sustainable fuel for every car from next season, while the hybrid programme will come to an end.
The BTCC became the first touring car series in the world to confirm the use of hybrid power way back in 2018, before being officially launched for the 2022 season.
Thanks to all teams, stakeholders and partners – with particular credit going to the hybrid system provider Cosworth Electronics – the hybrid programme has been successfully completed with this year’s title race proving to be one of the closest and hardest-fought in the championship’s history.
From 2025, cars will have the same power-boost output as in 2024 – and the same boost deployment format as previously used – with the additional power surge coming solely via turbo boost. The cars will also be some 55 kilogrammes lighter and nimbler as a result.
Cosworth remains an embedded partner of the BTCC with all cars running the Cosworth Electronics suite, whilst the company will continue to manage the turbo boost deployment system in its new guise.
A further tweak will see all notifications of the turbo boost deployment being removed from the timing screens, as it was felt this gave teams/drivers immediate information to try to counteract its use by other drivers.
Information on the boost deployment will still be available to fans via the LED lights on the side windows of each car, as well as on ITV’s live television graphics (albeit with the usual few seconds delay of a live television transmission), but the instantaneous information via the timing screens will no longer be available to the teams.
These cumulative changes headlined by the introduction of 100% sustainable fuel ensure that the BTCC maintains the same high levels of competitiveness, performance and excitement, but with the added advantage of its cars being lighter and more dynamic from 2025.
The new fuel – designated Hiperflo ECO102 R100 – is specifically engineered to maximise performance, compatibility, and sustainability. The fuel is 100% fossil-free, meaning all components are derived from synthetic and biological (i.e. non-crude) sources. Hiperflo ECO102 R100 conforms to the highest FIA and ISCC compliances.
Other rule tweaks have been ratified by TOCA ahead of the 2025 BTCC season, with information on these regulation changes to be released in the coming few days.
Alan Gow, BTCC Chief Executive, 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.
“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.”
