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New BTCC hybrid era kick
Champion Sutton (left) switches to Focus, while veteran Plato (centre) will contest his final BTCC season at the wheel of a Civic identical to that of rival Team Dynamics (right)
● All cars to get hybrid boost ● Final season for Jason Plato
Patterson. Team BMW is retaining Colin Turkington and Stephen Jelley to pilot its pair of cars, which now wear 330e badges Stephen Errity to reflect their hybrid powertrains. A Stephen_Errity@autovia.co.uk third 330e will be driven by Jake Hill under the ROKiT MB Motorsport banner. Elsewhere, BTC Racing has unveiled A NEW chapter in the 64-year history of the British Touring Car Championship a three-strong line-up of Josh Cook, Jade (BTCC) beginsatDonington Parkthisweekend Edwards and series veteran Jason Plato, who has confirmed he’ll be retiring at the as the UK’s longstanding tin-top series adopts hybrid powertrains for the first time. end of what will be his 23rd BTCC season. EXCELR8 will run four Hyundai i30 Ns The championship’s drivers will be in control of when to deploy the hybrid system for Tom Ingram, Tom Chilton, Daniel Lloyd using a steering wheel-mounted button; it and Jack Butel, while Matt Neal’s Halfords sees cars receive up to 15 seconds of extra Racing outfit maintains its pairing of threepower per lap – a benefit that can be used time champion Gordon Shedden and strategically by the driver to either attack or Daniel Rowbottom in Honda Civics. Toyota Gazoo Racing UK is running the defend during racing conditions. multiple race-winner Rory Butcher and Ricky On the 29-car grid, reigning champion Collard, son of former BTCC stalwart Rob. Ash Sutton has switched to a Ford Focus, Ciceley Motorsport is another BMW turning out for the Motorbase Performanceentrant, fielding Adam Morgan and BTCC run NAPA Racing UK team next to series debutant George Gamble, while Power returnee Dan Cammish. Motorbase is Maxed Racing has Michael Crees and Ash also running the Apec Racing Fords Hand at the wheel of its Vauxhall Astras. of Ollie Jackson and Sam Osborne. Kent-based Team HARD has no fewer Sutton’s former team Laser Tools Racing than five cars entered: Cupra Leons for Aron has signed Aiden Moffat to spearhead its Taylor-Smith, Bobby Thompson, Nicholas attack, alongside fellow Scotsman Dexter
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Hamilton and Jack Goff, plus an Infiniti Q50 for former British GT champion Rick Parfitt. The 2022 season will be the first with fan attendance throughout since 2019, after disruption during 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic. TV coverage has ramped up, too, with a deal to show two events live on ITV1, in addition to the regular showing of every round, plus the support races, on ITV4. Speaking ahead of the season, BTCC boss Alan Gow said: “When we announced in 2018 that we’d be integrating hybrid, nobody knew the headwinds that would confront us. The pandemic, ongoing global supply chain issues (particularly with
“Being the first touringcar championship in the world to go hybrid meant there were no learnings that we could take from others” ALAN GOW BTCC Chief Executive
microchips and electronics), disruptions as a result of the terrible invasion of Ukraine and the significant price increases of just about everything across the board have all provided huge challenges to the project. “So it’s important that I acknowledge and thank the outstanding work that Cosworth, the teams, our suppliers and my technical team have put in to get where we are today. The great effort that everyone has made against all those obstacles is something that we should all be incredibly proud of. “While hybrid is the headline news for this year, we also have the introduction of a completely new engine by M-Sport, which will be used by half the grid, the new 20 per cent sustainable fuel and allnew Cosworth ECUs and electronics. “Being the first touring-car championship in the world to go hybrid meant there were no learnings we could take from others, but I’m delighted that we’ve achieved this milestone in the history of the BTCC.” Following the Donington curtain-raiser this weekend, the BTCC will make customary visits to Brands Hatch, Thruxton, Oulton Park, Croft, Knockhill, Snetterton and Silverstone over the course of the year.
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