How will it work?

The current plan is to allow drivers to have up to 15 seconds of hybrid boost available per lap. This extra 40bhp (approximately) can either be used as a ‘push to pass’ button or to help defend an overtake. However, the 15 seconds can only be used under full traction, and there is no limit on how many times this ‘boost’ button can be utilised per lap. The one restriction (so far) is that hybrid power can only be deployed under full traction.

‘It is not just a button which makes the driver infront a sitting duck, which is what I don’t like about DRS in F1. Whether or not the driver can respond quickly enough to a driver coming up behind them with their button pressed will depend on how much energy they have saved on that lap. It brings in a new element of race strategy,’ says Gow. ‘These are mild hybrids, the sort of thing that is running every day on our roads. This is not rocket science so there’s no reason why it should be difficult, it’s just a matter of making all the components work together. I’m looking forward to it and most of the drivers are too, particularly the younger ones as they are the playstation generation.’

The original plan was to introduce hybrids into BTCC in 2022 as this is when the current contract cycle with most of the suppliers comes to an end. Then Gow set the challenge of aiming for 2021 which, with a few early contractual renewals, was possible. This was then presented to the teams, who voted for a hybrid future in 2022.