British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) organizer TOCA has awarded a vital contract to Cosworth Electronics for the design, supply and servicing of the BTCC Hybrid System, which will be introduced for the 2022 BTCC season.

The BTCC was reported to be the first major touring car championship to announce the move to hybrid power in August 2018 and is also now the first to specify the exact timing, pathway and technical details of the change.

The contract was awarded to Cosworth Electronics after a successful round of tenders that met with the challenging specifications—particularly those regarding packaging, performance and low-cost—that TOCA had outlined.

The additional hybrid power will be used by each driver for either passing or defending and will introduce new competitive strategies and opportunities during each BTCC race.

Cosworth’s performance simulations show that significant gains will be achieved at the low engine RPM ranges; the hybrid power burst will bring the engine up into the turbo "window" more quickly. This will provide drivers deploying the system the chance to pull alongside or gain ground on the opposition.

Prior to introduction, additional testing and simulations will refine the more exact nature of the driver-selectable hybrid power delivery (i.e. how many seconds per lap, when/how it can be used etc.) as well as configuring the varying amounts of regeneration and hybrid power that will be used to replace the current success ballast system.

For more information, including a technical overview of the Cosworth Hybrid system, visit btcc.net.

Photo courtesy of BTCC