An overview of Britcar Classification

The majority of multi-class championships categorise their cars based on a basic power to weight ratio or restrict the entrants on what they can do to their race car. The power to weight method does not take into account the additional technology fitted to a car such as 4 way adjustable dampers, Venturi Tunnels etc. This can ultimately lead to a car classified in a lower class due to engine power lapping quicker than a car in a higher class due to trick suspension or other improvements. This can lead to cars being moved to different classes mid-season, added weight etc. to balance out the cars but one guarantee is that it will lead to frustrated teams and drivers.

Not one to follow the crowd, here at Britcar Endurance we have created an all new and unique method of race car classification. Firstly we start with the standard peak BHP that most Championships use, but we also add the peak torque. This gives us a more complete engine performance picture. This engine figure is then divided by the weight of the car giving a power to weight indicator. Now this would be an acceptable place to stop with classification but we wanted to create a fair and stable platform for multi-class endurance racing. To achieve this we created the modifier list which includes categories such as aerodynamics, suspension, electronic aids etc. Each of these categories are split into sub items such as Front Splitter, Traction Control. Each of these sub items have a number of options to select i.e. Front Splitter - None, Moulded, Fixed or Adjustable. Each of these options have a numerical value depending on their performance advantage and can be negative as well as positive. Using the Rear Wing example, the numeric values are : None (-2), Production (0), Raised Fixed (1), Raised Adjustable (3). By adding the Power to Weight indicator together with the Modifier indicator creates the Overall Performance Indicator. The Britcar Endurance Performance Indicator (BEPI) is what is used to position the car within the class structure and ensure that you are racing against other cars of a similar speed round a lap not just the same engine power.

Another advantage of the Britcar Endurance Performance Indicator system is that it is hosted on our website. This allows Teams to virtually tune their car by adjusting the settings such as weight, power and fitted items to adjust the BEPI figure and see live on the page how the changes will effect the cars class position.

The Britcar Endurance Performance Indicator system is used across both the Endurance and the Trophy categories of the Britcar Endurance Championship ensuring that all entered cars are judged and classified exactly the same. With our new classification system we are breaking new ground in multi-class racing.