Front and rear-wheel-drive touring cars will be eligible to race in brand-new classes for both the British Endurance Championship in association with Motorsport UK and the Britcar Trophy Championship this year.
The two-litre machines have been a popular choice of car in recent years however the touring car class was previously restricted to car running to TCR regulations.
For 2024, a more balanced and accessible ruleset which will encompass cars built to TCR, WTCC, BTCC and NGTC specification – as well as single-make racers from the likes of Peugeot and SEAT – will be able to compete across a level playing field.
That aforementioned level playing field will certified by the organisers in-house Balance of Performance (BoP), which sees all cars being required to run the Race Technology Scrutineering System (RTSS) datalogger.
The cataloguer analyses vehicle performance in real-time which enables scrutineers to ensure compliancy with the regulations, and also valuable data to ensure the balance of performance of vehicles rather than drivers.
The new class will compromise of cars running to their original silhouette with differing power to weight ratios based on the age of the car, transmission and original ruleset that the car was based upon. An option to adjust weight and ride-height parameters will be introduced to keep the competition fair.
All of the information collated by the cataloguers in the cars that run in the BEC will be mirrored to those that choose to race in just in the Britcar Trophy; guaranteeing a performance balance across the class and consistency for teams in their set-ups.
Cars running in the BEC will be required to race on Goodyear slick and wet racing tyres, while those that opt to compete in the Britcar Trophy will use the Dunlop Direzza trackday compound and Goodyear wet racing tyres.
In light of this Touring Car eligibility, Britcar Endurance Limited does acknowledge all such intellectual property rights held by World Sport Consulting Limited in respect of their regulations for building competition cars for Touring Car Racing and associated rights in respect of TCR, and also makes it clear that there is no connection between Britcar Endurance Limited and/or the Championship and the TCR UK Touring Car Championship operated by World Sport Consulting Limited or any licensee thereof.
Photo: Steve Jackman