BTCC TWEAKS BALLAST RULES FOR 2019 SEASON

Ra ft of changes announced, including top cars running less weight

The success ballast system in the British Touring Car Championship will be tweaked next season with the leading cars carrying less weight.

Since 2015, the top 10 cars in the points going into any meeting is required to carry 75kg, and it goes down in a sliding scale to nine kilogrammes for the 10th-placed car. Then, the ballast is applied for finishing positions in race one and race two.

For 2019, the weight will be reduced to 54kg for the most successful, dropping by increments of six kilos down to ninth. Tenth place will also carry six kilos.

Series director Alan Gow said: “It is a good thing that we can reduce the level of ballast: it’s a reflection of how competitive the grid is right now. The field is so tight that 75kg can have a huge effect.”

The rules regarding penalties for contact have also been altered. Any driver who receives three reprimands will now earn a strike. Three strikes will result in the driver being demoted to the back of the grid, and a fourth will result in a one-race ban. A reprimand remains on a driver’s licence for 12 months.

New rules also state that if a driver has been wholly responsible for an incident which causes another driver to non-finish, they will receive a strike and a minimum of 20 seconds added to their race time.

Also, any driver who causes a red flag in qualifying will lose their fastest time up to that point and will not be allowed to take part in the remainder of the session.