OPTIONS TYRES SET TO RETURN TO BRITISH TOURING CARS IN 2023
Soft and hard Goodyears will make a comeback to the tin-top series next year
Option tyres will be reintroduced into the British Touring Car Championship next season along with some alterations to the way the hybrid power is used by the competitors.
The soft or hard option rubber was first used in the BTCC in 2013 to bring more strategic choices for the drivers but the initiative was parked this year as new hybrid technology was introduced on all machines.
Now the electrical power boost has become more familiar to all entrants, the choice of
Goodyear rubber will be brought back for 2023.
The British Touring Car Championship’s chief executive Alan Gow explained: “The option tyres were put aside because there were lots of things going on in the series and it could have become too much. It was always the intention to bring back the option tyres and I don’t think there is a driver in the field who doesn’t want them to return.
“It is something that adds another difference to the weekend. Maybe we will look at things like the return of the top 10 shootout for qualifying at some rounds too.”
Alongside the reintroduction of those elements of the championship, Gow said there would also be a change in the way the hybrid power was used from inside the cockpit.
“Next year we will be changing the way the drivers deploy the hybrid system in terms of how often and how much. There are things we have learned from the data we have accrued across the 2022 season. That is a simple tweak, but it is something that we can’t do until the end of the year,” he added.
The next meeting of the BTCC season, the penultimate event in this year’s roster, takes place at Silverstone this weekend.