As the British Touring Car Championship enters an exciting new era in 2022 with the introduction of hybrid power, Renaissance Asset Finance sits down with ROKiT MB Motorsport’s Mark Blundell and Jake Hill to get a closer insight on what the changes mean for the championship and to explore the parallels between motorsport and the elite supercar market.
Seemingly unaltered on the face of it, but scratch beneath the surface and every car on the BTCC grid in 2022 features a revolution in power, delivery, and sustainability. Equipped with all-new, specially curated hybrid power units, the BTCC has taken its first steps into a new future.
As the first major touring car series in the world to make the leap to hybrid power, the BTCC remains at the very forefront of excitement and technical innovation.
For ROKiT MB Motorsport’s Jake Hill, who took a commanding victory at the opening round last month with his hybrid BMW 330e M Sport, the new technology is an intriguing step forward – creating a new challenge for drivers behind the wheel and moving towards a more sustainable way of racing.
“The hybrid technology we have now in the BTCC adds a whole new dynamic to what we do as racing drivers,” Jake explained. “It’s another element to think about and adds a lot of strategic variation. We’re limited in the number of times we’re allowed to use it per race but we’re free to deploy it as we see fit throughout a lap.
“That means we can use it to overtake someone or defend our position, and when everyone is using it in different ways it can generate some really exciting racing.”
The system itself provides drivers with up to 15 seconds of additional power, generated through the Hybrid Energy Management System, in any one lap. Depending on where a driver ranks in the championship, rules may limit the use of the technology. For example, the driver can only get up to 10 seconds instead of 15, or the driver can only activate the system a limited number of times for the whole race rather than once per lap.
“I think it’s a good replacement for the success-ballast system we used before. It places more reliance on us as drivers and that means our choices and decisions could ultimately make the difference.
“It’s all about working out where to use it best throughout the lap; I think I’ve gotten used to the system well. As we proved with our win in race three at Donington, you can definitely use it to your advantage. It’s great that the championship has taken the leap to introduce it.”
The introduction of hybrid power into the BTCC further increases the series’ relevance to road car technology and the global drive for the future of transport.
“It’s really great to see the BTCC leading the way as it’s never easy being the pioneer,” added Mark Blundell, ROKiT MB Motorsport’s Sporting Director and veteran of 63 F1 Grands Prix. “It’s important that motorsport is used to try and drive change and showcase what is possible with the advances of the technology available to us.
“We’ve seen this deployed to great effect in Formula One and it’s brilliant that the BTCC is now also involved in a similar way. The synergy and link between motorsport and road car technology has never been closer.”
Supercars also sit at the forefront of this technological movement – where manufacturers showcase the very best in speed, power, and performance. Following a similar route, the supercar industry now also demonstrates advances in electrification and hybrid technology.
The Ferrari SF90 Stradale, the Italian marque’s flagship model since 2019, is the first Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) to ever be produced by Maranello. A twin-turbocharged 4.0L V8 engine combines with three electric motors to produce a staggering 1,000 brake horsepower – with almost 300bhp coming from the motors themselves. Utilising a 7.9kWh lithium-ion battery, regenerative braking also provides up to 16 miles of electric range.
A Ferrari supercar that can start silently and drive silently has never been done before and its production illustrates the paradigm shift seen in the supercar market over the past five to ten years.
The list of hybrid and electrified supercars is starting to become a lengthy one; the Porsche Taycan Turbo S, McLaren P1, Koenigsegg Regera and even the BMW i8 are just some to name but a few and all prove that the supercar breed is very much alive and well with each new model pushing the envelope further.
“You only have to look at the volume of hybrid and electric supercars available today to see how healthy the future is for the market,” Mark said. “Where some thought the supercar market may fade away as electrification took hold, I would go as far to say that it has actually supercharged it. It allows manufacturers to really show off about what they have developed and is showcasing another dimension of engineering.
“As the BTCC explores new ways of supporting a sustainable future, such as the introduction of 20% sustainable fuel alongside the hybrid motors, road car manufacturers are also thinking of new ways to continue this drive as well.”
ROKiT MB Motorsport has partnered with Renaissance Asset Finance (RAF), a subsidiary of the private and commercial bank, Arbuthnot Latham, for the 2022 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship (BTCC).
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