What Is New In The BTCC For 2025?
25/04/2025 13:57
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What Is New In The BTCC For 2025?
The new British Touring Car Championship season kicks off this weekend at Donington Park, with Team VERTU looking to try and reclaim the title in what is arguably the most competitive series in UK motorsport.
A four-car line-up featuring Tom Ingram, Tom Chilton, Adam Morgan and Michael Crees will hit the track for the opening three races of the season at a circuit where the team has scored victory for the past three seasons – making it the ideal place to get 2025 underway.
As you would expect going into a new season, there are various changes to take into account, so – aside from our new livery - here’s a quick rundown of the key things to bear in mind...
DRIVERS:
As mentioned, there are two new names in the Team VERTU line-up this season in the shape of Adam Morgan and Michael Crees.
Morgan joins the team after a two-year stint with West Surrey Racing and BMW as he returns to front-wheel drive for the first time since the 2020 campaign, when he was at the wheel of a Mercedes A-Class.
The 36-year-old brings plenty of experience – he’ll start his 400th race this season – and is a multiple winner, having taken to the top step eleven times in his career so far.
Morgan is also a previous winner of the Ginetta GT Supercup. It was winning that title that earned him a BTCC opportunity in the first place back in 2012.
Crees meanwhile is back on the grid for the first time since a cameo in the second part of 2023 and will compete in the opening five rounds before Senna Proctor steps into the car.
The 41-year-old won the Jack Sears Trophy at the wheel of a Honda Civic in 2020 and is a popular figure with fans given his background, which saw him initially hit the track in the Ginetta Drivers Club as an enthusiastic fan before working his way up into his dream touring car seat.
Crees has also raced in the F1-supporting Porsche Supercup, including an appearance at Monaco.
HYBRID:
Hybrid technology has been a feature of the grid for a number of seasons, with drivers able to use the system in place to gain a boost of power that could be used for overtaking or defending position on track.
That system is no more for 2025, although drivers will still be able to utilise a system that is effectively the same but operated via turbo boost. Cars are now going to be lighter, and therefore should also be quicker.
With the removal of hybrid technology, cars will instead be powered by a new 100% sustainable fuel as the BTCC continues to show its green credentials.
QUALIFYING:
The three-phase qualifying format introduced last season remains in place and follows the same format, with drivers finishing FP2 in odd numbered positions competing in the first group of Q1 and those drivers in even positions competing in Group 2. The top six from each group progress to Q2 and then the quickest six in Q2 go through to fight for pole.
The difference this season is how those drivers eliminated in Q1 line up on the grid, which will no longer simply be down to the time set. Instead, drivers from Group 1 will fill the odd-numbered side of the grid – so 13th, 15th, 17th etc – whilst drivers from Group 2 will line up on the even-numbered side of the grid.
This decision has been taken to reduce the potential impact of changing weather conditions between the two groups, or the impact of track conditions differing.
TYRES:
As was the case in 2024, the option tyre will once again be used across the season at every event bar Thruxton – where the hard tyre is only offered due to the abrasive, high-speed nature of the circuit.
The change in terms of tyres comes at the remaining weekends, where the top three finishes in race one must run the hardest available tyre in the second race of the weekend.
This is compared to last season when the top ten runners were forced to run a harder tyre, which reduced the strategy options available.
JACK SEARS TROPHY:
The Jack Sears Trophy has been revised slightly so that drivers who have a single podium finish to their name remain eligible to compete.
However, because past winners are not able to compete for the trophy for a second time, none of the Team VERTU drivers will be in contention for honours in 2025.