BTCC Sporting Regulations
-------------------------
There are five titles to aim for, three in Touring and two in Production:
BTC Touring Championship for Drivers
BTC Touring Championship for Manufacturers
BTC Touring Championship for Teams
The BF Goodrich Tires BTC Production Championship for Drivers
The BF Goodrich Tires BTC Production Championship for Teams
Competitors will need to register by 23 February, at which point they will need to provide the appropriate registration fee. The fee for Touring drivers is £22 500, for Touring manufacturers it is £61 000. The fee for Production drivers is £10 000, all plus VAT.
Numbers 1-10 inclusive will be allocated to the top ten drivers in the 2000 British Touring Car Championship, with numbers not used re-allocated at the discretion of the Administrator.
Numbers 1 – 49 will be allocated to BTC Touring drivers. Numbers 50 – 99 will be allocated to BTC Production drivers.
As already known, the first Round at a Meeting shall consist of two separate races that shall be known as “the Sprint Races”. There will be one Sprint Race for BTC Production cars only and a separate Sprint Race for BTC Touring cars only. This will be followed by “the Feature Race” and will be for both BTC Touring and qualifying BTC Production cars. It will feature a mandatory pit stop for BTC Touring Cars at all venues except Knockhill.
Points in each class will be awarded using the recognised 15 12 10 8 6 5 4 3 2 1 system. One additional point will be awarded to the driver setting Pole Position at each Sprint Race and Feature Race. One additional point will be awarded to the driver setting Fastest Lap at each Sprint Race and Feature Race. One additional point will be awarded to each driver who is classified as a race leader, during each Feature Race only.
A system of weight handicaps will be applied in both classes. After the Sprint race, handicaps will be assessed such that the winner is allocated 15 kgs, with 12, 9, 6 and 3 allocated to the next four finishers. The maximum weight handicap is 60 kg. Ballast will be applied to the Sprint race at the next meeting. A weight handicap which has previously been imposed will be reduced where the driver does not finish among the top six in the subsequent Sprint Races according to the following scale: 7th (-3 kg), 8th (-6 kg), 9th (-9 kg) and 10th (-12 kg). A lower finishing position than 10th will see the ballast reduced by 15 kg.
The minimum weights and / or the throttle body size of BTC Touring cars may be subject to review up to a maximum of three times during the 2001 Championship.
A maximum of 20 tyres per driver per Championship Meeting are permissible in the Touring class, 16 in Production. The use of tyre heating / heat retention devices and chemical tyre treatments / compounds is prohibited. Excessive weaving to warm-up tyres using more than 50% of the track width and falling back in order to accelerate and practice starts, is prohibited.
An engine that requires replacement after scrutineering and prior to the start of the Sprint Race will cause that car to start the Sprint race at the back of the grid. An engine change between the Sprint Race and the Feature Race will not cause a loss of grid position for the Feature Race.
Each driver is permitted to use a maximum of five engines during the course of the Championship. The BTCC Clerk may deduct a maximum of 15 Championship points from the Drivers’ Championship, Manufacturers’ Championship and Teams’ Championship (BTC Touring) or from the Drivers’ Championship and Teams’ Championship (BTC Production) for each and every subsequent change of engine for that driver over and above the permitted number.
The two fastest times achieved by each driver in the Touring qualifying session will count as his / her grid times for the Sprint Race and Feature Race.
The grid for the BTC Production Sprint Race will be drawn up in the order of the fastest times achieved by each driver in the BTC Production official qualifying session. The same times will be applied to entry into the Feature Race, up to the maximum number of starters permitted by the MSA Circuit Licence for that venue after the number of BTC Touring cars has been taken into consideration.
Pit stops are mandatory for Touring cars in the Feature Races at all meetings except Knockhill. Two complete wheels must be changed.
From 1st April 2001 until all rounds of the Championship have been completed no registered competitor, driver, team or any person connected with the same may take part in any touring car test session (exclusive or otherwise) at any motorsport venue worldwide, other than an official TOCA test session.
Registered teams and drivers may nominate a venue for shakedown tests, but no other testing is allowed, apart from official TOCA sessions.
Start money totalling £400,000 will be divided equally between the entrants of those drivers in the BTC Touring Drivers Championship, provided that they are not receiving direct support from a manufacturer who is registered for the BTC Touring Manufacturers Championship. This Start money will be paid in three equal instalments on 1st April 2001, 1st June 2001 and 1st September 2001 provided that the driver concerned has qualified for and taken the start of at least one race at each Meeting.
|