Technical Development
The 2-litre Touring Car Formula, as it was initially called, was created by two of the top BTCC engineers, Andy Rouse. Their concept was simple, to create a formula that would give new manufacturers the opportunity to enter the series and be able to compete against the more experienced manufacturers without the associated high costs of the existing Group A rules.
The changes would also give the rule makers the opportunity to turn the complex multi-class British Touring Car Championship into a single class championship, allowing drivers to win from the front rather than from within individual classes.
To achieve their goals, the rules targeted the type of car most manufacturers produced, a mid-range 4-door family saloon with a 2-litre normally aspirated multi-valve engine having a minimum production run of 2500 in one year. To enable the cars to be easily recognised on the track, the rules dictated that the car's body shape had to remain the same as the production model, but most other areas of the car could be modified specifically for racing.
Under the bonnet only the original engine block and head must remain from the production car but engine revs are limited to 8500 RPM to aid reliability and reduce costs. Racing transmissions and suspensions could be incorporated, but the suspension had to remain true to the original design of the road going model. Closer racing was also engineered into the rules by having different weight limits for front- and rear-wheel drive, and by limiting overall wheel and tyre sizes and by restricting each car to only six tyres per event.
Read more about this topic: Australian Super Touring Championship
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