Loophole in regulations regarding flat floors to be closed by BTCC

The British Touring Car Championship organiser TOCA has confirmed to Autosport that it will close a loophole in the regulations regarding the flat floor of the cars in the championship.

The controversy was centered around the mounting of the flat floor beneath the engine of EXCELR8 Motorsport’s Hyundai i30 N Fastbacks during the previous round at Oulton Park.

“We’ve clarified that grey area now, and the car actually was never illegal, and there was never any discussion among our technical people. It was just that we shouldn’t allow that [in future],” said Alan Gow, BTCC chief executive, to Autosport.

It has been argued among competitors that the positioning of the floor could provide positive aerodynamic effects, something the team denies.

“We need to make sure that the splitter is flat, which absolutely it was rather than having any shapes or curvatures that might aid aerodynamic performance,” said Antony Williams, head of EXCELR8 Motorsport.

“No issues there at all. It’s more just around the method of adjustment ultimately. There needs to be some clarification and the championship are going to put that in place.”

EXCELR8 Motorsport driver Tom Ingram claimed the pole position at Oulton, won the first race and is currently placed second overall – ten points behind championship leader Ash Sutton.

The regulations regarding the mounting points of the flat floor will be adjusted ahead of the next round at Croft on August 2-3.