NEW RACING CARS
The major change is the reassessment of the technical specifications.
Though the championship remained faithful to its philosophy of making eligible production cars modified for racing, the new rules leave much more freedom to designers and engineers.
The engine is the same 1.6-litre that was adopted three years ago. However, thanks to a larger restrictor (36mm against 33), its maximum output increased by more than 15%.
And yet the biggest changes concern chassis and body. The suspension scheme is no longer linked to the production model’s, but it is specifically designed for racing. The aerodynamic package includes wider fenders, a proper front splitter, a flat bottom and a larger adjustable rear wing; altogether this makes a bigger influence on the car’s set up.
The icing on the cake are the bigger 18” wheels, instead of the 17” used so far.
The final result means a better racing look and a drastic increase in performance on the track that is roughly estimated in 1.5 second per kilometre.
It’s a huge step forward compared to the original 2-litre normally aspirated Super 2000 cars that raced from 2002 to 2010 and delivered less than 300 bhp, against the 380 of the new generation.
The cars complying with the 2014 Technical Regulations have been classified as TC1, while the 1.6-litre machines that competed between 2011 and 2013 will form the TC2 class.The older 2-litre normally aspirated cars will no longer be eligible.
I hope they can find the backing they need. Along with DTM and BTCC it is one of my favourites.
