BTCC announces rule changes for 2027 season

The British Touring Car Championship has announced sporting changes for the 2027 season, which include a number of changes to how grids are formed.

This season, the BTCC introduced a qualifying "Race to Pole" to set the grid for the first of the three championship rounds each weekend. That will remain for next year, running at around half the distance of a championship round, but will now be preceded by a sole 20-minute qualifying session to decide its starting order rather than two 15-minute sessions with the grid field split evenly across both.

There will also be a longer break between the times session and the Race To Pole – last season, the pit lane opened for the Race To Pole just 15 minutes after the second qualifying group had finished – although how long that break will be hasn't been revealed. Also on Saturdays, two practice sessions, each of 25 minutes, will now take place rather than the single session implemented across 2026.

For the final race of Sundays, the partial reverse grid format has been revised. Previously drivers who finished sixth-through-12th in Race 2 were put into a draw, with the driver drawn taking pole and the other positions being reversed based on who was chosen. Next season, the reverse grid draw will cover drivers who finish 10th to 16th.

And finally, shakedowns on Fridays of race weekends will return for selected, to-be-determined, events. Currently teams carry out their shakedowns at facilities that aren't featured on the calendar, at a time and date of their choosing ahead of the race weekend. Further changes, including those to boost regulations, will be confirmed later.

The 2027 BTCC season begins April 10-11 at Donington Park on the National layout. The track will also host the series' media day and launch event, with an official test, on March 30-31, with other official pre-season tests also taking place at Snetterton (March 9-10) and Croft (March 18-19).