Leading motorsport engineering firm M-Sport, best known for running Ford Fiesta WRCs in the World Rally Championship, has secured a five-year contract to supply the British Touring Car Championship’s cost-controlled TOCA engine from 2022 onwards.
The TOCA unit is available to any BTCC team that doesn't want to build its own 300bhp turbocharged 2.0-litre engine for the current NGTC regulations, which have been in place since 2011. Just over half the teams on the grid will use the current Swindon Powertrain-built TOCA engine this year.
Nine firms submitted tenders for the rights to build the units for the 2022-2026 period, with M-Sport curing the contract after a vote of the current BTCC teams. M-Sport will spend the new 12 months developing the new engine for the Autocar-backed championship, working closely with Cosworth, which will supply the BTCC’s new hybrid system that will be fitted to all cars from 2022.
M-Sport, based in Cockermouth, Cumbria, was established by former rally star Malcolm Wilson. Having formerly run Ford’s works WRC squad, it continues to build and run Ford Fiesta WRCs in the championship.
It has expanded into circuit racing in recent years, running the works Bentley Continental GT3 team, and is building a test and evaluation centre at its Dovenby Hall base.
BTCC boss Alan Gow said: “The opportunity to supply the TOCA engine from 2022 understandably attracted great interest from an extremely high calibre of bidders, so it's testament to M-Sport’s professionalism and expertise that they were able to come out on top of such a competitive and comprehensive process.”
Swindon Powertrain, which has produced the TOCA engine since it was introduced in 2011, will continue to supply the units for this year.
The 2020 BTCC season is currently scheduled to begin at Donington Park on 2 August.
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