‘I didn’t want us to be pioneers,’ said Gow. ‘I would rather someone else did it first, and we could take their learnings, but we can’t just sit there and wait, we had to take the initiative, and I’m very proud that the BTCC is the first touring car championship in the world to go hybrid. We had to [move to hybrid] because of what is going on in the world around us. Touring cars are developments of road cars, and they are going either fully electric or hybrid. It is to stay relevant to the market.’
Of the pre-season tests, Gow said, ‘All the cars that have been running have been problem-free, but there will always be things that need to be done. We are a little bit behind; we should have been testing six weeks ago [late February 2022], we didn’t, but that’s the world we live in. Now we will make the best use of it [in the last test].
‘As with any new technology, there will be times in the year when things don’t necessarily go wrong, but something will annoy you (the drivers/teams). That’s what happens when you introduce new technology, but it is the same as when you bring a new engine or chassis component.