A qualifying race has been added to the BTCC timetable for all ten rounds of the 2026 season.

The Championship today announced that the additional race will take place on the Saturday afternoon at each meeting, following a free practice and qualifying session with the race result determining the grid for the opening race on Sunday.

Race day will remain unchanged with three contests.

The current qualifying format was met with mixed reactions when it was introduced at the beginning of the 2024 season. The ‘Quick Six’ procedure was seen as dull by many spectators at the circuit, with drivers and team members also considering the format to be underwhelming, although live YouTube coverage was better received as the format lended itself well to TV style coverage.

This season the sessions usually featuring 12, then six cars would see drivers spending a large portion of each session preparing tyres, often leading to fast ‘on the limit’ laps only being thrown in the last quarter of each period, leading to a fairly uneventful product for those in attendance.

Although the BTCC has seen an increase in crowds at many venues on race day over the last couple of seasons – such as the Super Touring sized attendance at Oulton Park in 2024 – some rounds see a notable difference in crowd sizes between Saturday and Sunday.

Ditching a free practice session – with opening practice often being an exercise in tyre scrubbing – and moving to having two sessions (including the qualifying race) that have a direct effect on the formation of the opening grid, presumably with points on offer, will likely benefit both the circuits, and the championship. One benefit being more spectators willing to attend on both days. It will also lead to a greater engagement via YouTube with both Qualifying and the Sprint being available through the ITV Sport channel worldwide.

BTCC Chief Executive Alan Gow said: “A qualifying race on Saturday is another exciting introduction to the BTCC ahead of the 2026 season, and promises to be a hit among drivers, teams, fans and stakeholders.

“The addition of some short, sharp racing action on Saturday will certainly spice things up ahead of our hugely popular three-race Sunday format and will provide a further great spectacle to the weekend show for everyone.”

The Saturday sprint format mirrors a similar move made by both Formula One and Moto GP. The F1 version of the sprints are proving to be an uninspiring reflection of the opening stint of a Grand Prix, occasionally punctuated by a mishap shaking up the order, while the Moto GP Sprint races have often delivered a more entertaining product than the main race. With the BTCC providing shorter sprint style races as its main product, a sprint race would likely deliver more frenetic action.