It’s part of human nature that people don’t like change. If something is going to be different, then people question whether or not the change is going to be for the better or for the worse and raises the question of whether or not the grass is always greener on the other side.

That view can apply to a variety of different scenarios and motorsport is no different.

We’ve seen in the past that it can take time for new regulations to work – and the BTCC is a prime example. When the Super Touring era was drawing to a close, no-one was sure how the regulations brought in for the 2001 season would work and what we had when the season started was a grid featuring just eight cars built to the new rules.

However, we then saw the numbers increase steadily to a situation where, with S2000 then joining the fold, a field of more than 20 cars was a regular sight.

Change however was needed to keep that going as costs increased and the economic downturn reared its ugly head.

We’ve known for some time that the BTCC was going to be adopting a new raft of regulations in the shape of the Next Generation Touring Car rules, which were originally mooted before the 2009 campaign even drew to a close.

What followed was the arrival of the NGTC-spec turbo engine last year in three cars and the debut of an NGTC-spec car at the Brands Hatch season finale – giving fans an insight into what could be expected when the series enters its new era.

What might not have been expected is the way in which NGTC has been embraced so widely going into the new season.

Already, we know that at least four full NGTC cars are set to appear on the grid this year (going on the teams announcing NGTC plans running a single car each) and what is most interesting is the fact that the those cars are all new marques to the series and will be run by new teams.

Let’s be perfectly honest here. Had the BTCC stayed as it was, would Dynojet, Speedworks, Rob Austin Racing and Welch Motorsport be preparing to join the grid this season? Would we be preparing to see Toyota, Audi and Proton all represented on the grid? I suspect you already know the answer to that…

What NGTC has done is opened up the BTCC to new entrants in a move which should be applauded by fans, but it could also be the catalyst to keeping some of the existing teams on the grid.

The vast majority currently plan to run at NGTC-spec engine, which will bring down costs and make a BTCC programme more sustainable. It will also reduce the budget needed to drive in the series which, in turn, will increase the number of drivers able to afford a drive.

The way in which the current teams are embracing the new rules is the key aspect here. For a new team, it’s almost a no-brainer to go with NGTC given it is the future of the series, but the current teams could quite easily have stayed as they were to wait and see how the new cars perform.

However, they are all keen to push ahead with the new rules which shows the faith they have in Alan Gow and his team at TOCA.

Of course, the need for change is also down in part to the way touring cars as a whole are evolving. The WTCC has gone down the route of the 1.6 litre-turbo engine which means that cars running in that series are no longer eligible for the BTCC, which in turn means that manufacturers aren’t going to be throwing money at the engines used by teams running S2000 machinery. For a manufacturer like Chevrolet or Honda, that might not be an issue, but if you are running a privateer SEAT or BMW, you need to make a move to ensure the long-term viability of your operation.

The fact that Sweden is also adopting NGTC rules, albeit to a mixed response according to report on Touring Car Times, can only be viewed as good thing because it means there will be a market for NGTC cars in the coming years.

It could also be the catalyst to bring back manufacturer involvement with Toyota and Proton in particular likely to keep one eye on how the Avensis and Gen-2 models perform on track this year.

If you want one fact to sum up why NGTC will be a success, just look at the list of manufacturers for the domestic British series as opposed to the WTCC.

In Britain, fans can look forward to seeing cars from Honda, Chevrolet, BMW, Ford, Vauxhall, Volkwagen, SEAT, Audi, Toyota and Proton in action while the WTCC has Chevrolet, SEAT, BMW and Volvo.

Says it all really…