Welch Motorsport flat out in bid to repair Proton

Dan Welch says his Welch Motorsport squad are working flat out to repair Ollie Jackson’s Proton Gen-2 in time for Oulton Park this weekend, following his monster accident at Thruxton last month.

Welch said the team has only been able to start working on rebuilding the car this week, due to the sheer quantity of parts which have had to be ordered.

Jackson hit a tree at 95 mph after going off at Church in the final race at Thruxton, an impact measured at 12.5G, which he was fortunately able to walk away from.

Welch said 95 per cent of parts in front of the bulkhead need replacing, and every panel came back with damage on it.

Speaking to TouringCarTimes on Monday, Welch said: “At the moment, we don’t know [if we’ll be ready]. But we are working as hard as we can to do it, and if if all comes together quickly enough we’ll be there. I’ve got eight guys working on the car today.

“We didn’t get Ollie’s shell until last Wednesday, and we got the GPRM parts on Friday, so we’ve only just started building it now. We’ve not had the luxury of the three-week break to build it.

“The damage was so severe. It pulled all the seatbelt mounts out by three inches; it twisted the seat; it broke the steering column. It even put a hole in the engine. Every area was damaged.

“If it was a road car it would have been a write off. Ninety-five per cent of things in front of the bulkhead are new.

“He was very lucky – but you shouldn’t be able to hit a tree on a closed race circuit.”

While the repair of the damaged Gen-2 is the focus of this week’s work, Welch said he was confident of a good showing at Oulton, after accelerating development work on his own car.

He said: “We have been flat out on my car and we are hoping to be a lot further up the grid at Oulton. From my side, it is already a lot better.

“We are looking forward to Oulton. It is a circuit where a driver can make the difference. Even if you don’t have the best car, you can still drag a lap time out of it.”

The 2014 season has seen Welch Motorsport expand from one to two cars, and build their own engines into the bargain, highlighting their long-term commitment to the championship.

With both Jackson and Welch’s cars essentially being new builds, the team’s workload has already been vast this season. The major repair work they are currently embarking on sheds light on the challenges facing a smaller independent team in the BTCC.

Welch said: “Ollie’s car is going to sap all of the spares. We have one spare radiator, and if we want another we have to order them from Australia! Bits do take time, and that is where we struggle compared to the manufacturer teams.

“If you had a spare front and rear subframe lying around, you are talking £70,000 or £80,000. That would be nice, but we are putting every penny into running the cars.

“We don’t manufacture our shell, but we do everything else – the engine, the bodywork, the paintwork – everything is in-house.

“For a small team, the workload we have given ourselves is immense.”