First Welch Motorsport run for Andy Wilmot at Brands Hatch

Welch Motorsport’s new driver Andy Wilmot got behind the wheel of his Proton Gen-2 for the first time at Brands Hatch today, as more teams continued their preparations for the start of the season.

Wilmot, who has one previous BTCC outing to his name for Tony Gilham Racing in 2013, ran at the Kent circuit alongside three other squads.

Also clocking up the laps were the Eurotech Racing pair of Jeff Smith and Martin Depper, with both cars now running in a plain red livery.

However, things didn’t go exactly to plan for Wilmot and Smith, as the pair came together at Surtees causing some minor damage to both cars.

Also on track were Speedworks Motorsport and Simon Belcher in the Handy Motorsport-badged Toyota Avensis, and rookie Alex Martin in his Ford Focus ST.

It was announced on Monday that Martin will be run by Team Parker Racing this season, with Motorbase Performance missing at least the first half of the season.

Wilmot has another test day scheduled at Donington Park, while his team-mate Dan Welch will run for the first time at media day next week.