Two new engines at Thruxton for Welch Motorsport

Both Welch Motorsport Proton Gen-2s are running new engines at Thruxton this weekend as the team targets reliability and race finishes.

Dan Welch enjoyed his first serious running of the season in first practice this morning, winding up a respectable 23rd and less than three seconds off the ultimate pace.

It follows a troubling Donington Park weekend, where Welch only completed one lap and Andy Wilmot didn’t make the start of any of the three races.

The team are now hopeful they has got to the bottom of the issues with their self-built Proton engines.

Speaking to TouringCarTimes, Welch said: “Everything is brand new, all singing and all dancing. We’ve had a busy week on the engine dyno with some good positive results.

“Our main aim is reliability and we can build from there. Without finishing races, there’s no point going racing.

“It’s my first time in the car this year as at Donington we only made one lap. We’re back thinking about setting the car up and taking a positive step forward.

“With the rate of attrition in touring cars this year, if we could steal a point somewhere it would be nice. We need three clean races and then we can move forwards.”

Aside from the problems with the car, Welch is also still recovering from the broken foot which rules him out of Brands Hatch.

“I’m not too bad – my foot still aches and I’ve got a bit of a hobble on, but when you’re in the car you don’t think about it,” he said.