Welch Motorsport will miss this weekend’s British Touring Car Championship visit to Snetterton, after confirming its pair of Protons will not travel to the Norfolk circuit.
The team, run by driver Dan Welch’s family, has cited an overseas supply issue that has left them short of ‘reliability-related’ engine parts.
The Hampshire-based squad has been plagued by poor reliability this season, and despite Welch scoring his and the team’s first point in the championship since 2013 at Oulton Park in June, today’s announcement follows news last week that Andy Wilmot had quit as second driver.
“Whilst it has been a challenging season thus far we have been making extremely good progress in recent weeks and months, which Daniel’s points finish at Oulton Park was a direct result of,” said Team Principal John Welch. “In our attempts to continue to move forward we made a decision to update our engines with what we saw as vital reliability-related parts.
“Unfortunately we have been let down by an overseas supplier in this regard and will not be able to complete the engine build until these components arrive.
“This is obviously a frustrating situation for all concerned, but we must thank our partners and sponsors who have all been extremely supportive towards what we believe is a bright long-term future for Welch Motorsport.
“We have explained our position to TOCA and hope to have these parts in place in time for Knockhill later this month.”
Welch Motorsport’s absence means that 30 cars will travel to Snetterton, as Motorbase prepares for its return to the championship.