Dan Welch and Ollie Jackson have both blamed each other for their race-ending shunt in the second British Touring Car Championship race at Snetterton, with Welch calling his car a write-off.
Welch and Jackson came together exiting Williams on the opening lap of the first start of the race, causing a chain reaction which also eliminated Ashley Sutton, Hunter Abbott and Stewart Lines.
The incident caused the red flags to be flown for 15 minutes whilst the cars were recovered, with Welch ruled out for at least the rest of the weekend and possibly also the next event at Knockhill.
“I was behind Ollie Jackson coming into Turn 7 and I got up the inside as he left the door quite wide,” said Welch to TouringCars.Net. “I got inside and the move was done, and he tried to hang on, on the outside out on the grass and the dirt, and then he tried to come back on the circuit nudging my left-rear corner until he turned me around. As soon as he turned me around that was it, everyone crashed into us.
“It was completely his fault. All he had to do was to lift his right foot and it could have been avoided. If you watch the last lap of the race you’ve got Rob Collard and Matt Neal in exactly the same situation, and Collard backs out of it and pulls back in.
“It was completely unnecessary. All he had to do was lift out of it, follow behind me and try to overtake at the next corner – that’s what racing is all about.”
Welch doesn’t expect to be racing in Scotland, with the team having sold their second car some time ago.
“Realistically I can’t see us getting out for Knockhill. It’s another weekend chucked away and a whole load of money we don’t have.”
Jackson was equally adamant that he wasn’t to blame, criticising Welch for not allowing him enough room on the exit of the corner.
“I gave Dan racing road on the apex, he then ran me off the track on the exit which broke his suspension, and then he collected me,” said Jackson to TouringCars.Net. “As far as I’m concerned it’s 100% his fault. At no point was I trying to fight to come back on the track or anything like that.
“It’s a nightmare with Dan, because he just thinks that everything he does is right and then when something like that happens, it’s everybody else’s fault.
“I gave him racing room and he just ran me off the track on the exit, even though I was fully alongside him.”