Welch Motorsport could return to TOCA engine

Welch Motorsport could leave behind their own engines for the 2015 BTCC campaign and return to the standard TOCA unit, team boss John Welch has said.

The team endured a torrid 2014, with reliability and power issues with their own unit leaving drivers Dan Welch and Ollie Jackson at the back of the grid at most meetings.

Welch Jr told TouringCarTimes at Rockingham that the team was planning to continue with the development of the unit, and hoped revised boost levels could also help propel their Proton Gen-2s up the grid.

But while announcing Andy Wilmot as a driver for the 2015 season today, Welch Snr said the team was considering a return to the Swindon engine it ran previously.

He said: “I’m delighted that Andy has shown faith in us, we certainly did not have the best year with developing our own engines – Ollie and Dan were so patient with us and it was rather humbling. For next season the organisers are evaluating the engine parity regulations and this certainly will make a big difference.

“As yet we have not taken the decision which way we will go with the engine – using the TOCA unit or our own – and we won’t make the choice until we have completed the dyno program with updated components and electronics that has been underway since the season finished with X Ctech R.”