Dan Welch was disappointed but not downbeat after a parts issue caused him to sit out the first weekend of the season at Brands Hatch.

His Welch Motorsport outfit will now concentrate on the second car of team-mate Ollie Jackson, which has been built over the winter as part of a huge programme of work.

Welch said he had “99 per cent” of the parts for his car, and the late arrival of some of them meant it would have been too much of a rush to get his ready for the weekend. He will make his season debut at Donington Park in three weeks’ time.

The team has effectively built two new cars over the winter, with all new parts. The shell on Jackson’s car is taken from Welch’s car from last year, but has been heavily modified, and has had 600 hours of work done on it.

Speaking to TouringCarTimes, Welch said: “It is totally parts-related. We have undertaken a massive project over the winter to put the cars together, developing our own engine, re-doing all the bodywork and the roll cages. There is not one stone unturned.

“It was hard for us to get Ollie’s car ready in time. We have now got 99 per cent of the parts for my car, but we didn’t get the last of them until Friday afternoon. We will come back fighting for Donington.

“Everybody is busy and we try and work to a really tight schedule. We understand – it happens. We’re not bitter or upset about anything – we’ve taken enough on anyway.

“It is just a shame. We would have liked to have my car here – we could have got it here, but it wouldn’t have been pretty! We just thought we’d concentrate on Ollie and do the best we can for him.

“He knows we are going to have a trying weekend. There is a lot to learn about the new car and the engine. We will just get our feet back on the ground, reorganise a bit, and Donington will be good.”

The new TOCA BTCC Licence (TBL) rules mean each of the cars on the entry list has to take part in every race weekend. Theoretically, any car missing a race will lose its TBL for the following season, but there are ‘force majeure’ clauses the organisers can take into account.

Asked if he was expecting any action from TOCA, Welch said: “Alan [Gow]’s not happy! But he understands the situation, and what we are doing. We are aiming to be in touring cars for a long time.

“We’re not going to be a flash in the pan, and the work we are putting in now will keep us in good stead for the next couple of years.

“I don’t know [what will happen]. I think we’ve just tested his sense of humour for the weekend!”