Daniel John Welch (born 17 July 1982) is a British

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

. During his career he has mostly driven for his family team, Welch Motorsport. He drove in the

British Touring Car Championship The British Touring Car Championship (BTCC), officially known as the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship for sponsorship reasons, is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom, currently organised and administered by ...

from 2011 to 2016. He is the son of former British rallycross driver John Welch.

Racing career

Born in

Aldershot Aldershot ( ) is a town in the Rushmoor district, Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme north-east corner of the county, south-west of London. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Farnborough/Aldershot built-up are ...

, Hampshire, Welch first began racing in the

Formula Renault UK British Formula Renault Championship referred to one of two Formula Renault championships that were held in the United Kingdom. The main series was Renault Sport UK's Formula Renault 2.0 UK championship which was held from 1989 to 2011 and was ge ...

series, but never completed a full season. In 2007, he switched to tin tops, racing in the SEAT Cupra Championship. He raced SEATs for the next few years in several one-make championships, taking two wins in the British SEAT Cupra Championship.

British Touring Car Championship

Welch Motorsport (2011–2016)

In 2011, he stepped up to the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship, once again driving for his family team in a

Proton Gen-2 A proton is a stable subatomic particle, symbol , H+, or 1H+ with a positive electric charge of +1 ''e'' (elementary charge). Its mass is slightly less than the mass of a neutron and approximately times the mass of an electron (the proton ...

, built to the then-new NGTC regulations. He competed in the final half of the season from

Snetterton Snetterton is a village and civil parish in Norfolk, England. The village is about east-northeast of Thetford and southwest of Norwich. The civil parish has an area of . The United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census recorded a parish population ...

onwards, finishing 22nd in the Drivers' Championship, having secured his first BTCC point at the penultimate race of the season at

Silverstone Silverstone is a village and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority area of Northamptonshire, England. The village is about south-southwest of Towcester and northeast of Brackley, both accessed via the A43 road, A43 main ...

. Welch continued to race in the BTCC in 2012. He had his best weekend of the season at

Oulton Park Oulton Park is a hard surfaced Race track, track used for motor racing, close to the village of Little Budworth, Cheshire, England, from Winsford, from Chester city centre, from Northwich and from Warrington, with a nearby rail connection a ...

, finishing 6th in Race 1 and then holding off

Matt Neal Matthew Stephen Phillip Neal (born 20 December 1966) is a British motor racing driver. Neal is a triple BTCC Champion having won the British Touring Car Championship in 2005, 2006 and 2011. Neal is also a record 6 time BTCC Independents Champio ...

to claim 4th in Race 2. For this he won the HiQ Champagne Moment award, as voted for by fans. Welch finished the season 15th in the Drivers' Championship. Welch and his team continued to compete in the BTCC in

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, finishing 18th in the Drivers' Championship with a best result of 6th at

Knockhill Knockhill Racing Circuit is a motor racing circuit in Fife, Scotland. It opened in September 1974 and is Scotland's national motorsport centre. The circuit is in the countryside about north of Dunfermline. It is the only FIA-approved circui ...

. Welch finished 32nd in the

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

Drivers' Championship after a disappointing season in which the team struggled with their new self-built engines. After a difficult 2015 season, Welch revealed plans to sell their pair of Proton Gen-2 cars at the end of the season.

Racing record

Racing career summary

Complete British Touring Car Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position – 1 point awarded in first race; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap – 1 point awarded all races; * signifies that driver lead race for at least one lap – 1 point awarded all races)

24 Hours of Silverstone results

References

External links

Welch MotorsportBTCC official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Welch, Daniel Living people English racing drivers Sportspeople from Aldershot 1982 births British Touring Car Championship drivers Porsche Carrera Cup GB drivers Britcar 24-hour drivers Ginetta GT4 Supercup drivers Renault UK Clio Cup drivers Sportspeople from Hampshire 24H Series drivers