Whorton-Eales and Welch return to BTCC grid

Ant Whorton-Eales and Dan Welch will both make a return to the British Touring Car Championship at this weekend's 'Diamond Double' Snetterton meeting.

Whorton-Eales re-joins the AmD Tuning.com fold in place of former BTCC race winner Tom Boardman, aboard one of the team's MG6 challengers, while former Proton driver Welch has agreed a deal to race for Team HARD for the remainder of the 2018 season in place of Jake Hill.

Having secured a one-race deal with AmD, Whorton-Eales returns to familiar surroundings after racing for Shaun Hollamby's squad during the 2017 season.

“I was really interested in taking part in the Snetterton weekend with the special Diamond Double race, and it’s great that we’ve been able to do a deal with Shaun to race the MG," said Whorton-Eales.

"It’s a bit of a last minute thing and I know that it will be a huge challenge, but I’m really looking forward to it and I have to say thanks to Shaun and to both AutoAid and RCIB Insurance for the opportunity.

“I’ve never even sat in the MG and having got used to racing the MINI this season, it will take me a bit of time to get back up to speed in a touring car but I’m hopeful we can have a decent weekend on track.
 
“It’s hard to make any predictions in terms of what to expect results wise, so I’m just going to go out there, enjoy myself and see what happens. If I can get somewhere close to Rory then I think it’ll be a job well done.”

Welch, on the other hand, will take part in his first BTCC race since the 2016 Brands Hatch finale. However, the 36-year old did gain all important mileage behind the wheel of a Team HARD Volkswagen CC during the the Snetterton tyre test earlier this month.