Rory Smith holds off Jason Smyth to win first WHT semi-final

Photo: Ida Wood

B-M Racing’s Rory Smith resisted late pressure from Jason Smyth to take a lights-to-flag win the first Walter Hayes Trophy semi-final on Silverstone’s National layout.

In a repeat of Saturday’s fourth heat, Team Dolan’s Smyth shadowed Smith for most of the race before mounting a challenge in the final two laps, while KMR Sport’s Michael Eastwell recovered from a slow start to finish third.

Before the contest got underway, Ammonite Motorsport’s Hugh Esterson stalled from the inside of the front row and it meant he then had to join the race from the pitlane.

Lining up from pole, Eastwell bogged down with wheelspin (an issue team boss Kevin Mills said was common for cars with shorter wheelbases) when the lights went out and slipped to fourth.

An opening lap collision between Tom Wrigley and Jacob Tofts left the latter’s car stranded with front-right suspension damage on the Wellington Straight, leading to yellow flags being displayed in that part of the circuit during the first few laps.

Eastwell squeezed up the inside of B-M’s Tom McArthur into Brooklands for third on lap three despite getting sideways on the brakes, but found himself one second behind the front two.

Smith set the fastest lap on lap five, but he couldn’t pull clear of Smyth. The pair held station until Smyth ramped up the pressure on lap 11, where Smith tried to break the tow on the Wellington Straight before keeping hold of the lead into Brooklands.

On the final lap, Smith successfully defended the inside into Brooklands once more and remained ahead until the chequered flag. Eastwell set a new fastest lap on the final tour to come in just beind the squabbling duo.

McArthur faced pressure from Nippers as the race entered its second half, with the latter sweeping around the outside into fourth at Becketts on lap nine before coming home seven seconds behind the front three.

KMR’s Julian Van der Watt and Mikel Bezuidenhout eventually caught McArthur but could not find a way by, finishing in a close sixth and seventh, with their team-mate Robert Wolk prevailing in a thrilling battle for eighth with Souley Motorsport’s Kieran Attwood and Neil Fowler Motorsport’s Cameron Jackson.

B-M’s David McArthur, who began the day by finishing second in the progession race and winning the last chance race, climbed through the field to qualify for the final in 14th, while Ben Miloudi prevailed in a close battle with Souley’s Peter Lucas for the last of the final berths in 18th.

Jan Magnussen did not make it through, however, the GT Motorsport driver edged to 19th by Andy Gosling following a close scrap between the pair in the last few laps.

Esterson finished a distant 27th, Team Dolan’s Stephen O’Connor and David Parks both retired in an early incident and Leanne McShane’s race ended prematurely in the gravel trap at Luffield.

Semi-final 1 result (12 laps)