Amato dominates WHT heat three as Gilkes entertains behind

Photo: Ida Wood

Ammonite Motorsport’s Anthony Amato won from pole in the third Walter Hayes Trophy, far ahead of an entertaining battle for second place.

KMR Sport’s KC Ensor-Smith outdragged Amato off the line but the poleman stayed ahead exiting the opening corner, with Tom Nippers attacking for second before he had to switch focus to Oldfield Motorsport’s Maris Schulte behind.

Amato weaved down the Wellington Straight and built a gap of almost a second, as Team Dolan’s Megan Gilkes charged into third at Brooklands and B-M Racing’s Neil McArthur overtook Schulte.

Gilkes was onto Ensor-Smith’s gearbox at Maggotts on lap two, and despite his subsequent weaving she went around his outside with a late-braking move at Brooklands for second. A mid-corner correction lost her the spot, while Schulte returned to fifth.

Amato doubled his lead, as his would-be rivals went three-wide exiting Copse on the third tour. Gilkes was briefly in second, then Ensor-Smith took it on the inside into Becketts. Nippers got alongside Gilkes exiting the hairpin and again at Brooklands where she squeezed him out wide and that allowed Schulte to pass both.

A similar tactic through Woodcote meant Gilkes reclaimed third, as Ensor-Smith pulled away but also got distanced even more by Amato.

Gilkes had a look around Ensor-Smith’s outside at Brooklands on lap four, then she had to defend from Nippers again into Luffield a lap later.

By using the tow, Gilkes managed to get behind and then alongside Ensor-Smith down the pit straight and she took second place on the inside of Copse. Nippers got boxed in behind them, freeing McArthur to get alongside him through Becketts.

A line of eight cars formed as Gilkes weaved down the Wellington Straight, and Schulte barged past McArthur into Luffied.

The penultimate lap began with Nippers going around the outside of Ensor-Smith at Copse, and Gilkes repeated her previous tactic when they reached the next straight.

The group came to lap Duncan Ross on the final lap, which added more drama to their fight. Schulte attacked Ensor-Smith into Copse but then had to fend off McArthur, while Nippers managed to get alongside Gilkes into Becketts. He remained on her outside before he had to cut in behind, and his mirrors were soon filled by Ensor-Smith who in turn was being pressured by Schulte again.

They held their positions, and finished the race over 6.5s behind Amato. A 30s penalty for excessive weaving on the green flag dropped Nippers from third (0.092s behind a thrilled Gilkes) to 17th, losing his automatic progression to the semi-finals, and a five-second track limits penalty demoted McArthur from sixth to 12th.

Benefiting from both of those penalties was TM Racing’s Felix Fisher, who finished fifth in his 36-year-old Van Diemen RF90 car.

Heat 3 results (8 laps)