Home News Eastwell takes comfortable WHT heat three win after gearbox repairs

Eastwell takes comfortable WHT heat three win after gearbox repairs

by Ida Wood

Photo: Ida Wood

KMR Sport’s Michael Eastwell won by several seconds in the third Walter Hayes Trophy heat at Silverstone.

Eastwell carved out a gap of 0.599 seconds up front on the opening lap, and grew his lead to 2.575s by the end of the eight-lap contest.

Oldfield Motorport’s Brandon McCaughan started alongside him on the front row and did briefly hold the fastest lap in the middle of the race but could not keep with the leader and took second place.

Wayne Poole Racing’s Ben Mitchell finished third, and Simon Hadfield Motorsport’s James Littlejohn was a lonely fourth.

There was a lengthy battle for fifth between Team USA scholar Jack Sullivan, KMR Sport’s Robert Wolk and B-M Racing’s Tom McArthur.

Wolk got to the front of the battle on lap two but could not escape the two behind. McArthur passed Sullivan on lap six, and on lap seven he dived past Wolk into Becketts but then than wide at the exit and immediately lost the position he had gained.

Later in the lap he did get ahead of Wolk, only to drop to eighth on the final lap behind Wolk, Sullivan and his fellow Team USA scholar Ayrton Houk.

At opposite ends of the age scale and both automatically progressing to the semi-finals were the 16-year-old Isaac Canto da Silva and Rick Morris who finished 11th and 12th respectively.

Race result (8 laps)
Pos Driver Team Time
1 Michael Eastwell KMR Sport 9m45.357s
2 Bandon McCaughan Oldfield Motorsport +2.575s
3 Ben Mitchell Wayne Poole Racing +4.029s
4 James Littlejohn Simon Hadfield Motorsport +8.169s
5 Robert Wolk KMR Sport +10.853s
6 Jack Sullivan Ammonite Motorsport +11.780s
7 Ayrton Houk Ammonite Motorsport +13.388s
8 Tom McArthur B-M Racing +13.965s
9 Charlie Mann Mann Motorsport +17.127s
10 Pascal Monbaron John’s Racing Team +18.799s
11 Isaac Canto da Silva Team Dolan +33.040s
12 Rick Morris Don Hardman Racing +41.971s
13 Ben Tilley +42.347s
14 Andrew Schofield KMR Sport +42.844s
15 Matthew Wrigley +43.297s
16 Bob Hawkins TM Racing +47.791s
17 Klaus-Dieter Haeckel Auto Haeckel Motorsport +50.250s
18 Jeremy Caine Neil Fowler Motorsport +1 lap
19 Dave Porter Porter Motorsport +1 lap
20 Alan Slater Swift Cooper +1 lap
21 Steve Roberts +1 lap
22 George Ditchfield +1 lap
Fastest lap: Eastwell, 1m12.360s