Eastwell takes comfortable WHT heat three win after gearbox repairs

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)