Murray in control for Walter Hayes Trophy semi-final two victory

Photo: Ida Wood

Team Dolan’s Niall Murray comfortably won the second Walter Hayes Trophy semi-final, despite safety car interruptions.

There was pre-race drama as Arnaud Dousse stopped on the formation lap, and the top six reached the grid long before the rest of the field.

Poleman Murray led the field into turn one, with his team-mate Jordan Kelly being overtaken by B-M Racing’s Tom McArthur around the outside.

Kelly braked very late into Becketts and reclaimed second, but went too deep and conceded the place again. Ian Campbell and Ayrton Houk were then alongside him down the Wellington Straight, and on the outside Ammonite Motorsport’s Houk went from fifth to second at Brooklands.

KMR Sport’s Michael Eastwell overtook Vertical Racing’s Campbell and Kelly, then red flags waved due to a big crash earlier in the lap between Wayne Poole Racing’s Alex Walker and Jaap Blijleven. The incident meant Dolan’s Mattia Tremolada then joined the grid as a reserve.

For the restart, the top 12 were on the grid before the rest of the 34-car field reached the pit straight so their tyres were cold when racing began. However Murray did nail his launch, being well clear of Kelly by Copse.

Campbell was spun at Becketts by Eastwell, which led to Alex Ames going off in avoidance, and Kelly’s rear wheels went into McArthur’s front wheels at Luffield which sent him wide and down to sixth behind McArthur, Eastwell, B-M’s Jordan Dempsey and Callum Grant by the end of the lap.

Five drivers went off at Luffield, so the safety car was summoned. Racing resumed on lap four of 12 and Murray sprinted away, while Dempsey instantly passed Eastwell. He got back ahead at Maggotts, and Grant overtook Dempsey too, but Grant’s lack of straightline speed meant he lost several places down the Wellington Straight.

At Brooklands, Dempsey went to pass Eastwell but a huge lock-up sent him past McArthur too and then down to fifth behind Kelly. Murray was now 2.3 seconds clear and grew that gap while battles continued behind.

McArthur defended the outside approaching Brooklands on lap five, but Eastwell still passed on the wider line and there was move on the inside of Luffield for Kelly to get ahead too. But the rear of Eastwell’s car was then flicked up by Kelly’s front-left wheel and when it landed it spun Eastwell off and brought McArthur with him.

Eastwell’s car was beached, and his team-mate KC Ensor-Smith took second ahead of Dempsey, Kelly and Houk.

Kelly went around the outside of Dempsey at Copse on lap six, Dempsey was back past into Becketts, then the safety car returned.

The next restart was on lap nine, and Murray again left his rivals way behind. He built a 2.85s lead in the last four laps, with Dempsey finishing second.

Dempsey had got alongside Ensor-Smith at Copse on the restart, then expertly dived past on the outside at Brooklands. Ensor-Smith thought about returning the favour next time by, then nosed ahead into Maggotts on lap 11 before a brief brushing of wheels that put Dempsey back ahead.

Houk looked to the inside of both and Kelly when they reached Brooklands, making one pass stick by cutting the inside kerbs as Kelly ran very wide. When Houk then had a go at Ensor-Smith through Luffield, it brought Kelly back into their group.

Kelly tried passing Houk on the inside of Becketts on the last lap, without success, and the quartet were split by under a second at the end.

Grant pipped Lewis Fox to sixth by 0.076s, KMR’s Julian Van der Watt held off Oldfield Motorsport’s Brandon McCaughan for eighth and McArthur just missed out on making the final as he finished 19th, one spot below automatic qualification.

Semi-final 2 results (12 laps)