“I got as far as Stowe and the drive unit failed,” he explained. DW Racing’s Ben Caisley therefore secured pole, closely followed by ex-Formula 2 and F3 racer Hector Hurst on his debut with Scorpio Motorsport, and Valour’s Chris Preen.
Preen’s challenge lasted until the first corner, where there was contact from behind with DW’s Andy Lowe. As Preen spun, he also had contact with DW’s Peter Tyler.
With the safety car out, Caisley led from Hurst, 360’s Jason Rishover, Doris’s Mark Williams and Valour’s Haydn Chance, with Lay already up to sixth.
The green flag was waved as they started lap three, but Rishover lost out. “I just lost grip at the restart and they came by,” he said.
Both Williams and Lay moved ahead - “Jason hesitated through Maggotts and I got him onto Hangar Straight, then went side-by-side with Lay through Stowe,” Williams explained.
Caisley’s lead had grown, but Lay started to reel in second-placed Hurst and grabbed the place into the Loop after four laps.
But on the penultimate tour, Caisley suddenly slowed. “The actuator had gone and the gears wouldn’t engage,” he explained after heading pitwards.
Lay had the lead but after only one more lap the race was red-flagged, with Austin Riley in the gravel at Maggotts.
Source: Autosport