New Zealand racer James Penrose has seen out his European tour in style, qualifying for the final of the prestigious Walter Hayes Trophy Formula Ford 1600 event at Silverstone.
He finished ninth in that race, but was penalised 10 seconds for exceeding track limits and gaining an advantage. This saw him classified 21st out of 125 racers.
The event featured racers from around the world, with only the top 37 of those making it to the final.
Having battled his way through proceedings at the BRSCC Formula Ford Festival two weeks ago, luck was back on Penrose’s side again as he achieved solid results throughout the weekend for a much smoother route to the final.
Beginning with qualifying, Penrose set the sixth fastest time in the Heat 3 group.
From here, he received automatic qualification to the semi-final through his seventh place in the heat, which was taken out by Joey Foster.
The following day, the finals began, Penrose starting out of grid position 13 for his semi-final. As was the trend at Brands Hatch, the Kiwi produced a charging drive to come through the pack and cruise into the final, finishing seventh. Three-time trophy winner Foster was also the victor of this race.
Having finished seventh in the faster of the two semi-finals, Penrose again started from 13th on the grid. The march forward continued, seeing him sit as high as seventh over the 15 lap race.
The Kiwi was the ninth driver to see the chequered flag but was relegated to 21st after a track limits violation was incurred.
Foster went on to win the final, claiming his fourth Walter Hayes Trophy since its inception in 2001.
The Walter Hayes Trophy concludes Penrose’s European trip, which was a part of his prize from the “Driver to Europe” competition for winning the Formula Ford Festival event at Mike Pero Motorsport Park in 2021.
Penrose was due to compete in the two festivals last year, however Covid restrictions prohibited that.
Header Image: James Penrose Motorsport
