Mills finally lands Walter Hayes Trophy glory after winning thrilling final on event comeback

Five previous Walter Hayes Trophy winners began last weekend’s final in the top 12 on the grid. But the Silverstone showdown was not won by any of them as instead Tom Mills finally landed the victory the KMR Sport driver so craved.

“Finally is the word,” smiled the 21-year-old after taking the honours. He had previously been a strong contender to win the 2022 contest before a controversial clash with Max Esterson at Luffield dashed his hopes.

“I feel like I’ve been here my whole life,” Mills continued about the Hayes. “I’ve come every year since 2013 [when he was eight], watched KMR win it five times but we were second for the last four years in a row. After 2022, I fell out of love with it a bit and never thought I would be back racing. I just can’t believe it.”

Mills, son of leading team boss Kevin, had not entered the Hayes since that 2022 incident and has only raced a car sporadically following his 2023 GB4 title success. But Mills showed no signs of rustiness as he led for the majority of his heat, semi-final and most of a thrilling final in his KMR Sport Spectrum 011c on his comeback.

Polesitter Mills began to edge away in the first few laps of the final as there was a frenetic fight for second. Last year’s victor Jason Smyth had started alongside Mills on the front row in his Team Dolan Van Diemen RF00/JL12 but 2019 conqueror Jordan Dempsey jumped ahead in his B-M Racing Medina Sport BH22 at the start.

However, just as Mills was starting to make a little break, the safety car was called with Stephen O’Connor and Ricky Simpson stranded in the Copse gravel. Yet its deployment came at unfortunate timing with five-time WHT podium finisher Josh Fisher clattering into the back of 2024 victor Rory Smith at Becketts, launching Fisher over the Medina and putting two strong contenders out on the spot. Fisher was later handed two points on his licence for failing to slow sufficiently.

Dempsey was briefly able to get ahead of Mills before being shuffled back at Luffield

Photo by: Steve Jones

The caution gave Mills’ rivals chance to regroup but it was actually Dempsey who lost out upon the restart as Anthony Amato got a good run in his Ammonite Ray GR22 to sweep around the outside at Copse.

The top-seven ran line astern for the next few laps with United Formula Ford 1600 champion Amato now properly challenging the leader. He eventually made a move stick at Becketts on lap 13 of 19 (the distance having been extended by four tours because of the safety car). But, as Mills attempted to retaliate at Becketts on the next lap, Dempsey pounced on them both to grab the lead.

Then the race-defining move came at Brooklands two tours later when Mills - admitting he is a “much calmer driver now” than on his previous WHT attempts - dived from a long way back down the inside of Dempsey to retake the place. Dempsey tried to fight back next time around but ended up being run out wide at Luffield. This gave Mills the chance he needed to edge ahead and he eventually crossed the line 0.333 seconds clear.

“I was trying to keep them together as it’s a lot easier for them if it’s one on one [to overtake],” said Mills of his tactics to keep the pack bunched after the early caution. “I drove the widest Spectrum car. When Jordan won, I was 14 and I was helping to clean the cars. As a kid, I would dream about winning it.”

Mills’ nearest rival at the flag was remarkably Chris Middlehurst, whose event had threatened to turn into a nightmare on Saturday. Changing a brake master cylinder on his Van Diemen LA10 between qualifying and the second heat meant there was no time to fix a faulty transponder and the Team Dolan driver incurred a draconian 30s penalty, having also finished second to Mills in that contest.

The sanction sent 2023 winner Middlehurst tumbling to 19th in the result and, after his appeal to the stewards fell on deaf ears, he had to make his way into the final the hard way. He won the Last Chance and Progression races and then climbed from 26th on the grid to finish fifth in his semi-final. That put him on the fifth row for the final itself and firmly in the mix, only for his progress to be stymied on the opening laps after missing a gear and buzzing the engine.

Penalty for Middlehurst put him on back foot as he had to work his way through Progression and Last Chance races

Photo by: Steve Jones

But Middlehurst was able to pick up the pieces after a chaotic final few tours to score an incredible result. “I couldn’t do any more in the circumstances coming from the back,” he rued. “If someone said to me in the Progression race I would finish second, I would’ve taken it, but now I wanted to win.”

Amato ended up third, while Tom Nippers was another who began his weekend with a 30s penalty but, unlike Middlehurst, he was able to successfully appeal the sanction for weaving too rigorously ahead of his heat. The SLN Racing Van Diemen RF01 driver eventually crossed the line fourth.

Behind, Dempsey and Smyth’s simmering rivalry from last weekend’s controversial Formula Ford Festival boiled over on the last lap as Dempsey attempted to go around the outside of Smyth at Brooklands but they made contact approaching Luffield, leaving Dempsey out and Smyth sixth on his WHT defence, behind Hugh Esterson’s Ammonite Ray.

“It was all getting a bit close,” said Dempsey. “I wanted Tom to win, I didn’t want that other team [Dolan] to win - I was prepared to ruffle a few feathers. I knew Jason was going to have me off and I didn’t want to back out. I really enjoyed it, it’s a shame it ended the way it did.”

Smyth countered: “Jordan knew what he was doing - he closed the door too late on the last lap. It’s a shame as we’ve grown up with each other. I wanted to do the double again and make history. I will come back stronger next year.”

Thankfully that spat was just a subplot to an intriguing final but at least there were no complaints about the winner as Mills finally secured one of the ultimate prizes in national motorsport.

Mills has grown up at the Hayes and now has finally secured the coveted trophy

Photo by: JEP