Brit crowned first champion of all-female racing series

Britain’s Jamie Chadwick was crowned first champion of the all-female W Series Sunday and collected a $500,000 prize after finishing fourth in the season’s final race at Brands Hatch in Longfield, England.

The W Series, which uses identical 1.8-litre Formula Three cars, aims to help female racers climb the male-dominated motorsport ladder toward Formula One, which last saw a woman start a race in 1976.

“To have the championship crown today is pretty amazing,” said Chadwick, who last year at Brands Hatch became the first woman to win a round of the British F3 championship.

The 21-year-old had started from pole position in front of her home crowd as clear favourite, 13 points clear of Dutch title rival Beitske Visser who lined up fifth, but she made hard work of it.

“Possibly the worst 30 minutes of my life followed by the best 30 minutes of my life,” Chadwick said. “The pressure just got to me a little bit.

“I definitely didn’t make that easy for myself, but fingers crossed, we can take this on to bigger things,” added the Williams Formula One development driver.

Compatriot Alice Powell ripped up Chadwick’s script of a comfortable pole-to-flag win by seizing her first victory of the six-race campaign, while Finland’s Emma Kimilainen took second place.

Visser had needed to win to have any real chance unless Chadwick failed to finish and although she overtook the Briton for third in the closing stages, she had to settle for overall runner-up and a $250,000 payout.

“I think I gave it everything I had today, unfortunately not enough for the championship,” said Visser. “If I come back, I want to fight for the title again, to be sure.”

The champion ended up with 110 points to Visser’s 100. Powell was third overall at 76.