Chadwick shrugs them off for opening double
W SERIES MIAMI (USA)
7-8 MAY ROUND 1/8
There was huge pressure for Jamie Chadwick, but the reigning double champion shrugged it aside to kick off the W Series season with a double victory in Miami.
She didn’t have it all her own way though. Nerea Marti was fastest in qualifying, but Chadwick took the lead at the start of the opening race, with Marti slow away. Meanwhile, 2021 series runner-up Alice Powell stalled from third on the grid, then hit the wall at the exit of Turn 7, which she blamed on dirt off the racing line, prompting a red flag.
The race resumed with Chadwick defending from Emma Kimilainen, and the Finn had just taken the lead when the safety car emerged again following a tangle between Abbie Eaton and Fabienne Wohlwend. There was time for one lap of racing when the green flag flew; Kimilainen ran wide while defending at Turn 1, allowing Chadwick and Marta Garcia in front. Kimilainen certainly wasn’t settling for third, but her bid to pass Garcia around the outside at Turn 17 resulted in contact, dropping her to last. Garcia finished second, before a 10s post-race penalty for contact, handing second to Jessica Hawkins from Beitske Visser.
Chadwick dominated Sunday’s race to cross the line almost three seconds ahead of second-placed Marti. The Spaniard emerged from an early battle with Kimilainen, who was at the centre of the action again.
Kimilainen was battling with Powell for third on the penultimate lap when she lost the rear at Turn 17. Powell was unable to avoid her and broke her front wing, but continued to the line in third place, with Kimilainen dropping to fifth behind Belen Garcia. Powell was then promoted to second by a one-position penalty applied to Marti for impeding another driver.