This weekend is an important one for Jamie Chadwick as she starts her first ever single-seater championship campaign with the Double R Racing team in British F3.
She will be taking on the boys as the only female racing in this years championship. But of course she is no stranger to beating the competition after winning the British GT4 Championship on her first attempt in 2015 alongside team mate Ross Gunn in the Beachdean Aston Martin Team.
Prior to that, she had raced in Ginetta Juniors for a couple of seasons with many points finishes after initially gaining her place through winning the Ginetta Scholarship in 2013. Her other awards and acheivements include becoming a BRDC Rising star, an Aston Martin academy driver and an MSA Academy driver. She also gained her Nordschleife race permit in 2016.
Last season she wasn’t able to fit in a whole season due to educational commitiments but she managed to do several British GT races for two Aston Martin Teams; SuperRacing and her championship winning team Beachdean.
Her Beachdean team mate was Great British Bake off star Paul Hollywood which meant that Jamie was put into the pro driver role. This proved tough especially with Hollywood’s inexperience but she helped improve the pace of the car throughout the part season she took part in both through her own driving and also by coaching Hollywood to get quicker during his stints.
But now she starts a whole new challenge with British F3. One which she is really looking forward to;
“I’ve been working really hard over the last six weeks in the lead up to this. It’s a big change for me, coming from a GT background, so I’ve had to adapt quickly and get used to a new way of driving. I’m fortunate to have a great team of people supporting me at Double R, and I’ve been on a strict programme both in and out of the car to get me ready. I cracked some ribs in February which set me back slightly, but I’m fully healed and can’t wait to test myself against some of the best young talent in the world this year”.
She’s been taking part in plenty of winter testing but despite this she has realistic expectations with a strategy focussed around development and learning during the 2017 season
“I’m going into this with my eyes open and need to continue learning and developing my skills in open wheel formula, but equally we want to do well, show progress, and be satisfied that we’ve optimized the possibilities for this year. I’m feeling fit and positive so perhaps we can surprise a few people along the way”.
Qualifying for the races takes place on Easter Saturday at 11;05am with the racing all on Easter Monday at 9:55am and 2:45pm. There is no racing on Sunday.
Keep track of how she gets on by reading Girlracer magazine and we also hope to bring you an exclusive interview with Jamie very soon. By Marc Waller
