England’s Jamie Chadwick scripted history in the MRF Challenge, becoming the first female driver to claim the championship in seven seasons, as she finished the third and final round of the International series with a triple crown, including two back-to-back wins, at the MMRT here on Sunday.
The 20-year-old, who had won three of the five races in the previous round in Bahrain, survived a long day and 58 laps by winning two races while Finland’s Patrick Pasma took the honours in the other as MRF Challenge 2018-19 drew to a close.
Defourny second
While Chadwick ended the championship with 280 points, including two bonus points for the fastest lap in the last race, Belgium’s Max Defourny, who came into the final round with an 18-point advantage, failed to consolidate and ended up with 243 points. Pasma took the third spot with 186 points, ahead of German Andreas Estner (181).
Path-breaking win: Jamie Chadwick, who took the top honours, flanked by Patrick Pasma, left, and Michelangelo Amendola after conclusion of the fifth race on Sunday.
“It (winning the championship) hasn’t sunk in yet. I would like to thank my team and am happy that everything came together this weekend. In the last race, I made some mistakes, which cost me the lead for a bit, but I quickly composed myself and made sure I won, said an elated Chadwick.
“I came into the MRF Challenge for some experience and exposure and not to win. But after winning three races in Bahrain, I realised I was in with a chance and went for it this weekend.”
The results: MRF Challenge (F2000): Race 3 (20 laps): 1. Patrick Pasma (Fin) 35:35.212s; 2. Michelangelo Amendola (Bel) 35:35.569; 3. Linus Lindqvist (Swe) 35:36.281; Race 4 (18 laps): 1. Jamie Chadwick (UK) 27:39.087; 2. Amendola 27:40.106; 3. Jack Doohan (Aus) 27:46.896; Race 5 (20 laps): 1. Chadwick 30:46.505; 2. Pasma 30:47.574; 3. Amendola (30:48.164).
MRF MMSC FMSCI Indian National racing championship:Formula LGB 1300 (Race 3, 10 laps): 1. Chirag Ghorpade (Momentum Motor Sports) 15:35.070; 2. Tijil Rao (Momentum Motor Sports) 15:35.528; 3. K. Suriya Varathan (M Sport) 15:36.030.
Saloon Cars (Super stock, Race 2, 10 laps): 1. P. Raja Rajan (Performance Racing) 20:26.602; 2. Rithvik Thomas (Race Concepts) 20:34.767; 3. Joel Joseph (Race Concepts) 20:41.701.
Support Race: MRF F1600 (Race 2, 10 laps): 1. Lee Deegan (UK) 16:54.757; 2. A. Bala Prasath (Coimbatore) 16:55.452; 3. Sohil Shah (Bengaluru) 16:55.654; Race 3 (10 laps): 1. Nayan Chatterjee (Mumbai) 16:40.939; 2. Bala Prasath 16:49.098; 3. Sohil 17:00.516 .
