F3: Chadwick makes single seater history with victory in Brands Hatch race two.
Douglas Motorsport's Jamie Chadwick is the first woman to win a British F3 race, after taking victory at Brands Hatch in the second contest of the weekend this morning (Sunday).
Chadwick, the 2015 British GT4 Champion, finished second on the road behind Double R Racing's Pavan Ravishankar, with the Singaporean climbing from third to first at the start, but was adjudged to have made a false start and was handed a 10 second time penalty. Krishnaraaj Mahadik soared from ninth on the grid to claim second, with Kush Maini following suit to claim a podium from 10th on the grid.
Sasakorn Chaimongkol was fourth for Hillspeed, ahead of Douglas Motorsport's Arvin Esmaeili, who looked on course to claim a podium early on before being passed after a safety car period, and eventually finished just 0.062s ahead of Hillspeed's Jusuf Owega.
Fortec duo Manuel Maldonado and Tom Gamble claimed seventh and eighth, with Carlin's Nicolai Kjaergaard ninth having started 13th. Ravishankar was eventually classified 10th after picking up his penalty.
At the start, Ravishankar made a speedy get away from third on the grid to take the lead before Paddock Hill Bend, with Chadwick also making a decent start to climb to second. Almost immediately, a penalty was handed to Ravishankar, with the Singaporean still leading on the road, with himself and Chadwick almost two seconds ahead of the rest of the field at the end of lap one, with Esmaeili holding third early on from pole sitter Ben Hurst.
The Safety Car was dispatched at the end of the second lap, with Hurst off in the gravel at Clearways, and eliminating the comfortable gap the lead duo had at the front. Race one winner Jamie Caroline, who had climbed from 15th on the grid to 11th at the end of lap one, also suffered a difficult lap and dropped to the tail of the field.
The safety car pitted at the start of lap seven, with Ravishankar leading them across the line with Chadwick following closely. The lead two began to eke out an advantage again, while Esmaeili tried to fend off a pack of several cars behind him as he aimed for his first podium.
The podium pursuit didn't last too long as he was shuffled back on lap nine, with Mahadik's impressive rise through the order continuing by blasting by into what was effectively second place, with Maini and Chaimongkol also moving past.
At the front, Chadwick was operating around half a second behind Ravishankar, with the win looking comfortable, but Mahadik was charging, and eventually finishing just 0.439s behind at the chequered flag, with Maini only a further 0.288s behind.
Mahadik's race was particularly impressive, gaining two places on lap one, another place on lap two, and then continued his charge after the safety car, taking fourth on lap seven before finally passing Esmaeili.
Maini's race was similarly busy. He held his 10th place on lap one, but frantic action on lap two saw him surge to fifth before the safety car. He dropped to sixth after being passed by Mahadik on the first lap after the safety car, but was up to fourth by lap nine, and claimed his podium after Ravishankar's penalty was applied.
Further back, Kjaergaard trimmed Linus Lundqvist's championship lead by finishing ninth and gaining four places, while Lundqvist enjoyed a three place gain to take 11th. Race one winner Caroline pitted and retired on lap eight.
The top three drivers were presented with their trophies on the podium by BRDC Member Callum Macleod. The final race of the weekend starts at 15.55, with Kjaergaard on pole.
BRDC British F3 Championship, Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit, race two result:
1. Jamie Chadwick, Douglas Motorsport, 13 laps 2. Krishnaraaj Mahadik, Double R Racing, +0.439s 3. Kush Maini, Lanan Racing, +0.727s 4. Sasakorn Chaimongkol, Hillspeed, +4.001s 5. Arvin Esmaeili, Douglas Motorsport, +7.828s 6. Jusuf Owega, Hillspeed, +7.890s 7. Manuel Maldonado, Fortec Motorsports, +8.408s 8. Tom Gamble, Fortec Motorsports, +8.608s 9. Nicolai Kjaergaard, Carlin, +8.765s 10. Pavan Ravishankar, Double R Racing, +8.949s 11. Linus Lundqvist, Double R Racing, +10.227s 12. Sun Yue Yang, Carlin, +10.951s 13. Billy Monger, Carlin, +14.807s 14. Josh Mason, Lanan Racing, +28.665s DNF. Jamie Caroline, Carlin, +5 laps DNF. Ben Hurst, Hillspeed, +12 laps.
Original article from British F3 com
