Powell takes lights to flag victory in W Series opener

Alice Powell converted her maiden W Series pole position into victory at the Red Bull Ring on Saturday.

The Briton, driving for Racing X, controlled the event, which included a Safety Car for a stranded competitor and a messy final few laps.

Sarah Moore crossed the line second, holding her starting position, with Bunker Racing’s Fabienne Wohlwend completing the podium positions in third, having started ninth.

Reigning series champion Jamie Chadwick mounted a recovery drive from eighth on the grid following a disappointing qualifying session to finish seventh, having dropped to the back of the field after she was hit by Racing X’s Jessica Hawkins at the start.

A hard-fought battle for second was mounted by Marta Garcia, but it ended with the Spaniard running wide and through the gravel, dropping her down the order. She then slowed, forcing her off track to cause a Safety Car with ten minutes remaining.

That Safety Car left a two-lap sprint race which led to plenty of action in the closing laps.

Beitske Visser was spun at Turn 1 after contact with Ecurie W’s Emma Kimilainen. She dropped to the back, whilst Kimilainen damaged her front-wing and became a moving chicane for the rest of the field, eventually crossing the line in 14th place.

#	Driver	Team	Gap
1	Alice Powell	Racing X
2	Sarah Moore	Scuderia W	0.743
3	Fabienne Wohlwend	Bunker Racing	6.609
4	Belén García	Scuderia W	7.224
5	Jessica Hawkins	Racing X	10.387
6	Miki Koyama	Sirin Racing	10.707
7	Jamie Chadwick	Veloce Racing	11.265
8	Nerea Martí	W Series Academy	11.666
9	Irina Sidorkova	W Series Academy	12.159
10	Gosia Rdest	Puma W Series Team	13.727
11	Ayla Agren	M. Forbes Motorsport	15.352
12	Bruna Tomaselli	Veloce Racing	16.685
13	Beitske Visser	M. Forbes Motorsport	18.429
14	Emma Kimiläinen	Ecurie W	18.817
15	Sabré Cook	Bunker Racing	19.198
16	Abbie Eaton	Ecurie W	27.915
17	Vicky Piria	Sirin Racing
18	Marta Garcia	Puma W Series Team