Marta Garcia was crowned champion of the fourth W Series race at the iconic Norisring on Saturday, crossing the line 3.619s ahead of Beitske Visser, who finished P2 for the second race in a row.
Bagging pole position in qualifying and clocking the second-fastest lap of the race (51.049sec), 18-year-old Garcia drove superbly to earn 25 points, elevating herself to third position in the title chase.
Visser made a stunning start, climbing from P5 to P2 by Turn 1, forcing championship leader Jamie Chadwick into third place. That formation (Garcia-Visser-Chadwick) endured for the duration of the race, despite Chadwick putting intense pressure on Visser at the end of the race. However, it was the Dutch racer who came out on top, finishing just under half a second ahead of her main championship rival.
In fourth position was Fabienne Wohlwend who, after another strong drive, finished 2.135s behind Chadwick. But hot on her heels was Emma Kimilainen, who made an outstanding comeback after being forced to miss the past two races through injury. Qualifying in P8, the Finn fought her way through the field, gaining three places and ultimately finishing in P5, clocking the fastest lap of the race on her way.
Sadly, it was a race weekend to forget for Alice Powell. After being T-boned during FP1 on Friday, she was forced to start the race from P18 following a gearbox problem during qualifying. They say that bad luck comes in threes and that was certainly the case for Powell who, despite putting in an extraordinary drive, climbing from P18 to P8, had to retire early for the third time this weekend, blighted by a fuel pump issue with less than five minutes to go.
Falling victim to the challenge of the notorious Turn 1 was Sarah Moore who collided with Shea Holbrook, causing damage to the front of her car. Although she managed to get going again, her suspension eventually gave way, causing her to pull over and retire.
Completing a sad trio of British DNFs was Jessica Hawkins. Despite qualifying and therefore starting from P6, a position she retained for almost the entirety of the race, suffered a terminal power loss minutes before the end, which caused a premature finish to what had been a very impressive weekend for the 24-year-old from Hampshire.
Discussion about this post