Jamie Chadwick became the first laureate of the W Series, the Williams development driver sealing the inaugural all-female championship with a fourth-place finish at Brands Hatch.
Ahead of Sunday's season finale, Chadwick enjoyed a 13-point lead over title challenger Beitske Visser, but the 21-year-old launched her race from pole while her Dutch opponent lined up fifth.
Chadwick blasted off the grid at the start, leading Alice Powell and Assen winner Emma Kimilainen in the first half of the race.
Powell and Kimilainen eventually overhauled Chadwick in a combined move through paddock bend, the pair extending their lead while the championship leader fell into the clutches of title rival Visser.
©RedBull
A spin by Miki Koyama at the entry to Sheene Curve brought out the Safety Car, which closed up the pack. The restart allowed Visser to jump Chadwick to claim the final podium spot behind Powell and Kimilainen.
It was a great effort by the Dutch racer but too late in the race to make further headway and snatch the title from Chadwick.
A solid fourth was enough for the latter to seal the W Series and the $500,000 top purse.
In the overall standings, Chadwick was crowned champion with two overall wins from six races and 110 points, followed by Visser with 100 points and Powell with 76.
The top 12 drivers in the series final standings are guaranteed a spot on the W Series grid in 2020 while the others will need to go once again through the qualifying process.
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"To be the inaugural W Series champion is simply unbelievable. It’ll sink in soon I’m sure, but it hasn’t yet," said the 2019 champion when all was said and done.
"This year has been a whirlwind, and today’s race was more intense than any other racing day I’ve ever had. Even though I finished only fourth, I was just so happy finally to cross the line and secure the championship.
"The whole W Series experience has been incredible. At the beginning of the year I thought it just might be a great season," added Chadwick.
"I suspected that W Series had the potential to be something big, but I never expected it to be this big.
"Obviously, each race has got bigger and better but coming here to Brands Hatch, my home circuit, well, I’ve simply never experienced anything like it.
"I’ve never felt attention from the spectators as much as I did today, and that really is a credit to W Series.
"It’s been an incredible opportunity for all of us, and the things I’ve been able to go on to do alongside W Series have made it by far the best year of my career so far."
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