“A Big Step”: Jamie Chadwick reflects on back-to-back wins
- RACERS
- 3 hours ago
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"It's been a good step, and I think we're just going to keep aiming to make those steps and hopefully we can get closer to where we need to be" - Jamie Chadwick has made a historic start to her ELMS campaign with back-to-back wins — here's what she told us as she prepares for her debut at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Jamie Chadwick has burst onto the European Le Mans Series scene with a record-breaking start to her debut season in endurance racing. After clinching class victory on her LMP2 debut at the season opener in Barcelona — becoming the first woman to win in the series in the category — she made history once again at Paul Ricard by becoming the first-ever woman to win outright in ELMS.
After a strong performance in Barcelona, the second round at Circuit Paul Ricard marked an even bigger step forward for Chadwick, as she was faced with extremely challenging weather conditions during the opening stint. Starting on slick tyres on a wet track, the British driver had to carefully manage the conditions before switching back to wets early in the race.
What followed was a remarkably solid performance, as she climbed through the order with clean and consistent laps, keeping the IDEC Sport Oreca Gibson steadily in contention for the overall podium.
Chadwick handed the car over to teammates Daniel Juncadella and Mathys Jaubert, both of whom executed the strategy perfectly to bring home a historic overall win for the team.
“Honestly, incredible. There's still a lot of work to do, personally, to get to the performance I want to get to, but at the same time, I think to have two wins from two, I'm very fortunate” - Chadwick told us after the race.
“I’m in a great team with great teammates that are making us look very strong this year, which has been fantastic", she continued. "We've just been trying to learn as much as we can, no mistakes, and that's just paid off, so I'm very happy."
Despite all three drivers being rookies in LMP2, IDEC Sport has uncovered one of the standout lineups of the season. Chadwick has blended seamlessly into the programme, showing speed, maturity, and composure in what is only her first year in top-level prototype racing.
In Barcelona, Chadwick showed promising pace and made significant progress over the weekend, with a well-timed safety car aiding the team's strategy. But the second round at Le Castellet was a far more complete performance from the 26-year-old, who demonstrated increased confidence and a better understanding of both the car and the traffic management unique to the format.
Pace-wise, she held her own even in extremely difficult conditions, made no mistakes, and executed the stint perfectly, emerging as one of the most valuable drivers in the first part of the race.
“It was definitely a big step [from Barcelona], a lot more competitive, even I think if the race was dry, I think we would have been fighting still towards the forefront", Jamie said. "So, yeah, definitely a big step. I think it's just learning it.”
“I think in Barcelona, our pace wasn't so bad, but in the race I struggled a little bit and it was all very new, but here I think it's been a good step, and I think we're just going to keep aiming to make those steps and hopefully we can get closer to where we need to be.”
Next up is perhaps one of the biggest challenges of her career so far: the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Chadwick in fact will make her debut at the legendary French endurance classic in June, the most prestigious race on the calendar and a true milestone in the career of any driver. Although it will be her first time at Le Mans, she is no stranger to 24-hour competitions — she won her class at the Nürburgring 24 Hours in 2019 in an Aston Martin GT4, and also claimed a class victory at the 24H of Silverstone in 2015.
But this year’s Le Mans will be a different test altogether, with the high-speed nature of the LMP2 prototype and the demands of the biggest stage in motorsport setting a whole new benchmark.
“I think Le Mans is going to be a whole different ballgame", she says. "Obviously, the same philosophy of learning, taking no risks, trying not to make any mistakes and try and learn as much as we can."
"But yeah, it's going to be a big challenge for sure. I've never been to or ever raced at Le Mans, so it's going to be a great experience, but also a great challenge.”
Chadwick’s LMP2 campaign is part of the Genesis Magma project, as the manufacturer prepares to enter top-level endurance competitions with a future Hypercar entry. The ELMS programme — and the team’s entry into Le Mans — is a key step in what’s being called a trajectory programme.
For Chadwick, this marks the beginning of a new chapter. After years of success in single-seaters — including three consecutive titles in the all-female W Series, and two seasons in Indy NXT, where she claimed pole position and a historic win at Road America — the move to endurance racing signals her shift toward a long-term future at the top of the sport. She also tested an IndyCar as a result of her US performances, and served as a development driver for the Williams F1 team. Now, her career is once again on an upward trajectory, as she looks to convert her formula experience into long-term success in endurance racing.
“I think [single seaters] helped me with just general level of performance", Chadwick explains. "Now there's a lot of new things I need to learn and need to get a bit better at, but it's definitely helped me and there's a lot of things I rely on that I've learnt, obviously, in many years of experience that I've been fortunate enough to have in single-seaters. So it's paying off a little bit, but still a lot of work to do.”
Jamie Chadwick is now preparing for her biggest test yet — her debut in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, taking place on 15–16 June — and the start of what could be another defining chapter in one of the most groundbreaking female talents of the decade.
