Kimilainen takes first W Series win as Chadwick nears title

Emma Kimilainen became the latest W Series winner on Saturday after defeating Alice Powell in a close fight at the front of the pack at Assen.

After missing two races through injury, Kimilainen returned with a fifth-place finish at the Norisring earlier this month before claiming her maiden pole position in the series on Saturday at Assen.

Luke Smith_1

21 Jul 2019

Kimilainen takes first W Series win as Chadwick nears title

Emma Kimilainen became the latest W Series winner on Saturday after defeating Alice Powell in a close fight at the front of the pack at Assen.

After missing two races through injury, Kimilainen returned with a fifth-place finish at the Norisring earlier this month before claiming her maiden pole position in the series on Saturday at Assen.

Despite losing the lead to Powell at the start, Kimilainen was able to recover first position with a pass at Turn 2 on Lap 12 before pulling clear, ultimately taking the chequered flag five seconds clear of the pack.

"It was a really great weekend. From the first free practice session I knew I had the speed to win and, after a bad start, I was soon looking for a good moment to take back the lead from Alice," Kimilainen said.

“After the first race of the season, at Hockenheim, I was hugely disappointed to find out that I had been injured and I didn’t know how long it would be until I could race again. But at the same time, with the help of the best ever healthcare specialists, Hintsa Performance and my own doctor, I was able to come back stronger.

“Ultimately, I’m so glad and so pleased to be back racing – and winning.”

Powell was left to settle for second place ahead of championship leader Jamie Chadwick, who finished six-tenths of a second clear of title rival Beitske Visser to take third place and edge towards the series title.

Chadwick will enter the season finale at Brands Hatch with a 13-point advantage over Visser in the standings, meaning a top-three finish would be enough to clinch the title.

Sunday saw W Series experiment with a reverse grid non-championship round that saw 18-year-old Megan Gilkes take victory by just three-thousandths of a second from Powell, who charged from P17 on the grid to finish second. American racer Sabre Cook took her maiden podium in the series, finishing third ahead of Kimilainen.