Chadwick opens its karting championship to girls aged 8

Last year, Jamie Chadwick launched an all-female championship in partnership with the British karting site Daytona: The Jamie Chadwick Series. The initiative was to promote karting for young girls and allow them to get started in motorsport while being well supported.

As a reminder, Jamie Chadwick is one of the most famous female drivers. She notably won the W Series, an all-female regional Formula championship, four times, the British GT championship in 2015, and was the first woman to win an English F3 race, as well as an Indy NXT race. , antechamber of the IndyCar. She has also been a development driver for the Williams Formula 1 team since 2019.

The British driver returned to the initial intentions of this women's karting campaign. Getting a woman into Formula 1 is a long-term goal, but it will only be achieved by starting at the base: allowing young girls to drive and access motorsport as a whole.

“There has been so much pressure and focus on bringing a female driver into Formula 1 that I think we have lost sight of what we wanted to do in the first place, which was to create a diverse sport and involve more women from the start”Chadwick told Motorsport.com.

“When I think back to my beginnings in the sport, I was very lucky. I had an older brother who helped me get started, and it was thanks to him that I started karting . It was a system where you came in and you drove, and my family didn't know anything about the next stages of the sport or anything like that.”

“[Avec la Jamie Chadwick Series] we sought to create an environment where you could make friends, where there is a community. They can try it for the first time and be comfortable, confident, and they know that karting is open to them. We also want to see what we can do to help them go further, to give them opportunities and allow them to access other opportunities in sport.”

The Jamie Chadwick Series therefore returns for a second season in 2025. It will include nine rounds across Great Britain and will take place from February to December with one new feature, however. The peloton will be divided into two different age groups, the juniors aged 12 to 15, and the cadets aged 8 to 11, the championship now being open to very young people. The winner of each group will receive support and personal mentoring from Chadwick for the following year.

“The objective is to attack the roots of the problem, at the base”added Chadwick. “That's why the 8 to 11 year old category is so important for us, because that's really the age you want to start playing this sport. I started when I was 12, that's that is to say a little later, but it is the age of 8 that we want to target now.”

This announcement comes at the end of an incredibly successful inaugural year for the Jamie Chadwick Series, which saw female participation at Daytona kart tracks increase across the country. The championship is now the largest women's karting initiative in the UK, reaching over 450 girls in its first season.

With the advent of the F1 Academy and the potential, particularly media, that this championship sponsored by Formula 1 can offer, Chadwick would like to collaborate with the category in order to direct the young drivers in his campaign.

“Working with recruiters is something I want to introduce at this level”she said. “We've tried to introduce it slowly, but it's something I've thought about. A lot [des pilotes de la  Jamie Chadwick Series] are competing in the equivalent British championships and having success, so I definitely think it's something we can look at.”

In 2025, Chadwick will juggle her mentoring activities with her television commitments in F1 and Formula E. She will also continue to work with Williams as tutor to Lia Block, a junior academy driver for the British team competing in F1. Academy.

After a test for the French team IDEC Sport, alongside Logan Sargeant in particular, the 26-year-old driver announced that she would participate in the LMP2 program of the European Le Mans Series in 2025 with this same team. It will also make its debut at the 24 Hours of Le Mans this season.

“I would like to try to combine this with other activities, potentially in America”concluded Chadwick, she who had expressed her wish to join the IndyCar championship. “I'm also testing in Formula E with Jaguar. I definitely want to add more races to my calendar, but I'm still very excited about this year. Le Mans is a race that's high on the bucket list , so I'm looking forward to it.”

Comments collected by Ben Hunt