2019 Zolder Race

The **2019 Zolder Race**, otherwise known as the **2019 W Series Zolder Race** and the **#WRace2**, was the second round of the 2019 BRSCC W Series Championship, staged at the Circuit Zolder in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium, on 18 May 2019. The race would see Beitske Visser secure victory, fending off several early challenges from Jamie Chadwick.

Qualifying would see Chadwick narrowly beat Visser to pole in a session long duel, with just a tenth separating them as the chequered flag flew. Alice Powell and Marta García were close together in third and fourth, while Emma Kimiläinen had to withdraw, resulting in reserve driver Vivien Keszthelyi getting a run out.

There would be drama on the formation lap as Sarah Bovy pulled aside with smoke pouring from her engine, although she suddenly managed to fire her car back up and pull onto the back of the grid. Yet, when the lights went out her engine died completely, leaving her stranded on the start/finish straight in a dangerous position as the rest of the field charged away.

At the head of the field, meanwhile, Visser got the jump of Chadwick to secure the lead, while Gosia Rdest physically jumped the start and gained numerous positions. Fabienne Wohlwend and Tasmin Pepper were her main victims, being elbowed out of the top ten, before the race was neutralised behind the Safety Car due to Bovy's stranded car.

After a single lap the SC was withdrawn and the race resumed, with Visser fending off a half lunge from Chadwick, while the rest of the field gave chase. Yet, before the race could settle the field were brought under the SC's jurisdiction once again, this time for two separate incidents at the same corner.

The first clash saw Esmee Hawkey attempt a mistimed lunge on Rdest, with the resulting clash of wheels breaking their suspension and sending them skidding into the gravel. As that was going on, Sabré Cook tapped the back of Keszthelyi as the Hungarian racer braked to avoid the accident, sending Keszthelyi straight into the barriers.

Cook was slapped with a drive-through penalty for causing Keszthelyi's accident as the race resumed, with Visser again having to fend off the attentions of Chadwick. However, the Dutch racer would soon establish a lead over the British youth, with Chadwick instead having to fend off compatriot Powell as the race wore on. Indeed, a mistake from Chadwick in the closing stages saw her and Powell complete almost a full lap side-by-side, before Chadwick eventually managed to gain the upper hand.

With that the race was run, with Visser having escaped up the road to claim a dominant victory, eight seconds clear at the head of the field. Behind, Chadwick managed to keep Powell at bay to secure second and maintain her Championship lead, with Powell herself completing the podium. García was next with Sarah Moore on her tail, while Pepper, Wohlwend, Miki Koyama, Vicky Piria and Naomi Schiff completing the scorers.

## Background

Jamie Chadwick claimed the Championship lead at the opening round, securing 25 points after claiming the first ever race win. Alice Powell was next, seven off the lead ahead of Marta García, while Beitske Visser had secured fourth after the opening bout. Sarah Moore, Fabienne Wohlwend, Miki Koyama, Tasmin Pepper, Gosia Rdest and Caitlin Wood were the other scorers in Hockenheim.

### Entry List

The full entry list for the 2019 Zolder Race is displayed below:

## Qualifying

### Results

The final qualifying result for the 2019 Zolder Race are outlined below:

* \* Hawkins served a three place grid penalty for crossing the pit-exit line.
* † Kimiläinen withdrew from the race weekend due to injury.

## Race

### Results

The final classification of the 2019 Zolder Race is displayed below:

* **Bold** indicates a driver started from pole.
* *Italics* indicate that a driver set fastest lap.
* \* Bovy was unable to start the race due to an engine failure.

## Milestones

* Debut race for Vivien Keszthelyi.
* Maiden win for Beitske Visser.
	+ Also Visser first podium finish and fastest lap.
* Maiden points finish for Vicky Piria and Naomi Schiff.

## Standings

Jamie Chadwick had maintained her lead in the Championship after the second round of the season, although her advantage had been reduced by a single point. Beitske Visser had moved into second after her maiden win, while Alice Powell sat in third, ten off the lead. Marta García was next up in fourth ahead of Sarah Moore, while Vicky Piria and Naomi Schiff were the only new scorers after the second round.

*Only point scoring drivers are shown.*

## References

1. ↑ 'W Series To Support DTM in 2019', *wseries.com*, (W Series Limited, 12/10/2018), https://wseries.com/w-hub/w-series-to-support-dtm-in-2019/, (Accessed 31/03/2020)
2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 [Archived] 'Zolder, Belgium', *wseries.com*, (W Series Limited, 2019), https://web.archive.org/web/20190506170558/https://wseries.com/races/zolder/, (Accessed 02/04/2020) - Original
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lucy Morson, 'Zolder W Series: Chadwick beats Visser to pole', *motorsport.com*, (Motorsport Network, 18/05/2019), https://www.motorsport.com/w-series/news/zolder-qualifying-chadwick-visser/4390750/, (Accessed 02/04/2020)
4. ↑ [Archived] '2019 W Series Drivers', *wseries.com*, (W Series Limited, 2019), https://web.archive.org/web/20200321160627/https://wseries.com/2019-drivers/, (Accessed 31/03/2020) - Original
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 '2019 W Series Zolder', *motorsportstats.com*, (Motorsport Network, 2019), https://results.motorsportstats.com/results/2019-zolder/classification, (Accessed 02/04/2020)