Jamie Chadwick wins the inaugural W Series  on Hankook race tyres

The W Series drew to a close this weekend with a thrilling finale at Brands Hatch. Fourth place for championship leader Jamie Chadwick in the sixth and final race of the inaugural 2019 season was sufficient for the British driver to be crowned champion in the only all-woman Formula series in the world. Chadwick was rewarded for her title win with a cheque for 500,000 dollars. The total prize money on offer amounted to 1.5 million dollars. The new racing format, in which only female drivers may race, was launched at the start of the year. Premium tyre maker Hankook supported the drivers with the Ventus Race tyre, which, with its high level of consistency and predictability, proved to be the ideal partner for the young drivers.

Brands Hatch/Great Britain, 12th August 2019 – 18 women from 13 different countries lined up in the inaugural season of the W Series in 2019. They had all come through a tough selection procedure with over 50 applicants. The calendar featured six races, all of which featured on the support programme for the DTM. Jamie Chadwick’s victory in the season-opener in Hockenheim showed that she would be the woman to beat. Beitske Visser emerged as her closest rival. The Dutch driver won one race and produced consistently strong performances to keep the title race alive until the finale at Brands Hatch. However, she was ultimately unable to stop Chadwick from claiming the title.

The 21-year-old lived up to her billing as pre-season favourite. Chadwick had previously become the first woman to win the British GT Championship and the MRF Challenge, and was also the first female driver to win a race in the British Formula 3 series. However, success in the W Series is the highlight of the Brit’s career so far. “Appearing in the W Series has been a great opportunity. This title means everything to me. It is a dream come true. This is the first time I have driven on the Hankook race tyres, and I was very impressed. You are consistently quick on them, always know how the tyre will react, and can adapt to them quickly. My engineers were also impressed. The Hankook race tyre really helped me on my way to the title,” said Chadwick, looking back on her successful season in the W Series.

The all-woman Formula series returns next year. The top twelve drivers in the overall standings are automatically eligible to start. The remaining eight places at the wheel of the 270-hp Formula 3 cars will be allocated after another selection process. Manfred Sandbichler, Hankook Motorsport Director Europe: “It was fun to watch the drivers throughout the season. They stood their ground in some fierce, wheel-to-wheel battles and put on some great displays of racing on our Hankook race tyres. The series developed well over the course of the season and produced great motorsport right down to the finale here at Brands Hatch.”

Tietoa Hankookista

Hankook tuottaa maailmanlaajuisesti huippulaadukkaita, innovatiivisia ja erittäin suorituskykyisiä renkaita henkilöautoihin, SUV-autoihin, maastoautoihin, pakettiautoihin, matkailuautoihin, kuorma-autoihin, busseihin ja autourheiluun (ratakilpailuihin/katukilpailuihin/ralleihin).

Hankook investoi jatkuvasti tutkimukseen ja tuotekehitykseen tarjotakseen asiakkailleen aina korkeinta laatua ja pitkälle kehitettyä huipputekniikkaa. Yritys kehittää ja tuottaa maailmanlaajuisesti viidessä kehityskeskuksessaan ja kahdeksassa tehtaassaan renkaita, jotka on räätälöity alueellisten markkinoiden vaatimusten ja tarpeiden mukaisiksi. Euroopassa renkaat kehitetään paikallisille markkinoille ja alkuperäisrenkaiksi johtavien eurooppalaisten autonvalmistajien määritysten mukaisesti Hankookin tuotekehityskeskuksessa, joka sijaitsee Hannoverissa, Saksassa. Renkaat valmistetaan enimmäkseen yrityksen huippunykyaikaisessa Euroopan tehtaassa Rácalmásissa, Unkarissa. Se vihittiin käyttöön vuonna 2007 ja sitä laajennetaan jatkuvasti.

Hankookin Euroopan ja samalla Saksan pääkonttori sijaitsee Neu-Isenburgissa lähellä Frankfurt am Mainia. Valmistajalla on tytäryhtiöitä useissa Euroopan maissa, ja se myy tuotteitaan alueellisten jälleenmyyjien kautta muilla paikallisilla markkinoilla. Yritys työllistää maailmanlaajuisesti 20 000 ihmistä ja toimittaa tuotteitaan yli 160 maahan. Yhtiö on valittu FIA ABB Formula E World Championship -luokan Generation 3 ‑autojen teknologiakumppaniksi ja yksinoikeudella toimivaksi rengastoimittajaksi vuodesta 2023 alkaen. Johtavat autonvalmistajat luottavat Hankookin renkaisiin alkuperäisrenkaina. Yrityksen liikevaihdosta noin 38 % syntyy Euroopassa.

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