BRANDS HATCH, England — Britain's Jamie Chadwick was crowned first champion of the all-female W Series on Sunday, and collected a $500,000 prize, despite finishing only fourth in the season's final race at Brands Hatch. The 21-year-old had started from pole position in front of her home crowd, and needing a top three finish to be sure of beating Dutch rival Beitske Visser to the title, but she made hard work of it.

"That was the worst 30 minutes of my life, honestly," said Chadwick. "The pressure just got to me a little bit."

Compatriot Alice Powell ripped up Chadwick's script of a comfortable pole-to-flag win by seizing her first victory of the six race campaign while Finland's Emma Kimilainen took second place.

Visser started fifth, needing to win, and overtook Chadwick for third in the closing stages to end the season as runner-up and with a $250,000 payout.

Chadwick finished with 110 points to Visser's 100. Powell was third overall on 76.

Chadwick, who had stood on the podium in the five previous races, had led cleanly from the start but then suffered her worst afternoon of the season, dropping back down the field.

The W Series, which uses identical 1.8 liter Formula Three cars, aims to help female racers climb the male-dominated motorsport ladder towards Formula One, which last saw a woman start a race in 1976. — Reuters