Jamie Chadwick takes historic victory at 4H of Barcelona on ELMS debut
- RACERS
- 22 hours ago
- 6 min read
Jamie Chadwick secured a historic victory at the 4 Hours of Barcelona, the opening round of the 2025 European Le Mans Series, becoming the first woman to win in the LMP2 class in the championship’s history—achieving this feat on her debut in prototype racing.
Jamie Chadwick secured a historic victory at the 4 Hours of Barcelona, the opening round of the 2025 European Le Mans Series, becoming the first woman to win in the LMP2 class in the championship’s history—achieving this feat on her debut in prototype racing.
Starting the race from fifth in class, Chadwick took on the opening stints for IDEC Sport in the #18 Oreca 07 Gibson, showing maturity and composure in a chaotic opening phase of the contest. Navigating through multiclass traffic and early race incidents, she maintained the car in the fight, running between sixth and eighth in LMP2.
After a strong double stint, she handed over to teammates Daniel Juncadella and Mathys Jaubert—both also contesting their first races in LMP2 machinery. The trio executed a flawless run, gradually moving up the order before sealing a dramatic class win and a stunning second place overall, just one lap short of outright victory.
This result marked the first appearance for a female driver on the overall ELMS podium since Sophia Floersch’s runner-up finish at the 4 Hours of Le Castellet in 2022, and a milestone achievement as the first LMP2 class win by a woman in the series.
Chadwick, 26, returned to European racing this year after two seasons in the United States, where she competed in IndyCar’s main feeder series, Indy NXT. A three-time W Series champion, she showed steady progression across her time in the US, culminating in a breakthrough win at Road America in 2024, along with a pole position and podium finish.
Her return to Europe came through the Genesis Magma Racing project, which led to her joining IDEC Sport for her first full-season LMP2 campaign. While Chadwick had prior experience in sports cars—including race wins in GT4 British GT and a class victory at the Nürburgring 24 Hours—LMP2 presented a fresh challenge, blending the high-downforce factor similar to single-seaters with the demanding characteristics of endurance racing.
Following pre-season testing and the official ELMS Prologue at Barcelona the week prior to the season opener, IDEC Sport steadily built pace. All three drivers worked on getting up to speed with the Oreca, and in the first official practice session, the #18 IDEC Sport car was fourth fastest, with silver-rated youngster Mathys Jaubert posting the team’s best time. Chadwick and Juncadella showed similar pace in the second practice, with the Brit just four tenths shy of the Spaniard GT ace.
Jaubert was tasked with qualifying duties on Saturday afternoon. He set a 1:29.114 on his first run to sit eighth in class, then returned to the pits for new tyres with six minutes remaining. He improved to a 1:28.766 to move up to seventh and, on his final lap, found even more time with a 1:28.309 — a superb performance to secure fifth place in LMP2.
Race day arrived under sunny skies for the four-hour season opener. Jamie Chadwick took the start in the #18 Oreca for her first-ever stint in an LMP2 prototype. Into Turn 1, she drove cautiously but effectively, maintaining fifth overall despite being passed by the ProAm #10 entry of Laurents Hörr, who cut across the escape road to gain several positions, for which he would be later penalized.
Settling into her pace quickly, Chadwick was running consistent 1:33.6s by lap 4. While she lost positions to Manuel Espirito Santo (#47 CLX Motorsport) and Oliver Gray (#48 VDS Panis Racing), she successfully defended from Cem Bölükbasi, who eventually got by. The IDEC Sport car settled in eighth in class after the opening 30 minutes of uninterrupted green-flag racing.
Chadwick worked to manage traffic from slower classes while also preserving tyres as degradation began to play a role. Toward the end of her first stint, she improved pace again with laps in the 1:36 range before pitting from eighth in class. She remained in the car for a double stint, rejoining the race in P10 after the first round of pit stops.
She then held position ahead of Pedro Perino’s Inter Europol car, building a gap and keeping things clean amid mounting pressure and increasing traffic. As other LMP2 teams encountered issues, Chadwick climbed back to seventh by lap 44 and maintained a consistent run, showcasing solid defensive driving and traffic management.
After 90 minutes of green-flag running, the first Virtual Safety Car was deployed due to Scott Noble’s #66 JMW Ferrari spinning into the gravel at Turn 3. Chadwick remained out for one more lap before pitting from the overall lead, handing over to Daniel Juncadella with two hours and 30 minutes to go. It was a solid, mistake-free stint that allowed the team to stay in the fight and bank valuable track time for the rookie LMP2 driver.
When the race resumed with 2h18 remaining, Juncadella attacked immediately and ran third overall — second in LMP2. He clocked the team’s fastest lap with a 1:33.708 and began closing the gap to leader Enzo Fittipaldi in the #47 CLX Motorsport car.
Holding a steady pace in the 1:35s, Juncadella kept the gap to Fittipaldi at around five seconds while fending off Esteban Masson in the #48 VDS Panis Racing Oreca. As the second round of stops approached, Masson continued to apply pressure, and Juncadella eventually pitted on lap 79.
Rejoining fifth overall and third in class, Juncadella recovered to third, but Masson emerged ahead after the pit cycle. Shortly after, a second VSC was triggered when the #12 WTM by Rinaldi LMP3 car became stranded in the gravel. The VSC would later turn to a full safety car as per rules.
This initiated a round of pit stops with just over one hour left. Juncadella pitted and handed over to Mathys Jaubert, who returned to the track from second overall after IDEC Sport leapfrogged the VDS Panis Racing Oreca in the pits.
With 70 minutes remaining, one more pit stop would be required. As the gaps were neutralized, strategy and execution would be decisive, with gold- and platinum-rated drivers now taking over across the field. The race restarted with 1h03 to go, with Jaubert locked in battle with Pipo Derani, now in the #47 CLX Motorsport car.
As the race entered its final hour, the top five cars were covered by just a few seconds. Jaubert had to hold off renewed pressure from Charles Milesi in the #48 VDS Panis entry, but expertly used traffic to close in on Derani, then launched a successful move for the overall lead.
Jaubert immediately opened a gap, pulling out nearly 10 seconds with a string of fast laps. However, a Full Course Yellow was triggered for a stranded #11 Eurointernational LMP3 car, neutralizing the race once more. At the restart, the gap reduced to just four seconds. Mathieu Vaxivière passed Derani to become Jaubert’s main challenger, though his entry was a ProAm and thus not a direct rival for LMP2 honors.
With 20 minutes remaining, the final round of stops began. Jaubert pitted, remained on used tyres, and retained the lead. Behind him, Milesi rejoined the fray while Derani’s car retired at Turn 2 and the DKR Engineering LMP3 car also stopped on track. This brought out the third VSC and a final full safety car.
With just a handful of laps remaining, Jaubert led the field to the restart, with Milesi, Fittipaldi, and Vaxivière close behind, all aiming for overall victory. The green flag waved with two laps to go: Jaubert nailed the restart, immediately pulling away. Vaxivière passed Milesi and then overtook Jaubert — but as a ProAm entry, he wasn’t fighting for LMP2 class honors. Jaubert wisely avoided unnecessary risks and settled for second overall, sealing the class win.
Across the line, Jaubert, Juncadella, and Jamie Chadwick celebrated their LMP2 victory on debut — an outstanding result for the entire crew.
Chadwick became only the second female driver to stand on the overall ELMS podium after Sophia Flörsch (2021 and 2022) — and made history as the first woman to win an LMP2 race in the European Le Mans Series, wrapping up a remarkable debut.
Now leading the LMP2 championship after round one of six, Chadwick and her teammates will aim to build on this momentum at the 4 Hours of Le Castellet on 4 May.
