Three-time W Series Champion Jamie Chadwick has enjoyed success throughout her racing career. While she has become established in the single seater categories, winning the 2019 MRF Challenge Formula 2000 title and taking two podiums, including one win, in the 2024 Indy NXT Series in the USA.
However, the 26-year-old from Bath in the UK also has an impressive track record in sportscars, securing the British GT4 title with current Aston Martin works driver Ross Gunn in 2015 and was also a class winner at the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring in 2019.
Jamie Chadwick has been named as part of the Genesis Magma Project which will see Hyundai’s luxury brand step into the World Endurance Championship in 2026. As part of this project Chadwick will race with 2019 ELMS Team Champions IDEC Sport in the 2025 European Le Mans Series.
Q: Welcome to the ELMS.You have become well known as a single seater racer, winning the W Series three times and competing in the Indy NXT Series with Andretti Global, but you’ve also had some success in GT, winning the British GT4 championship with Ross Gunn and a class win at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring.Has endurance racing always been part of your career plan?
Jamie Chadwick: “Definitely. Endurance racing has always been something that I've been interested in. I followed and I've loved as there are a lot of endurance races that I've kind of dreamed of doing in my career.
“I took kind of a sort of unusual step into endurance initially in my career in GT4 and then transitioned into single seaters. So, it always felt like at some point I’d potentially come back. Of course, to come back in LMP2, including a race like Le Mans, is kind of beyond expectations in some ways, and especially with the Genesis Magma program as well, it's really exciting.”
Q: The ELMS LMP2 category is one of the most competitive classes in endurance with some of the best teams and drivers taking part.Is this one of the reasons you chose to race here in the ELMS?
JC: “LMP2, as a category, is something I've always been really interested in. Looking at the ELMS now, it's so competitive. If we go through the grid, there's just so many strong lineups. So that, combined with the teams, I think the nature of the car is, is really cool. I like the level of performance you get out of the LMP2 car and in its full anger, it is really nice to drive.
“That combined with the teams that are involved, it's definitely something that I've always been interested in, and I think the ELMS is a really good platform to learn and to develop skills in endurance racing before ultimately, trying to look at something in the World Endurance Championship.”
Q: You are racing with former ELMS Champions IDEC Sport, how well do you know the team and how are you fitting in with them ahead of the 2025 season?
JC: “It’s really good. I’ve only done a couple of tests with the team, but I’ve spent a lot of time with them at their base in Paul Ricard and they’re a fantastic group of people. Obviously, the team has a very good heritage in the sport, and particularly in ELMS and there is a really strong lineup in our sister car as well, which is definitely beneficial for us.
“They are led by Nicolas Minassian; he's a former racer, so he knows and gets it, which is great. I've got a really good feeling with the team. Of course, the car looks to be super-fast, so no excuses there, and it's just nice to be able to learn and develop with them.”
Q: What do you think about the car you will be racing this year? How different is the Oreca 07-Gibson to the cars you’ve raced up to now?
JC: “It's pretty different. The main thing is the weight of the car. It's actually feels quite a lot quicker than anything I've driven, and obviously with the sort of level of downforce that it has. It definitely feels high level of performance, obviously a little bit heavier and these kinds of things, but it also has power steering, which is quite nice. So, I think there's some good similarities from single seaters, but also a lot of a lot of differences.”
Q: Looking ahead to the ELMS season, we are visiting some very iconic circuits, and we are also returning to your home circuit of Silverstone for the first time in six years.What are your thoughts on the calendar in general, what circuits are you looking forward to the mostand what are your thoughts on the race at Silverstone in September?
JC: “I’m really excited to return to Silverstone, my home track, in many ways, so it's a race that I'm really looking forward to. I think the rest of the calendar has some of my favourite circuits in Europe. I think if you cherry pick them, they're all kind of up there. I am familiar with most of them, it’s only Portimao that I haven't been to. So, it's a great calendar and some awesome tracks to drive, so to experience in the LMP2 car is going to be nice.”
Q: You’ve been a role model for female drivers in motorsport, with the ELMS able to provide a platform for teams such as Iron Dames project and drivers like Sophia Floersch and Tatiana Calderon.Do you feel that motorsport has reached a stage where female drivers are now being recognised for their driving skills equally or is there still some distance to go?Personally, do you feel that people see Jamie Chadwick racing driver not Jamie Chadwick female racing driver now?
“In some ways, I hope so, because that's what we're trying to go out and do. I think ELMS, and endurance racing in general, is a great sort of levelling of the playfield for a lot of female drivers. I think there's great opportunities there. And I think, as you say, what Iron Dames, for example, are doing is really kind of paving a really strong pathway for the other female drivers.
“But at the same time, I think it's great that we can shine a bit of visibility on women in the sport, because I think it's great to try and showcase what women are capable of, both behind the wheel and in the garage and in all roles. I think it's great to kind of continue with that progression. I think it's great to be looking and pushing for more women to get into our sport.”
Q: You had the honour of being the Grand Marshal at this years Daytona 24.How was that?
JC: “It was very cool and an honour to be the Grand Marshal. In other ways, I would love to be racing at the race. It's definitely given me the appetite to try and do that race one day, it's a such special event. got to sort of watch it from afar, learn a lot about the race itself by being there. But I'd like to go back in a car next time.”
The 2025 European Le Mans Series will start at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya with The Prologue on the 1stApril, with Round 1 of the six race series, the 4 Hours of Barcelona, on Sunday 6thApril.
