Reigning W Series champion Jamie Chadwick claimed victory in the first Miami race by passing Emma Kimilainen after a final-lap restart.
Nerea Marti had started from pole ahead of Chadwick, Alice Powell and Kimilainen. Surrounded by drivers in their third year of W Series, the less experienced Marti got away poorly, falling to 12th. Chadwick took the lead off the line with Kimilainen snatching second
But Alice Powell’s start was even more disastrous than Marti’s. Her race end in the wall at turn eight, damaging the TecPro barrier there, spraying polystyrene across the track.
Powell was able to leave her car unaided but a Safety Car was called while it was recovered, neutralising the race before Chadwick and Kimilainen had crossed the start/finish line. Powell’s car had initially failed to get away from the grid prior to her crash as she closed on the tail of the pack.
Her wrecked car was picked up by a recovery vehicle. This had to travel along the track in order to exit, stopping under a bridge on the short straight from turn nine while cars continued to circulate behind the Safety Car. As the process dragged on and race time dwindled away, a red flag was thrown with 18 and a half minutes 29 remaining.
The race resumed at 14:55 local, with a rolling start. Chadwick got away in the lead, Kimilianen and Fabienne Wohlwend behind her.
Marta Garcia took third from Wohlwend through turns five and six, their battle allowing Chadwick, with Kimilainen on her rear wing, to draw a short lead. Kimilainen made an attempt at a pass through turn 17 but was repelled by Chadwick, although they crossed the line almost side-by-side to start the third racing lap.
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Wohlwend suffered a lock-up into turn five which gave Jessica Hawkins the opportunity to make a serious attempt at taking fourth, a line of cars beginning to form behind Wohlwend while the leaders drew away. Abbie Eaton, meanwhile, had moved up to sixth and into a position…