Rolex Testimonee Jamie Chadwick has had a racing career of many firsts, first female and youngest person ever to in the GT4 class of the British GT Championship. First female winner in the British F3 championship, winner of the first three W Series titles, and now the first female to win a European Le Mans Series race.
Jamie Chadwick has returned to endurance racing in 2025, after many years racing in single-seaters, driving a LMP2 car for the IDEC Sport team with co-drivers Mathys Jaubert and Daniel Juncadella in the European Le Mans Series (ELMS).
On the weekend just gone, Chadwick and her teammates Jaubert and Juncadella took their second outright victory in the ELMS at the 4 Hours of Silverstone race, Chadwick’s home event. The #18 Oreca team started the season off with a bang taking out a class win and second overall at Barcelona and then had their first overall victory in Round Two at Le Castellet. With one round to go, Chadwick and her teammates are back in contention for this year’s ELMS championship.
“There’s always pressure and expectation to perform in motor sport, but there’s so many added variables in endurance racing, so many things that can go right or wrong. You can never guarantee yourself a result, and if you’re not doing well or performing, then you’re not going to progress. The margins of error are so small. The most minor differences on track make all the difference between whether you’re performing well or you’re not,” said Chadwick.
In a recent documentary, ‘Rolex presents: Jamie Chadwick – The Road Ahead’, Chadwick describes the competitiveness that burns within her and how she got into motorsport growing up on the famous Isle of Man.
“My older brother was always interested in cars and followed racing from a young age. We did everything together, so naturally when he started go-karting, it didn’t take too long before I did too. Karting was just as a hobby at first, but it grew quickly, and I soon realized that racing was what I wanted to do in my career.
When I started, I just wanted to be the fastest driver, I didn’t want to be known as a female driver. Now I’m genuinely passionate about being a female figure in racing and I really believe in what women are capable of in the sport. That first hurdle, for me, was getting into the sport and I really want to break that barrier down for the next generational of female drivers,” Chadwick shared.
To help break down these barriers, Ms Chadwick has started the Jamie Chadwick Series in the United Kingdom for young girls to get a start in karting, the natural breeding ground for future motorsport stars. Chadwick has partnered with Daytona Motorsport with the initiative aiming to address the low levels of female representation in motorsport, where only 13% of karting participants were female.
“When I started racing, I didn’t notice a difference between myself and the male competitors. Being a female racing driver in my early teens, I was blissfully unaware that women in motor sport was seen as something unusual or different. But later on in my career, I definitely started to notice this shift. Because you are different it suddenly gets talked about more and you become socially more aware of it. And with that, comes the social pressure of being a female racing driver at a higher level in the sport. Nowadays, there is a big push for women in motor sport and we’re really trying to support this next generation of female talent, and I have been a big part of trying to shine a light on the opportunities for women in the sport,” Chadwick added.
In just the first year, Chadwick’s series saw a 1,900% increase in female participation in competitive karting, a 400% rise in casual karting participation, a 700% increase in endurance racing entries, and a 200% increase in girls trying karting for the first time. In 2025, the minimum age for participation has been lowered to eight years in an effort to foster talent from an even younger age, something crucial for anyone looking to succeed in motorsport.
“The performance gap is something we talk about a lot. There’s always the conversation of when you’re going to see a female driver in Formula 1 and what it will take. There are so many different variables in our sport, so many different factors that go into it. For me, the biggest thing is that we lack numbers of women coming into the sport in the first place. As a result, the number who filter through to a higher level is a lot less, and then you get fewer female drivers competing at a high level. Because there are so few women in the sport, if I do badly, it then becomes a reflection on our gender, rather than just in my ability, which shouldn’t be the case for any of us,” said Chadwick in the Rolex documentary.
Chadwick revealed that her ultimate goal is to become the first female in Hypercar, the pinnacle of endurance racing. Where the LMP2 cars have 600 brake horsepower and a top speed of 320-kilometers an hour, Hypercars have 671 brake horsepower with a minimum weight of 1,030kg and a top speed of around 340-350-kilometers an hour. They compete in the World Endurance Car championship and fight for overall victory in the greatest endurance race, the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
On her relationship with Rolex and being welcomed into the Rolex family as the first female motor sport Testimonee Chadwick said, “I could never have imagined becoming a Rolex Testimonee. It feels incredibly special and I’m extremely proud to be part of the family. As the relationship has evolved, getting to know the other motor sport Testimonees has been a privilege; being able to tap into the breadth of experience among them is fantastic and to learn from their journeys through the sport is something I really treasure.
Joining the Rolex family at a young age and being the first female motor sport Testimonee was very special. It highlights Rolex’s commitment and vision for women in sport, which has been an integral part of the brand’s philosophy since the 1920s. Having the opportunity to meet the other women who have incredible achievements in their own sport is truly inspiring and continually motivates me.”
The final round of the 2025 European Le Mans Series will be held at the Algarve International Circuit in Portugal on October 18, 2025. This race, known as the 4 Hours of Portimão, will conclude the six-event ELMS season. Chadwick’s IDEC Sport team is just six points behind with potentially 26 points on offer for a round win and pole position, so victory is firmly within their grasp!
Photographs supplied by Rolex.