Interview
‘I knew that was going to be the lap when it happened’ – Chambers aiming for birthday victory celebration after three-in-a-row pole
Chloe Chambers was delighted to add a third consecutive pole position to her tally and now the Red Bull Ford driver has an extra special victory in her sights in Montreal.
Rapid from the outset in Practice, Chambers’ form showed no signs of abating in Qualifying. Provisional pole exchanged hands several times between herself and Alisha Palmowski until she set a rapid 1:38.125 with six minutes to go.
Her effort remained unbeatable despite her teammate’s and Doriane Pin’s improvements, with her securing a second consecutive front row lock-out for Campos Racing.
Thrilled to have delivered on her first visit to the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Chambers said: “I’m definitely feeling very happy about it. In Practice this morning, the pace was really good. It was really close between me and Alisha, so I was really trying my best to keep her behind.
“A 1-2 in Quali for Campos Racing is a really good result. Of course, it’s the same (order) again tomorrow morning for the Miami make-up race. Super excited to race on Sunday and starting from pole again!”
She added: “I knew that was going to be the lap when it happened. It just felt so good. I got through Sector 1 and I think that was where I made up a lot of the time. Then, just try to keep it clean for the rest of the lap to hopefully not lose too much time but also try to be a little bit on the safer side to keep the lap alive.”
Crucially for Chambers’ title aspirations, Race 3 won’t be the only time she finds herself lining up on pole in Montreal. After topping Qualifying in Miami and with Race 1 utilising the final grid from Round 3’s Race 2, the American has two shots to deliver a win.
Celebrating her 21st birthday on Saturday and with only a seven-point deficit to Standings leader Maya Weug — who starts Race 1 nine places behind her — Chambers is hoping that she can make it an extra special occasion.
“I'm really excited,” she remarked. “Tomorrow is my birthday, so I would like to win on my birthday, that would be really fun. It also will help me a bit for Sunday too because I'll be starting in the same position. Hopefully, I'm able to learn from tomorrow and then, carry it on into Sunday and hopefully get two wins this weekend.”
Chambers added: “Every point counts in the end. Two points for pole and then one point for the fastest lap during the race, it’ll make a difference in the end, especially with the way that I’ve been racking up the Qualifying point lately.
“It would have been six points in total for the three pole positions this year so far and that is definitely going to be making a difference at the end of the season I think.”