OXFORDSHIRE’S Alice Powell became the first female driver to win a Formula Renault race after a dominant drive in round four of the Protyre Formula Ren-ault Championship at Silverstone on Sunday.

Powell, 17, from Chipping Norton, started from pole position after a wet qualifying session the previous day, and was never challenged on her way to a stunning win by nearly eight seconds.

The Hillspeed racer started at the head of the field and as the 16-lap race got under way, she made the best possible start.

By the end of the first lap, Powell had already carved out a sizeable lead over James Theodore.

Within a few laps, she had opened up a two-second lead and never looked back.

The result puts her in second place in the early-season driver standings, and she is setting her sights firmly on challenging for the title.

An elated Powell said: “I can’t believe it, to take my first win is absolutely fantastic – it’s been a long time coming!

“After six months out of the car I had to get my head around things again at Brands Hatch during the first round, but here, we were strong all the way through the weekend.

“I want to thank everyone at Hillspeed for doing a great job.

“My aim is to go for the championship, if we can take wins along the way then that’s fantastic but consistency will be the main thing.”

Rounds five and six of the championship take place at North Yorkshire’s Croft circuit over the weekend of July 3 and 4.

STANDINGS Formula Renault drivers: 1 M Hale (Fortec Motorsport) 125pts, 2 A Powell (Hillspeed) 100, 3= K Khani (Welch Motorsport), J Webster (Fortec Motor-sport) 69, 5 J Birch (Driver) 67, 6 L Wright (SWB Motorsport) 64.