ALICE Powell admits it will be tough to win the W Series after she failed to score any points in the third round at Misano.

The Chipping Norton driver hit the back of polesitter Fabienne Wohlwend heading into the first corner and was sent airborne into the gravel trap.

Powell came close to rolling her car in the collision, with a broken suspension and wheel forcing her to retire.

“I got a really good start and a launch off the line, Fabienne maybe not so much,” said the 26-year-old.

“Beitske (Visser) was just in front of me, so going down the inside was an option that was closed.

“I chose to go round the outside and Fabienne was getting squeezed ever so slightly by Beitske – understandable – and my front wheel made contact with her rear wheel and that sent me instantly up in the air.

“I was a passenger from then on and I didn’t go over luckily, but it’s a big dent to the championship.”

Powell has slipped to fourth in the standings and trails fellow Briton and championship leader Jamie Chadwick, who triumphed in Italy, by 35 points with three rounds to go.

The Oxfordshire driver believes her chances of winning the all-female series, which returns to action at the Norisring, Germany, on July 5-6, have suffered a blow.

She said: “I think realistically if you look at the front two (Chadwick and Visser) and how they’re going and how consistent they are, it’s going to be very tough to win the championship and to finish second is going to be very difficult.”

“I’m only a few points behind Marta (Garcia) and I’ve dropped to fourth, but third is still open.

“I just have to try to keep moving forward and it’s not ideal what’s happened, but I’ve just got to move on and it’ll be a totally different circuit at Norisring.”