W Series: Women don't give each other anything either
6th PLACE FOR WOHLWEND The premiere of the new racing series for women ended in Hockenheim with a double victory for two experienced British women. Fabienne Wohlwend from Germany finished a good sixth. Critics can say what they like - the very first race of the W Series with the 280 turbo horsepower Tatuus F3 race cars was no less competitive at Hockenheim on Saturday [...]
Critics can say what they like - the very first race of the W Series with the 280 turbo horsepower Tatuus F3 race cars was no less competitive than the previous men's DTM round at Hockenheim on Saturday. The 18 ladies from 13 nations, who were selected in two preliminary rounds and who do not have to pay anything for their races, gave each other nothing. If you didn't know, nobody would notice the difference to a conventional racing series like the comparable Formula Renault or Formula 3.
Wohlwend on starting row 1
Fabienne Wohlwend from the Principality of Liechtenstein, who is competing with a Swiss license, qualified in the wet qualifying as a promising second. By the time the race started, the Motodrom had dried out completely. On the still somewhat slippery inner track, however, she lost three or four places after the red lights went out.
In the race, which lasted 18 laps on the GP course and which, apart from a collision between two competitors, was accident-free and therefore quite serene, she was unable to make up for these placings.
Fabienne Wohlwend: "Towards the end, we came a little closer to the leaders again. But due to the safety car phase, the race was too short to close the gap completely."
A good basis for the rest of the season
Even though she had certainly expected more from the front row of the grid, the 21-year-old Ferrari women's world champion was generally satisfied after finishing sixth.
Fabienne Wohlwend: "Of course, the goal was to be right at the front. But I was able to keep up with the pace, and that's a good basis for the next races. For now, I'm aiming for top-6 finishes, and towards the end of the season, my goal would be to win for the first time. The potential is certainly there."
Experience advantage of the two British women
Not unexpectedly, the first victory in the history of the W Series went to the soon-to-be 21-year-old Jamie Chadwick, 1.3 seconds ahead of her British compatriot Alice Powell. In 2015, at just 17, Chadwick won the British GT Championship in an Aston Martin and last winter, also as the first woman, the MRF Challenge Formula 2000 Championship in India. She was already ahead in both dry and wet free practice sessions on Friday, and also in qualifying. She only left the fastest race lap to Miki Koyama from Japan, who was ranked behind Wohlwend.
Meanwhile, Alice Powell has already completed two seasons in GP3 in 2012 and 2013, scoring just one point in eighth place. In addition, she has already won two Formula Renault titles and was on the verge of an F1 training assignment in 2014 shortly before Caterham went bust.
Half a million in prize money
Third place on the podium went to Spain's Marta Garcia. Dutchwoman Beitske Visser (who once raced in Formula Renault 3.5 and V8), who was sponsored by Red Bull, finished fourth ahead of Sarah Moore (GB) and the Liechtensteiner.
The W Series consists of a total of six races as part of the DTM with the finale at Brands Hatch (GB) on August 11. The overall winner will receive prize money of 500,000 U.S. dollars as a dowry for entry into another racing series where she can compete against Min ner.
