W Series: Swiss women out of the game 🎥
SELECTION Marylin Niederhauser and Sharon Scolari did well in the selection for the W Series 2019, but inexplicably failed. Instead, Fabienne Wohlwend from Liechtenstein will make it to the final selection. 54 candidates applied for one of the 20 places in the W Series 2019, a newly launched racing championship for women. They competed over [...]
https://www.facebook.com/wseriesracing/videos/546920915778315/
54 candidates applied for one of the 20 places in the 2019 W Series, a newly launched racing car championship for women. They competed over the weekend in Austria for the first selection. Under the eyes of renowned instructors such as former GP drivers David Coulthard and Alex Wurz as well as IndyCar legend Lyn St. James, the young ladies had to complete various tests.
With Marylin Niederhauser (formerly Formula 4, now GT4) and Sharon Scolari (switched from Lotus Cup Europe to Formula Renault 2.0 in 2018), two Swiss women were in the mix. Fabienne Wohlwend, the reigning Ferrari Challenge World Champion from Liechtenstein, also tried to convince the jury of her qualities.
The driving exercises took place on the wintry Wachauring in Melk, as the following video shows.
https://www.facebook.com/wseriesracing/videos/1998792516883299/
Questionable selection process
The jury's verdict was announced on Monday afternoon. 28 will advance to the next round. Unfortunately, the two Swiss women are no longer there, although they would have deserved to be. Marylin Niederhauser doubts that the selection was really based on their performance.
Marylin Niederhauser: "The whole selection process was a bit special. Some seemed to be seeded. I thought I did very well compared to others in my group. They didn't take certain exercises into consideration and obviously didn't look at the skiing ability. Some of the best ones, like me, are no longer there and have also publicly criticized afterwards. I can't explain what really mattered. Disappointing, I expected something different."
Also eliminated was German Formula 3 driver Angelique Germann and Venezuelan Samin Gomez, formerly of Jenzer Motorsport in GP3. According to Niederhauser, she was even really good and still did not make the wreaths.
Fabienne Wohlwend represents the smallest nation
The Liechtensteiner who made it through is happy and satisfied. However, she doesn't know why she made it, but others didn't.
Fabienne Wohlwend: "It was just difficult to really stand out among so many women. This also increased the pressure permanently. I'm relieved that I made it."
Final decision on the circuit
The 28 selected drivers from 15 nations will be allowed to test the race car (Tatuus F310 Formula 3 with turbo engine) on the Almeria circuit in Spain at the end of March. Six others are eliminated, while two remain on the list as reserve drivers.
Fabienne Wohlwend hopes that her previous racing experience in karting and Formula 4 will benefit her. She has a racing program for sure anyway: she will continue to drive in the Ferrari Challenge for Octane126 from Zurich.
The W Series season kicks off on the first weekend in May as part of the DTM at Hockenheim.
