W Series: Two Swiss candidates 🎥
A WOMEN'S ONLY RACE The W Series, a racing car formula for women only launched in 2019, is attracting a great deal of interest. Two Swiss women and the fastest woman in Liechtenstein are among the 50 selected candidates. Experienced male and female racing drivers are divided on whether a championship reserved for women - the so-called W Series - makes sense or not. Fact [...]
Experienced male and female racing drivers are divided as to whether a championship reserved for women - the so-called W Series - makes sense or not. The fact is that there are enough good female candidates to create an attractive field of participants.
More than 100 women from all over the world (30 nations) have applied. According to Catherine Bond Muir, CEO of W Series, around 50 have been carefully selected and are on the shortlist.
Participation is apparently free for everyone, and travel and accommodation costs will be covered by the organizers. Which sponsors are paying for this has not yet been communicated.
Niederhauser and Scolari
Two women have applied from Switzerland. Marylin Niederhauser drove in the ADAC Formula 4 until two years ago and celebrated the runner-up title in the GT4 Central European Cup this season with a KTM X-Bow GT4. The two victories of Marylin and her friend Patric Niederhauser (GT professional) in the two GT4 races as part of the ADAC GT Masters in Most (CZ) are unforgettable.
Sharon Scolari was runner-up in her class in the Lotus Cup Europe in 2017. This year, the 23-year-old from Ticino raced unsuccessfully in the Formula Renault Northern European Cup.
Ferrari world champion
Fabienne Wohlwend has also applied. The 21-year-old from Liechtenstein excelled in the Ferrari Challenge Europe in 2018 and won the Ferrari world championship title in the Pro-Am category and in the women's classification just a few weeks ago in Monza. She gained monoposto experience in Formula 4.
German driver Michelle Halder has also prevailed against men. She finished on the podium once in the ADAC TCR Germany in 2018. Her compatriot Angelique Germann drove (and won) in the Remus Formula 3 Cup.
Dutch driver Beitske Visser has the most experience with racing cars. She was a Red Bull sponsored driver and made it into the World Series by Renault. Italian Vicky Piria raced in the Swiss Formula Lista Junior Championship years ago.
18 compete for 1.5 million in prize money
In the next step, all candidates have to pass various sporting tests. The jury includes former GP drivers David Coulthard and Alex Wurz. After test drives with the racing car intended for the W Series, the 18 female drivers are selected.
The premiere is on the first weekend in May 2019 as part of the DTM in Hockenheim. The champion can look forward to prize money of half a million US dollars; a total of 1.5 million will be paid out.
Memories of the Ford Fiesta Ladies Cup
You can be for or against a women-only racing series: With a prize fund of this size, the best will certainly not be squeamish and will probably provide better entertainment for the spectators than many men in the races they dominate.
The author knows what he's talking about: at the beginning of the 1980s, the hot-blooded ladies in the Ford Fiesta Ladies Cup caused a lot of excitement in Germany - both in front of and behind the scenes...
