W SERIES WOMEN-ONLY RACING ANNOUNCES SHORTLIST OF 55
In May 2019, the first ever, women only, racing series will kick off in Europe, it's called the W Series and it's garnered a ton of interest.
This week, the W Series released a shortlist of 55 female racers from all over the world who have entered for a place on the 18 car starting grid. The racers will use the F3 cars and the much-talked-about series will run as a support event to the DTM races.
Unsurprisingly, the list contains a wonderful mixture of drivers, from youngsters to the more experienced but, more importantly, not just from single-seater racing but from a variety of disciplines including GT and endurance driving.
CEO for the W Series, Catherine Bond Muir said, "We are thrilled but perhaps not surprised by the response. Even today there is a massive gender imbalance in motorsport and W Series is making the first step to correct that.
"Drivers from all over the world have stepped forward, so it’s clear that with the right framework we can make the changes this sport desperately needs."
Ex-Formula 1 driver, David Coulthard, added: "We designed W Series specifically to shine a light on female talent right around the world. I can’t wait to be part of the next stage and to see some of that talent in action."
In early 2019, the drivers will be put through their paces at a three and a half day off-track test, including fitness tests, psychometric profiling and, obviously, multiple driving skill tests.
Alex Wurz, also an ex-F1 driver, and W Series Racing Director, Dave Ryan, will join Coulthard on the judging panel. We're looking forward to seeing the final list that will be released after a track test in the 2019 Tatuus T-318 ahead of the season opener in May.
Here's the full list of drivers:
Ayla Agren, 25, Norway
Amna Al Qubaisi,18, UAE
Chelsea Angelo, 22, Australia
Carmen Boix, 23, Spain
Sarah Bovy, 29, Belgium
Toni Breidinger, 19, USA
Ivana Cetinich, 22, South Africa
Jamie Chadwick, 20, UK
Veronika Cicha, 31, Czech Republic
Sabre Cook, 24, USA
Courtney Crone, 17, USA
Natalie Decker, 21, USA
Mira Erda, 18, India
Carlotta Fedeli, 26, Italy
Cassie Gannis, 27, USA
Marta Garcia, 18, Spain
Michelle Gatting, 24, Denmark
Angelique Germann, 27 Germany
Megan Gilkes, 17, Canada
Samin Gomez, 26, Venezuela
Grace Gui, 27, China
Michelle Halder, 19, Germany
Esmee Hawkey, 20, UK
Jessica Hawkins, 23, UK
Shea Holbrook, 28, USA
Carmen Jorda, 30, Spain
Vivien Keszthelyi, 17, Hungary
Emma Kimilainen, 29, Finland
Natalia Kowalska, 28, Poland
Stephane Kox, 24, Netherland
Miki Koyama, 21, Japan
Fabienne Lanz, 32, South Africa
Milla Mäkelä, 25, Finland
Alexandra Marinescu, 18, Romania
Milou Mets, 28, Netherlands
Sheena Monk, 29, USA
Sarah Moore, 25, UK
Marylin Niederhauser, 22, Germany
Tasmin Pepper, 28, South Africa
Vicky Piria, 24, Italy
Taegen Poles, 20, Canada
Alice Powell, 25, UK
Charlotte Poynting, 20, Australia
Naomi Schiff, 24, Belgium
Carrie Schriener, 20, Germany
Sharon Scolari, 23, Switzerland
Doreen Seidel, 33, Germany
Siti Shahkirah, 24, Malaysia
Sneha Sharma, 28, India
Bruna Tomasell, 21, Brazil
Shirley Van Der Lof, 31, Netherlands
Beitske Visser, 23, Netherlands
Fabienne Wohlwend, 21, Lichenstein
Caitlin Wood, 21, Australia
Hanna Zellers, 21, USA
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