2020 W Series

Jamie Chadwick, the reigning drivers' champion from the 2019 season.

The 2020 W Series was a planned motor racing championship that was scheduled to be the second W Series season. The championship was to be exclusively open to female racing drivers as a Formula Regional-level racing series.[1]

The planned championship season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic,[2] and a 10-event eSports league for female racing drivers only was held on the iRacing platform in its place.[3] The league was ultimately won by Beitske Visser.[4]

Driver selection

The top twelve finishers from the 2019 championship were automatically eligible to compete in the 2020 season,[5] leaving eight vacancies in the driver line up.[6] Forty new drivers applied to take part in the season;[6] however, only fourteen of those took part in the first test which took place between 16 and 18 September 2019 at the Circuito de Almería, Spain.[7][8]

Applications

The following eight drivers competed in the 2019 W Series but did not automatically qualify for 2020:

The following eight drivers attempted to qualify for the 2020 W Series, having not competed in 2019 but were unsuccessful or elected not to race in W Series:[9]

Qualified drivers
No. Drivers
5 Liechtenstein Fabienne Wohlwend
7 Finland Emma Kimiläinen
11 Italy Vicky Piria
17 Norway Ayla Ågren
19 Spain Marta García
21 United Kingdom Jessica Hawkins
22 Spain Belén García
26 United Kingdom Sarah Moore
27 United Kingdom Alice Powell
31 South Africa Tasmin Pepper
32 Spain Nerea Martí
37 United States Sabré Cook
44 United Kingdom Abbie Eaton
51 Russia Irina Sidorkova
55 United Kingdom Jamie Chadwick
85 Japan Miki Koyama
95 Netherlands Beitske Visser
97 Brazil Bruna Tomaselli
Source:[10]

Calendar

The series was scheduled to continue supporting the 2020 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters for most races.[11][12] Races at Hockenheimring, Circuit Zolder and Misano World Circuit were replaced by races at Igora Drive, Anderstorp Raceway and Autodromo Nazionale di Monza. On 16 January 2020, the series announced it would stage races in the Americas, operating as a support category for the United States and Mexico City Grands Prix.[13] On 4 June 2020, the series announced that it would not hold on-track races for the 2020 season, with Formula 1 Managing Director of Motorsports, Ross Brawn, stating "It is a big disappointment for all of us that due to the difficulties presented by COVID-19 the events will not take place."[14]

Round Circuit Date
1 Russia Igora Drive 30 May
2 Sweden Anderstorp Raceway 13 June
3 Italy Autodromo Nazionale di Monza 27 June
4 Germany Norisring 11 July
5 United Kingdom Brands Hatch 23 August
6 Netherlands TT Circuit Assen 5 September
7 United States Circuit of the Americas 24 October
8 Mexico Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez 31 October

Esports League

The inaugural season of the W Series Esports League virtual championship was announced on 7 May 2020, with all 18 drivers who qualified to race in the on-track championship taking part in the sim racing series. The league partnered with Logitech G, Beyond Entertainment, and iRacing to bring 27 virtual races to 10 circuits with all drivers competing in digital versions of the Tatuus Formula Renault 2.0 race car.[15] Beitske Visser clinched the championship title in 9 rounds ahead of Silverstone, winning 11 races and achieving pole position 12 times.[16]

Round Circuit Date
1 Italy Autodromo Nazionale di Monza 11 June
2 United States Circuit of the Americas 18 June
3 United Kingdom Brands Hatch 25 June
4 Brazil Autódromo José Carlos Pace 2 July
5 Belgium Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps 9 July
6 United States Watkins Glen International 16 July
7 Japan Suzuka International Racing Course 23 July
8 Australia Mount Panorama Circuit 30 July
9 Germany Nürburgring 6 August
10 United Kingdom Silverstone Circuit 13 August
Source:[17]

References
  1. "All-female motor racing series offers potential F1 pathway". CNN. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  2. "W Series cancels 2020 season but reveals plans for F1 support races in 2021 | Formula 1®".
  3. "All-new Esports League launched". W Series. 7 May 2020. Archived from the original on 20 January 2021. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  4. "Beitske Visser: Esports Victor". W Series. 13 September 2021. Archived from the original on 13 September 2021. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
  5. "Legge, Eaton, Agren among 2020 W Series applicants". www.motorsport.com. 11 September 2019. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
  6. "W Series to limit 2020 new driver test to less than 20 drivers". Highway F1. 26 August 2019. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
  7. "W Series 2020 selection to start in September". www.motorsport.com. 16 August 2019. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
  8. "W Series completes first day of 2020 driver selection test". Highway F1. 18 September 2019. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
  9. "FIA rules to prevent 2020 W Series champion from defending title". formulascout. 29 October 2019. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  10. "W SERIES: AS 18 ESCOLHIDAS PARA A SEGUNDA ÉPOCA" (in Portuguese). autosport.pt. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  11. "W Series to race in Russia and Sweden in 2020". wseries.com. W Series. 31 October 2019. Archived from the original on 31 October 2019. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  12. Errington, Tom (30 October 2019). "W Series' 2020 champion can't defend her title in '21". Autosport. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 31 October 2019. The W Series will confirm its 2020 calendar in "due course", according to Ryan, adding: "We'll still race alongside our great partners DTM, for the majority or perhaps even the totality of our race fixtures".
  13. "W Series to stage all-new races alongside Formula 1 in USA and Mexico in 2020". W Series. 16 January 2020.
  14. "W Series Reveals Plans For 2020 And 2021". W Series. 13 September 2021. Archived from the original on 20 June 2020. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
  15. "All-new Esports League launched". W Series. 13 September 2021.
  16. "Beitske Visser becomes first W Series Esports champion". Goodwood. 13 September 2021.
  17. "W Series Esports League Explained". W Series. 13 September 2021. Archived from the original on 13 September 2021. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
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