Wikipedia

2020 W Series

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]

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

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

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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

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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

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No. Drivers
5   Fabienne Wohlwend
7   Emma Kimiläinen
11   Vicky Piria
17   Ayla Ågren
19   Marta García
21   Jessica Hawkins
22   Belén García
26   Sarah Moore
27   Alice Powell
31   Tasmin Pepper
32   Nerea Martí
37   Sabré Cook
44   Abbie Eaton
51   Irina Sidorkova
55   Jamie Chadwick
85   Miki Koyama
95   Beitske Visser
97   Bruna Tomaselli
Source:[10]

Calendar

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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 Maps
1   Igora Drive 30 May
2   Anderstorp Raceway 13 June
3   Autodromo Nazionale di Monza 27 June
4   Norisring 11 July
5   Brands Hatch 23 August
6   TT Circuit Assen 5 September
7   Circuit of the Americas 24 October
8   Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez 31 October

eSports League

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The inaugural and ultimately only season of the W Series eSports League virtual championship was announced on 7 May 2020 in response to the cancellation of the normal championship. The league partnered with Logitech G, Beyond Entertainment, and iRacing to contest 10 virtual events with all drivers competing in digital versions of the Tatuus Formula Renault 2.0 race car.[15] Events consisted of three races, three heats of 15mins each with the second being a reverse-grid race, and were broadcast with a week delay on YouTube. All 18 drivers who qualified to race in the on-track championship plus the three reserve drivers partook in the sim racing series, with guest wildcards employed late in the season as some drivers returned to normal racing in other categories. Beitske Visser clinched the championship title with a round to spare, winning 11 races and achieving pole position 12 times.[16]

Calendar and results

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Round Circuit Broadcast date Race winners Source
1 Autodromo Nazionale di Monza 11 June R1:   Beitske Visser
R2:   Gosia Rdest
R3:   Beitske Visser 		[17]
2 Circuit of the Americas 18 June R1:   Beitske Visser
R2:   Emma Kimiläinen
R3:   Beitske Visser 		[18]
3 Brands Hatch 25 June R1:   Beitske Visser
R2:   Irina Sidorkova
R3:   Irina Sidorkova 		[19]
4 Autódromo José Carlos Pace 2 July R1:   Beitske Visser
R2:   Irina Sidorkova
R3:   Beitske Visser 		[20]
5 Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps 9 July R1:   Marta García
R2:   Tasmin Pepper
R3:   Marta García 		[21]
6 Watkins Glen International 16 July R1:   Beitske Visser
R2:   Irina Sidorkova
R3:   Marta García 		[22]
7 Suzuka International Racing Course 23 July R1:   Marta García
R2:   Belén García
R3:   Marta García 		[23]
8 Mount Panorama Circuit 30 July R1:   Marta García
R2:   Tasmin Pepper
R3:   Beitske Visser 		[24]
9 Nürburgring (Nordschleife) 6 August R1:   Beitske Visser
R2:   Gabriela Jílková
R3:   Beitske Visser 		[25]
10 Silverstone Circuit 13 August R1:   Marta García
R2:   Sarah Moore
R3:   Marta García 		[26]
Source:[27]

Championship standings

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Pos. Driver Pts
1   Beitske Visser 439
2   Marta García 423
3   Irina Sidorkova 331
4   Nerea Martí 317
5   Tasmin Pepper 305
6   Caitlin Wood 303
7   Ayla Ågren 224
8   Belén García 212
9   Sarah Moore 205
10   Naomi Schiff 161
11   Fabienne Wohlwend 145
12   Alice Powell 137
13   Jessica Hawkins 135
14   Abbie Eaton 124
15   Emma Kimiläinen 101
16   Gosia Rdest 100
17   Bruna Tomaselli 86
18   Sabré Cook 68
19   Miki Koyama 53
20   Vittoria Piria 39
21   Jamie Chadwick 18
Guest drivers
  Gabriela Jílková 0
  Hannah Grisham 0
  Charlie Martin 0

References

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  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. ^ a b "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 - Round 1: Monza REPLAY". W Series on YouTube. 12 June 2020.
  18. ^ "W Series Esports League - Round 2: COTA LIVESTREAM". W Series on YouTube. 19 June 2020.
  19. ^ "W Series Esports League - Round 3: Brands Hatch LIVESTREAM". W Series on YouTube. 26 June 2020.
  20. ^ "W Series Esports League - Round 4: Interlagos LIVESTREAM". W Series on YouTube. 3 July 2024.
  21. ^ "W Series Esports League - Round 5: Spa LIVESTREAM". W Series on YouTube. 10 July 2020.
  22. ^ "W Series Esports League - Round 6: Watkins Glen LIVESTREAM". W Series on YouTube. 17 July 2020.
  23. ^ "W Series Esports League - Round 7: Suzuka LIVESTREAM". W Series on YouTube. 24 July 2020.
  24. ^ "W Series Esports League - Round 8: Mount Panorama, Bathurst LIVESTREAM". W Series on YouTube. 31 July 2020.
  25. ^ "W Series Esports League - Round 9: Nürburgring Nordschleife LIVESTREAM". W Series on YouTube. 7 August 2020.
  26. ^ "W Series Esports League - Round 10: Silverstone LIVESTREAM". W Series on YouTube. 14 August 2020.
  27. ^ "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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