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W Series unveils initial 55-driver list
The all-female W Series has released a list of 55 contenders for a spot on the 18-driver grid for its inaugural campaign next year.
Valentin Khorounzhiy
Edited: Nov 28, 2018, 6:13 AM
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The championship, backed by the likes of former grand prix winner David Coulthard and esteemed F1 tech chief Adrian Newey, was announced in October with a $1.5 million prize fund and no budget requirements from prospective participants.
It is set to be held over six rounds in 2019 and use F3-specification Tatuus T-318 machinery.
The organisers say they have been contacted by “more than 100 applicants from 30 countries around the world”, from which the current 'longlist' was selected.
“We are thrilled but perhaps not surprised by the response,” series CEO Catherine Bond Muir said.
“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.”
BMW-backed former Red Bull junior Beitske Visser, ex-Renault Sport Academy driver Marta Garcia, former Lotus F1 tester Carmen Jorda and British GT class champion Jamie Chadwick are among the highest-profile names in the initial roster, which includes racers from a wide array of categories.
Alongside Jorda are fellow former GP3 full-timers Vicky Piria, Samin Gomez and Alice Powell, the latter a champion in Formula Renault UK and Asia categories, while a number of sportswomen with entry-level open-wheel experience from various F4 categories have also applied.
Alice Powell
Photo by: GP3 Series Media Service
The USA racing scene is represented by several names from the Road to Indy - among them former F1600 champion Ayla Agren - but also competitors from other forms of circuit motorsport, most notably 21-year-old Natalie Decker, who made headlines by taking pole for the ARCA opener at the Daytona oval earlier this year.
Former single-seater and STCC driver Emma Kimilainen and Lamborghini Super Trofeo racer Shea Holbrook are some of the more experienced drivers in the list.
Also featuring is Sarah Moore, who won the BTCC-supporting Ginetta Junior series all the way back in 2009.
This list is to be whittled down to a final grid of 18 after “a three-day on-and-off-track trial” and a subsequent series of track tests with the W Series car.
The selection panel will include Coulthard, series racing director Dave Ryan and former F1 driver Alex Wurz.
Powell, Piria, Holbrook, Kimilainen, Naomi Schiff and Stephane Kox will represent the series in ambassadorial roles during this weekend's Autosport Awards in London.
Full list
Driver Age Background 
Ayla Agren 25 Road to Indy, F1600 (champion) 
Amna Al Qubaisi 18 Italian F4 
Chelsea Angelo 22 Supercars Development Series 
Carmen Boix Gil 22 NASCAR Whelen Euro 
Sarah Bovy 29 Lamborghini Super Trofeo 
Toni Breidinger 19 USAC Midget, ARCA 
Ivana Cetinich 22 Kart racing 
Jamie Chadwick 20 British F3, British GT (GT4 champion) 
Veronika Cicha 31 Boss GP Sabre Cook 24 Road to Indy, US F4 Courtney Crone 17 Formula Car Challenge Natalie Decker 21 ARCA 
Mira Erda 18 JK Tyre Championship 
Carlotta Fedeli 26 TCR Cassie Gannis 27 NASCAR K&N Marta Garcia 18 Spanish F4 
Michelle Gatting 24 Danish Supertourisme 
Angelique Germann 27 Austrian F3 
Megan Gilkes 17 F1200 Canada 
Samin Gomez 26 GP3 
Grace Gui 27 Asian Formula Renault Michelle Halder 19 TCR Germany Esmee Hawkey 20 Porsche Carrera Cup GB Jessica Hawkins 23 Mini Challenge Shea Holbrook 28 Lamborghini Super Trofeo Carmen Jorda 30 GP3 
Vivien Keszthelyi 17 Audi SS R8 Cup 
Emma Kimilainen 29 STCC 
Natalia Kowalska 28 Formula Two 
Stephane Kox 24 GT4 European 
Miki Koyama 21 Japanese F4 Fabienne Lanz 32 Kart racing Milla Makela 25 Finnish Formula Ford 
Alexandra Marinescu 18 British F4 Milou Mets 28 LMV8 Oval Series Sheena Monk 29 Lamborghini Super Trofeo Sarah Moore 25 LMP3, Ginetta Junior (champion) Marylin Niederhauser 22 GT4 European Tasmin Pepper 28 VW Engen Polo Cup Vicky Piria 25 GP3, European F3 Open Taegen Poles 20 Kart racing Alice Powell 25 GP3, Formula Renault UK (champion) Charlotte Poynting 20 Aussie Racing Cars Naomi Schiff 24 Formula Renault 2.0, GT4 European Carrie Schreiner 20 Lamborghini Super Trofeo (Middle East Pro-Am champion) 
Sharon Scolari 23 Formula Renault 2.0 Doreen Seidel 33 VW Scirocco, GT4 European 
Siti Shahkirah 24 F4 SEA Sneha Sharma 28 JK Tyre Championship 
Bruna Tomaselli 21 Road to Indy Shirley van der Lof 32 German F3 Beitske Visser 23 Formula Renault 3.5, GT4 European 
Fabienne Wohlwend 21 Ferrari Europe Caitlin Wood 21 Blancpain GT Hanna Zellers 21 US F4, IMSA Prototype Challenge
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