W Series 2022 season will end early – Jamie Chadwick champion for third time – Boss expects women’s racing series to return in 2023
The W Series has announced that the final three races of the 2022 season will not take place. They remain “extremely confident” that the championship, which is reserved for female competitors, will return in 2023
Rumours emerged during the Singapore Grand Prix that the W Series may not be able to complete its season as planned. Previously, a planned deal with a US investor had fallen through.
Within a week, a decision had to be made as to whether the three races still planned in the USA and Mexico would go ahead. This was followed on Monday by the official confirmation that the season was over.
The W Series said the decision was made to secure the longer-term future of the championship, especially with 2023 in mind.
With seven races run, the series has met the FIA mandate of six races, so the championship results are official. Jamie Chadwick thus clinched her third title. After five wins, she has a 50-point lead over runner-up Beitske Visser. Another seven points behind, Alice Powell is third.
Great investor interest according to CEO
W Series chief executive Catherine Bond Muir tells selected media, including our sister portal ‘Autosport’, that there has been strong investor interest since the championship’s financial problems became public. She says she is therefore confident that the championship will return in 2023.
“We have offers from numerous parties. However, the problem is that money does not just fall from the sky. You have to do due diligence,” Bond Muir said. “We were of the view until last weekend that we could go to Austin. But we’ve now had to cancel it because obviously there are deadlines by which the money has to have flowed. “
“We could have waited a bit longer, but today we made a pragmatic decision. The most important news is that I am extremely confident that there will be a W Series next year.”
Bond Muir briefed the women riders on Monday afternoon and assured them that the existing structures should remain in place. So the women riders will still not have to fund their own cockpits.
“They are certainly concerned about whether the structure will remain or whether they will have to bring their own money next year,” she said. “I have told them that we want to maintain the DNA of the W Series and that we want to continue to pay for the riders’ expenses. We’ve always said we want to find the fastest female riders, not the richest.”
She also expects the prize money to be paid out as planned despite the shortened season: “At the moment I expect that to be paid out. I can’t say 100 per cent, but I don’t see any reason why it shouldn’t be.”
Three-time champion Chadwick will receive the top prize of US$500,000, with another million to be distributed among the rest of the field.