W Series
All About W SeriesThe 2021 W Series Championship is the first to offer Super License points to the all-female line-up.
Check out our latest articles on the W Series Championship!
A Focus on talent
With the evergrowing cost of junior series, W Series takes away that burden.
“Since being launched in October 2018, W Series has paved the way for a new generation of women in motorsport. The work of the teams and the founders has meant that young women and girls have someone to look up to and are shown that motorsport can be an accessible opportunity for them. This helps to drive the ambitions of young women and increase the female representation in a primarily male dominated field. At ATRL, we are excited to see the change that W Series can help make surrounding the position of women in motorsport.”
-Immy Cousins, ATRL writer and content creator
Who they are
The 2021 W Series Drivers
With W Series being a free-to-enter championship, the competition is steep. Below are 18 drivers from 12 countries that have competed in the 2021 W Series Championship.
Alice Powell
Racing X
Alice Powell is a British racing driver from Chipping Norton, born in 1993. In the 2021 season of the W Series, she is driving for Racing X. She learnt to drive karts at the age of 6. She competed in the Formula Renault UK Championship, becoming the youngest female driver to win a race in this series. She took a break from racing due to funding issues, however when the W series came along, she jumped at the chance. She has also taken part in the 2020 Formula E test and as of the 2021 series, she is the simulator driver for Envision Virginia Racing. Powell is also an ambassador for young female drivers. She has also done some stints on F1TV as a commentator for Formula 1. Her first stint in the inaugural season of W Series saw her come in 3rd overall with four podiums and two retirements. Her fortune changed in the 2021 season, where she won the opening round at Austria and the third round at Silverstone. She can be found on Twitter @alicepowell and Instagram @alicepowellracing.
Sarah Moore
Scuderia W
Sarah Moore is a British driver from Harrogate, born in 1993. She is currently driving for Scuderia W in the W series. Coming from a racing family, she started competing in karts at the age of 8. In 2007 and 2009, she drove in the Ginetta Junior Championship, winning it in the 2009 campaign. Moore was also the first female driver to win the TOCA package, a mixed-gender series. She was also awarded the BRDC Rising Star Status. In 2018, she took part in the Ginetta G50 with Tockwith Motorsport, winning convincingly. One year later, she competed in the inaugural 2019 W series season with Hitech GP. Moore showed remarkable consistency with points finishes at every race, aside from one DNF at the Norisring. She ended the championship in 8th place, securing a drive for the 2020 season. So far in the 2021 season of W series, Moore has scored one podium and sits third in the championship. Moore is an open member of the LGBT+ community, expressing a desire to show others that LGBT athletes deserve their place in motorsport. Moore can be found on Twitter @smgirlracer26 and on Instagram @smooreracing.
Emma Kimiläinen
Ecurie W
Emma Kimiläinen is a Finnish racing driver from Helsinki, born in 1989. She currently drives for Ecurie W in the W series. She was introduced to motorsport by her father and started karting at the age of 3. Kimiläinen took part in her first kart race at the age of five, moving to single seaters at 15 when she competed in the European Formula Ford championship in 2005. In 2008, she became a factory driver for Audi, racing in the Formula Master Series in the same year. One year later, she took four podiums and finished 5th in the Formula Palmer Audi Series with MotorSport Vision. Kimiläinen then took a five year break from racing to start a family and ensure her financial stability. In 2014, she returned to racing, taking part in the Scandinavian Touring Car Championship for three years with PWR Racing Team. In 2019, she entered the W Series with Hitech GP, with a maiden win at Assen and a podium at Brands Hatch. Kimiläinen ended the season 5th overall, despite a retirement in the first race, with subsequent pain due to an injury causing her to miss the next two rounds. The 2021 season of the W Series has seen one podium so far, at the Red Bull Ring. She can be found on Twitter @EmmaKimilainen and Instagram @emmakimilainen.
Nerea Martí
W Series Academy
Nerea Martí is a Spanish racing driver from Valencia, born in 2002. She currently drives for Academy in the W series. She was introduced to karting at a young age, due to her father and uncle running a karting track. Martí became the only female driver to claim the title of the Campeonato de karting de la Comunidad de Valencia in 2017. Her winning spirit then continued in 2018 when Martí won the Valencian Championship. She then took the step into single-seaters in 2019, in the Spanish F4 Championship. The 2021 season of W series is her first season; she has achieved one podium so far at the Hungaroring. She has already been confirmed to have a seat for next year’s season as part of the Academy Team. Martí has stated that if she weren’t a racing driver, she would like to be a Flamenco dancer, as she listens to Spanish music before every race. She can be found on Twitter @nereamarti32 and Instagram @nereamarti32.
Bruna Tomaselli
Veloce Racing
Bruna Tomaselli is a Brasilian racing driver from Santa Catarina, born in 1997. Bruna entered her first karting race at the age of seven, coming in third despite racing against far more experienced boys. After being bitten by the racing bug, she took part in SKUSA Las Vegas in 2011, coming in third place against more than 80 drivers. Tomaselli began her professional racing career in 2013, starting with Fómula Junior Brasil with Giocar Racing. In 2014, she came 4th in the series before moving up to Fórmula 4 Sudamericana, where she finished 4th in her second season. In 2017 Tomaselli joined the Road to Indy, competing in the F2000 National Championship series for three seasons. In 2020 she passed the evaluation for the W Series, and is currently taking part in the 2021 season. She drives with Veloce Racing. You can find Tomaselli on Twitter @brunatomaselli and Instagram @brunatomaselli.
Abbie Eaton
Ecurie W
Abbie Eaton is a British racing driver from Northampton, born in 1992. She drives for Ecurie W in the W series. She got into karting through watching her father race. Eaton began national competitions at the age of 10, moving into cars 5 years later. Her early career was in the Junior Saloon Car Trophy, finishing in the top 3 in her first season. She later won the Production Touring Car Trophy in her first year of senior racing, coming first in 15 of the 18 races. Due to this success, she moved into British GT and GT4. Eaton has taken an unusual route into the W Series, having far more experience in cars than single seaters. In 2017, she joined the cast of Amazon’s The Grand Tour as one of their test drivers. She was initially critical of the W series during its first season, but has subsequently changed her stance on the all-female series. The 2021 season is her debut season. Eaton came out as gay Twitter in 2019 in response to allegation of homophobia directed at the presenters of the Grand Tour. She was made a Driver Ambassador for Racing Pride in 2019, supporting LGBT inclusivity in the motorsport industry. She can be found on Twitter @AbbieEaton44 and Instagram @abbieeaton44.
Beitske Visser
M Forbes Motorsport
Beitske Visser is a Dutch racing driver and BMW Motorsport junior born in 1995. Visser made her professional debut in 2011 in the Supercar Challenge at Assen Circuit in the GT class, driving a Praga R4S. An outstanding performance led her to win her debut car race. In 2014, Visser moved to GP3 competing with Hilmer Motorsport, although she only entered two races. In 2017 she moved into the GT4 European Series Southern Cup, competing with German driver Dennis Marschall. Together with Marschal, they won at Barcelona. A year later, Visser won at the Hungaroring and the Nürburgring in the same series. Visser entered the 2019 W Series season, driving with great success. She won at Zolder and was on the podium at Misano, Norisring and Brands Hatch. She ended up 2nd in the championship standings, having set the fastest laps at two of the six races. Visser made her return to endurance racing in 2020, taking part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans – LMP2, coming in 9th. In 2021, she is taking part in the W Series, racing with M. Forbes Motorsport and the FIA World Endurance Championship with Richard Mille Racing Team. Visser can be found on Twitter @beitskevisser and Instagram @beitskevisser.
Abbi Pulling
Reserve Driver
Abbi Pulling is a British racing driver born in 2003. Pulling is one of the five reserve drivers for the 2021 season of the W Series. She made her debut at Silverstone, where she competed against her own driver coach, Alice Powell. Pulling came 8th at Silverstone, scoring four points. She started karting competitively in 2013. After four years in karting, Pulling won the 2017 British Karting Championship at 14 years old. She won again a year later. In 2018 she took part in the first three rounds of the Ginetta Junior Championship with Total Control Racing. She moved into British F4 in 2020, competing with JHR Developments. It was a successful season with four podiums, finishing the Championship in 6th place. She is competing the 2021 British F4 season, again with JHR Developments, and has so far had two podiums at Brands Hatch. Pulling can be found on Twitter @AbbiPulling and Instagram @abbipulling.
Marta García
Puma W Series Team
Marta García is Spanish racing driver from Valencia, born in 2000. She drives for the Puma W Series Team. Her father encouraged her to take up karting at the age of 6. She won the CIK-FIA Karting Academy trophy in 2015. García then won the Trofeo Delle Industrie, the world’s oldest karting race, in 2015 (this has previously been won by Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton). Her first outing in a single seater was during a Prema F4 event, organised by the Ferrari Drivers Academy. She was part of the Renault Sport Academy until 2017. García finished 4th in the 2019 season of W Series, achieving two podiums at Hockenheim and Norisring, and scoring points in all six rounds. In 2020, she competed in a 10-event eSports series held on iRacing, taking second place in the championship. García can be found on Twitter @martaracing and Instagram @martagarcialopez19.
Irina (Ira) Sidorkova
W Series Academy
Irina Sidorkova is a Russian racing driver from Karelia, born in 2003. Sidorkova claims that she was inspired to race by the film Cars. Her father Anton, despite being mildly confused by her newfound obsession with the film, allowed her to have a go at a local karting track when she was six years old. At 11 years old, she began rallying and by 13 she competed in the Russain Circuit Racing Series, winning the National Junior class title in 2018. SMP Racing gave Sidorkova a seat in 2019 to contest both the Russian and Spanish Formula 4 series, coming sixth in her home-nation series. In 2020, Sidorkova became the youngest driver to qualify for the W Series before it was cancelled in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year she is competing for the first time in the W Series. So far she has achieved one podium, coming second at the Red Bull Ring. Sidorkova also competed in the 2021 F3 Asian Championship with Evans GP, finishing 22nd in the series. She can be found on Twitter @IraSidorkova and Instagram @irasidorkova.
Fabienne Wohlwend
Bunker Racing
Fabienne Wohlwend is a racing driver from Lichtenstein, born in 1997. She first started karting aged seven, introduced to the sport by her father. She began her professional career in racing in 2016, competing in Italian F4 with Aragon, her best finish being an 11th place at Monza. In 2017 she moved into sportscars, with an 11th place in the Audi Sport TT Cup. She also participated in the Ferrari Challenge European Championship, becoming the first woman to win a race outright for the Ferrari marque. In 2019 Wohlwend qualified for the W Series, achieving a pole -position at Misano and a highest finish at the Norising in fourth place. She ended the season as 6th in the standings. She has also taken part in a number of endurance races, contesting the 2021 Nüburgring 24 Hours, with her team winning their class in qualifying and coming 9th in the race in their class. She returned to the W Series in 2021, so far achieving two podiums, a second place at Silverstone and third place at the Red Bull Ring. It is interesting to note that statistically speaking, Wohlwend is the most successful driver of all time from Lichtenstein. During the early stages of her career she worked for VP Bank to fund her racing. According to Fabienne, her father has never missed watching her race, and always knocks her on the helmet twice to wish her good luck! You can find her on Twitter @FWohlwend5 and Instagram @fabiennewohlwend.
Jamie Chadwick
Veloce Racing
Jamie Chadwick is a British racing driver from Bath, born in 1998. She currently drives for Veloce Racing in the W Series. She began kart racing at the age of 11, following her brother into the sport, but she didn’t begin to compete seriously until 2013, finishing 10th in the Ginetta Junior Championship. She graduated to the British GT Championship in 2015 in the GT4 class, taking five podiums, which included winning the Silverstone 24 Hour race. This made her the first female and youngest ever champion of the British GT Championship. In 2017 and 2018, she competed in British F3, becoming the first female to win a British F3 race at Brands Hatch. Chadwick then competed in the 2018-19 MRF challenge season, becoming the first ever woman to win the overall championship. In 2019, she became one of the drivers for the first season of the W Series with Veloce Racing, which she then went on to win. In 2019, she was also announced as a development driver for the Williams Driver Academy, making her one of the few female drivers with links to an F1 team. This year she is competing in the W Series, where she is currently ranked 2nd. She is also competing in Extreme E with Veloce Racing and is in 8th place in the championship. She can be found on Twitter @JamieChadwick and on Instagram @jamiechadwick.
Belén Garcia
Scuderia W
Belén Garcia is a Spanish racing driver from Barcelona, born in 1999. Her father José Luis is a professional rally driver, and together with her mother, they run a professional motorsport timing company. Garcia spent three years in karts, from 2015 to 2018, with a 10th place finish in the Spanish Karting Championship. She moved into single-seaters in 2019, becoming the first woman to win a Formula 4 race in Europe at the Circuito de Navarra. She finished 15th in the overall standings. That year, she also competed for Team Spain at the 2019 FIA Motorsport Games in the F4 Cup, finishing 6th. She qualified for the W Series in 2020, however it is in 2021 that she makes her debut. She is racing with Scuderia W. Her highest finish so far was at the Red Bull Ring, coming in 4th place. Garcia also competes in the Formula Regional European Championship with G4 Racing. She can be found on Twitter @belengarciaes and Instagram @belengarciaes.
Miki Koyama
Sirin Racing
Miki Koyama is a Japanese racing driver from Yokohama, born in 1997. She currently drives for Sirin Racing in the W series. She grew up in a family who had a passion for motorsport. Koyama started with bikes at the age of 4, moving to karting soon after. She initially funded her racing career in the early years by working in a restaurant as a waitress. After attending the Formula Toyota Racing School, Koyama moved into Japanese F4 in 2015. She also won the all female Kyoto Cup 3 years in a row. Before she joined the W series, she had never competed in a race in Europe. In the 2019 season of W series, she showed promise, finishing 7th overall, whilst setting some fastest laps. So far, her 2021 season has been less consistent with her highest finish being 5th place at the Red Bull Ring. She is also competing in the Super Formula Lights series with B-Max Engineering. Koyama can be found on Twitter @mkhouse001 and Instagram @miki_koyama1.
Ayla Ågren
M Forbes Motorsport
Ayla Ågren is Norwegian-Swedish racing driver born in 1993. She drives for M. Forbes Motorsport in the W series. Her family stumbled across a karting event and whilst watching it, she was hooked immediately. She moved to America in 2012 after being awarded a scholarship to the Skip Barber Racing School. The move paid off when she won the Formula Ford-spec F1600 in 2014. After that success, she moved onto the Road to Indy in 2015, competing in the US F2000 National Championship with Team Pelfrey. In 2019, she became the IndyCar safety car driver, after failing to get a seat in the W Series. The 2021 season of W series is her maiden season. So far she has scored one point at the Red Bull Ring. Ågren can be found on Twitter @AylaAgren and Instagram @aylaaren.
Vicky Piria
Sirin Racing
Vicky Piria is a British-Italian driver born in 1993. She began karting in 2003, having progressed to the KF3 category by 2008. In 2010, Piria took part in the Formula Abarth series with Tomcat Racing, however the next year saw her take a stint with Prema Powerteam. In 2013, Piria moved up to European F3, competing with BVM Racing. She finished 10th overall. The following year, she competed in the Pro Mazda Championship, as one of the three female drivers on the Mazda Road to Indy. In 2019, she joined Hitech GP taking part in the W series, where she showed promising consistency, scoring points at four of the six races. Overall, Piria collected 24 points and came in 9th place. She now competes with Sirin Racing in the 2021 season of the W Series. Piria can be found on Twitter @VickyPiria and Instagram @vickypiria.
Caitlin Wood
Reserve Driver (Puma)
Caitlin Wood is an Australian racing driver born in 1997. She is one of the W Series reserve drivers for Puma Team. Wood made her W Series debut in 2019 with Hitech GP, finishing 13th overall. She is the first woman from Australia to have a successful motorsport career on the European stage. She competed in the Australian Formula Ford Championship in 2014, Australian Formula 4 in 2015, and the European GT4 Series in 2016. In 2018, Wood competed in the European Lamborghini Super Trofeo Series. She has lived in England with her husband for three years. When she is not racing, she is a racing instructor. Wood is also interested in restoring cars. In the 2021 season of the W Series, Wood competed at the Hungaroring, coming in 17th. She can be found on Instagram @caitlinwoodracing.
Sabré Cook
Bunker Racing
Sabré Cook is an American racing driver born in 1994. She began her professional career at the 2017 SCCA National Championship Runoffs event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, coming ninth in her class. The following year, she took part in both U.S.F2000 and American Formula 4, with a 15th place best result at the Circuit of the Americas. In 2019, Cook qualified for the inaugural W Series. She scored points at Misano after battling Sarah Moore, then came in 7th place at Nüremberg. Cook scored again at Brands Hatch, taking her to 12th place in the final standings, qualifying her for the 2020 season. Along with her driving career, she has a place at the Infiniti Engineering Academy, an engineering program for American university students that has access to the Renault F1 Team. In 2021, she is competing in the W Series with Bunker Racing. Cook can be found on Twitter @Sabre_Cook and Instagram @sabrecook.
from A Word
From Our Team
“As a predominately female-led publication, our dreams of having a role model of a female driver on the circuit have been limited. As we have seen from the likes of Susie Wolff behind the wheel of a F1 car, we know it’s possible. W Series gives them that chance and the hope that our dreams of seeing a woman on that podium will come true.”
– Along the Racing Line