The countdown to the first W Series race is on and today the drivers were on track for the start of a three-day test at the Lausitzring in Germany. Also it was the first time the cars had been seen carrying the names of the drivers and the race numbers chosen by them.
The early-morning cold and wet conditions at the track meant that the cars did not start running until 11.00am, but that still left the drivers more than six hours of scheduled track time during the day in which to become accustomed to the Tatuus T-318 Formula 3 car on the 4.5km variant of the circuit. The track is the newest in Germany, opening in 2000, and is situated in the east of the country near the borders with Poland and the Czech Republic.
The first race of the series, which encompasses six rounds on the DTM support programme, is at the Hockenheimring on May 3rd and 4th.
W Series Racing Director, Dave Ryan said:
“This is the last test before the first race and it’s providing an opportunity for each driver to get to know the W Series Tatuus T-318 Formula 3 car a bit more, and to work with her engineer and the actual car she has been allocated for the first race at Hockenheim early next month.
“We have a lot of work to do not just on car performance, but also just as importantly on working with the drivers on start procedures, race starts and operating out of a remote paddock and keeping to a fixed, very tight schedule.
“This test is focusing on working on everything that makes up a race weekend and, given we’re uniquely one team of 18 drivers, that’s a very big ask. As well as that, we’re finalising the selection of the two reserve drivers we’ll be taking to Hockenheim and, with the tricky weather conditions here so far, that’s not going to be an easy task.”
Below is the list of the 18 race drivers and their newly revealed race numbers.
#55 Jamie Chadwick, UK
#37 Sabre Cook, USA
#19 Marta Garcia, Spain
#49 Megan Gilkes, Canada
#2 Esmee Hawkey, UK
#21 Jessica Hawkins, UK
#67 Shea Holbrook, USA
#7 Emma Kimilainen, Finland
#85 Miki Koyama, Japan
#26 Sarah Moore, UK
#31 Tasmin Pepper, South Africa
#11 Vicky Piria, Italy
#27 Alice Powell, UK
#3 Gosia Rdest, Poland
#99 Naomi Schiff, Germany
#95 Beitske Visser, Netherlands
#5 Fabienne Wohlwend, Liechtenstein
#20 Caitlin Wood, Australia