W SERIES REMAINDER CANNED FOR 2022 AMID FUNDING CRISIS
All-female contest bosses confident of a return in time for 2023 season
The final three races of the W Series competition have been axed after a deal with an investor collapsed, but bosses of the category are set on reviving it in time for next season.
The 2022 calendar had three races left to run, with a round scheduled for the Circuit of the Americas this weekend and a double-header finale, which was set to run alongside the Mexican Grand Prix on October 29-30. As a result of the series being suspended, points leader Jamie Chadwick has been crowned as champion for a third time.
W Series boss Catherine Bond
Muir said there had been significant interest from potential investors since news emerged of the financial difficulties, giving her confidence the series would return in 2023. “We’ve had offers from a number of people, but the problem is getting money in doesn’t happen at the shake of a money tree, and people have got to go through due diligence,” explained Bond Muir.
“We believed up until last weekend
[at the Singapore Grand Prix] there was a possibility for us to get to Austin, and we’ve just had to call it, because obviously there are deadlines on payments and things that need to be done.
“We could have kept it on for a couple of weeks, but we just had to make a pragmatic call today. Going forward, the big message is that I am extremely confident that W Series will be here next year.”