More than 22 months after the conclusion of the debut W Series season back in the 2019 – having missed 2020 due to the global pandemic – the grid of 18 drivers was back in action for the first of eight rounds this year. It was Alice Powell who dominated the weekend, having topped practice and qualifying to lead every lap from pole position in at the season opener at the Red Bull Ring in Austria.
Alice Powell got away well from the pole position, as did Beitske Visser from P4 on the grid, although she was stuck behind Sarah Moore in the first corner. Series newcomer Belen Garcia had a poor start from P3 on the grid, dropping behind Moore and Visser in the first corner.
Norwegian driver Ayla Agren stalled on the grid in her P10 starting position. The cars starting behind her did a good job to avoid her stranded car at the start. Agren was able to get the car going, but had fallen to the rear of the field.
Sabre Cook had a collision in the opening lap of the race, damaging her front wing. She had to dive into the pit lane for a replacement, dropping her to the back.
Defending champion Jamie Chadwick had a solid first lap, putting the pressure on her fellow drivers in the mid-field. Her day took a bad turn when Jessica Hawkins rear ended the Brit at the start of the second lap in the braking zone. Chadwick was able to rejoin the track after spinning around, but appeared to be taken out of contention. In the clean air, she proved to be the fastest.
Ten minutes into the half hour race, an intense battle developed over positions 8 thru 11. Series newcomer Bruna Tomaselli was pressuring Marta Garcia for P8, but a small mistake left her vulnerable to Miki Koyama behind. Tomaselli and Koyama were battling side-by-side around the circuit, with the Japanese driver eventually coming out on top. This put Nerea Marti within striking distance of Tomaselli. Marti made a dive on the inside of turn 2 to get around Tomaselli and into P10. The Brazilian fought back but had to concede the position.
Meanwhile at the front Alice Powell was building a strong lead over Sarah Moore and Belen Garcia. Garcia ran wide in the first corner, unsettling the car when straddling the yellow sausage kerb on the outside of the corner. She lost time to Moore, falling back to Visser in P4.
Belen Garcia was able to start pulling a gap to Visser, but she pushed over the limit, running very wide through the gravel on the outside of turn 6. She took the escape road near the barriers on the outside of the gravel trap and rejoined the track behind Koyama. Now in P8, Belen Garcia was under pressure from Marti and Tomaselli behind, but she was able to hold her position.
With ten minutes remaining in the race, Marta Garcia suffered a mechanical issue on the exit of the first corner. Her car coasted to a stop on the side of the circuit, prompting a safety car that would bunch up the pack for the closing portion of the race.
The race resumed with just 4 minutes remaining in the race. Emma Kimilainen spun Visser into turn three, going too deep on the inside of the tight right-hand corner. This damaged Kimilainen’s front wing, making her a sitting duck for the cars behind. The field bunched up behind Kimilainen, who was basically a cork in the bottle, making for some closing racing.
Abbie Eaton was spun the following lap in the third corner, as the cars bunched up behind Kimilainen. Jamie Chadwick was able to muscle her way through the cars, taking P7 in a fantastic recovery drive after her early spin.
With that victory, Powell takes the lead in her championship bid ahead of Sarah Moore and Fabienne Wohlwend, who made it to the podium despite her P9 starting position.
The W Series will stay in Austria for a second race around the Red Bull Ring next weekend, for the first of three back-to-back race Saturdays. The race will be held on July 3.
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| Race Results | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A. Powell | ||
| 2 | S. Moore | ||
| 3 | F. Wohlwend | ||
| 4 | B. Garcia | ||
| 5 | M. Koyama | ||
| 6 | J. Chadwick | ||
| 7 | N. Marti | ||
| 8 | I. Sidorkova | ||
| 9 | G. Rdest | ||
| 10 | A. Agren | ||
| 11 | B. Tomaselli | ||
| 12 | B. Visser | ||
| 13 | E. Kimilainen | ||
| 14 | S. Cook | ||
| 15 | A. Eaton | ||
| 16 | J. Hawkins | ||
| 17 | V. Piria | ||
| DNF | M. Garcia | ||
