More Than 100 Women Apply For Spots In Racing's All-Female W Series

More than 100 applicants from around the world have "sought to join a new all-female motor racing series" aimed at getting them into Formula 1, where no woman has competed since '76, according to Alan Baldwin of REUTERS. Organizers on Wednesday issued a long list of 55 for the W Series, which is set to launch in May with 18 drivers racing 1.8-liter Formula 3 cars for a $1.5M prize fund. Spainish former Lotus and Renault F1 development driver Carmen Jordá, a 30-year-old who also sits on FIA's women's commission, "was one of those to go on to the next phase." Amna al-Qubaisi, 18, the first female racing driver from the UAE to compete in Italian Formula 4 and who will test a Formula E car in Saudi Arabia next month, was another. The first race is scheduled for Hockenheim, Germany, on May 3 (REUTERS, 11/28).

LEADING THE WAY: The BBC's Andrew Benson reported former F1 driver Alexander Wurz will lead the assessment program the W Series will use to select competitors. Grand Prix Drivers' Association Chair Wurz said that there is "no reason women could not compete with men on an equal basis." He said, "We know there is no difference in capability between male and female drivers. ... That we don't have enough female drivers in racing is just a mirror of society because families don't take enough girls to the kart track" (BBC, 11/28).