The final three races of the 2022 W Series season have been cancelled as the series battles cash-flow issues which has plagued the organisation of late.
The three races affected include one in Austin and a double-header in Mexico. Both events were supposed to be conducted in support of the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix and Mexican Grand Prix respectively.
The announcement was shared in a post on the W Series website earlier this week, with CEO Catherine Bond Muir recognising the cancellation comes as a result of a deal which fell through.
“It’s with both great sadness and frustration that we announce that our much-anticipated final three races of the 2022 season in Austin and Mexico City will not go ahead,” she said in the release.
“As a start-up in only our third season of racing, we are always working hard to ensure regularity of funding as we continue to grow our business, but due to recent unforeseen circumstances outside of W Series’ control, we had not been in receipt of contracted funds due to us.
“Therefore, we have been forced to make the unfortunate decision not to complete our scheduled calendar this season.
“We would like to thank both Circuit of The Americas and Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez’s Grupo CIE for their support as promoters of our events in Austin and Mexico City respectively, and apologise to both them and our fans that we will not be able to go racing there this year,” she said.
In just three seasons of running, the W Series has established itself as a pinnacle of female motorsport. However, Bond Muir, recognises that the financial issues suffered by the series is not unique to women’s sport in general.
“It is well-documented that women’s sports receive far less funding than its male counterparts, and W Series is no exception,” she stated in the release.
“We are incredibly thankful for the help and support we have received in recent weeks following the news of the financial difficulties we’ve been facing, which has accelerated our fundraising process and given us great optimism as we look to 2023 and beyond.”
Whilst the 2022 season is now over, Muir is optimistic the 2023 W Series will go ahead.
“While we are all incredibly disappointed that this decision has had to be made in the short term, we remain positive about the future of W Series in the long term,” she said.
“While we aren’t in a position to make a formal announcement yet, there are many positive conversations ongoing and all parties share our passion for and belief in our mission to provide our incredible field of women drivers a platform to showcase their talents and to race in front of enthusiastic fans all around the world.
“We are doing everything we can to ensure the long-term financial health of our business and we look forward to W Series’ continued growth and success.”
The cancellations mean that last weekends Singapore Grand Prix was the final race of the season, Jamie Chadwick now crowned champion for a record third time.
In just three years of competition, Chadwick has proved her class to take all three titles. Crashing out in Singapore, however, will leave a feeling of unfinished business, champion celebrations yet to take place. Despite the incident, she still claimed the 2022 title by 50 points over Beitske Visser.
No formal announcement has been made by Chadwick as to what 2023 entails. She has, however, confirmed she will not take part in the W Series to seek a fourth title. She has recently been in the United States testing in Indy Lights.
Header Image: W Series
