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    W Series - Women Only Racing Series

    We heard it was coming. And there were mixed feelings about it as many thought women racers should proved themselves in a mixed series among men. As Jamie Chadwick has done in the British F3 series to be the first woman to win a race in that series.

    That said, such series which are typically dominated by men seem not to be a a great place for budding female drivers to nuture a budding interest and talent. If you are in the minority group of any society then you would understand this all too well. Hence, l think this series is a brilliant idea and we should embrace it with the same interest that we give any junior formula. I hope it attracts media interest enough for it to be televised, as l would like to see how this project progresses.

    I think, if we see real gritty competition between the finest drivers the series has to offer, many would be converted and embrace women drivers for their talent. Besides, the races shall be grids filled with women, what can be hotter than ladies in racing suits..
    Last edited by Nitrodaze; 11th October 2018 at 12:59.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nitrodaze View Post
    Besides, the races shall be grids filled with women, what can be hotter than that.
    A "me too" woman who just read that?
    "Old roats am jake mit goats."
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    Quote Originally Posted by Starter View Post
    A "me too" woman who just read that?
    :-) I mean well by my words.

    And l think there is scope for a women only series in the motor sport world. There are all kinds of series out there, all mostly dominated by males. It is not segregation, it is just another series. The series would succeed or fail depending on the quality of the flock of female talent the management of the series is able to attract.

    It is hard enough as it is, hence I hope the experienced female drivers support it because it would be a shame if it fails due to lack of women support.
    Last edited by Nitrodaze; 10th October 2018 at 19:45.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nitrodaze View Post
    We heard it was coming. And there were mixed feelings about it as many thought women racers should proved themselves in a mixed series among men. As Jamie Chadwick has done in the British F3 series to be the first woman to win a race in that series.

    That said, such series which are typically dominated by men seem not to be a a great place for budding female drivers to nuture a budding interest and talent. If you are in the minority group of any society then you would understand this all too well. Hence, l think this series is a brilliant idea and we should embrace it with the same interest that we give any junior formula. I hope it attracts media interest enough for it to be televised, as l would like to see how this project progresses.

    I think, if we see real gritty competition between the finest drivers the series has to offer, many would be converted and embrace women drivers for their talent. Besides, the races shall be grids filled with women, what can be hotter than that.
    At first I was not to keen about this because i thought it would, relegate women to only this series and further the stereo type of them not being "strong enough" or whatever to compete with the boys.
    But I've come around, because women don't simply get any opportunities their way and are unfairly lumped in all together as 1 group (as are all other minorities)

    "we gave a woman a chance and see the result?" that can be replaced with black, chines, asian, or whatever and that is the overall sentiment usually.

    I hope this series succeeds and that the machinery they are given are at least f2/F3 caliber. In that way, the cream rises to the top and if a woman is producing outstanding lap times, then they should be more than considered for some F1/F2 or other top racing categories. I think it also gives some F1 teams and or manufactures a great PR opportunity to participate and endear themselves to a new audience. if the FIA were smart, they would find some way to add that series into the F1 weekends.
    you can't argue with results.

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    Quote Originally Posted by truefan72 View Post
    At first I was not to keen about this because i thought it would, relegate women to only this series and further the stereo type of them not being "strong enough" or whatever to compete with the boys.
    But I've come around, because women don't simply get any opportunities their way and are unfairly lumped in all together as 1 group (as are all other minorities)

    "we gave a woman a chance and see the result?" that can be replaced with black, chines, asian, or whatever and that is the overall sentiment usually.

    I hope this series succeeds and that the machinery they are given are at least f2/F3 caliber. In that way, the cream rises to the top and if a woman is producing outstanding lap times, then they should be more than considered for some F1/F2 or other top racing categories. I think it also gives some F1 teams and or manufactures a great PR opportunity to participate and endear themselves to a new audience. if the FIA were smart, they would find some way to add that series into the F1 weekends.
    I agree. The W series cars are based on the 2019 F3 car. I hope the FIA heeds your comment. Besides they need to bring the Electric series and this W series into the limelight. Formula E is not getting good international TV coverage. I worry this W series may easily fair the same way if not assisted.
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    Quote Originally Posted by truefan72 View Post
    At first I was not to keen about this because i thought it would, relegate women to only this series and further the stereo type of them not being "strong enough" or whatever to compete with the boys.
    But I've come around, because women don't simply get any opportunities their way and are unfairly lumped in all together as 1 group (as are all other minorities)

    "we gave a woman a chance and see the result?" that can be replaced with black, chines, asian, or whatever and that is the overall sentiment usually.

    I hope this series succeeds and that the machinery they are given are at least f2/F3 caliber. In that way, the cream rises to the top and if a woman is producing outstanding lap times, then they should be more than considered for some F1/F2 or other top racing categories. I think it also gives some F1 teams and or manufactures a great PR opportunity to participate and endear themselves to a new audience. if the FIA were smart, they would find some way to add that series into the F1 weekends.
    I'm all for it. Hopefully if they do it right it will give a chance for the better performing women to be noticed and brought into the teams that are now dominated by men. There are plenty of badass woman athletes these days, and I'm sure within that group some of them are great drivers as well. Once they have a path to the upper level series, it's just a matter of time before some of them end up there. And lets face it, it's not as if F1 is honestly about the best drivers only. It's about some of the best, and some that are very good but also did well with enough sponsorship or family money to get into the sport. I would think the chances would be good for a top level female driver to get loads of sponsorship money and hopefully find a way in.

    Just a few years ago, it was rare to see a female in the F1 garages. Now almost every team has at least one or two doing mechanical/engineer type work, and at least one or two women are on the pit wall crew now.

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    I'll be the disagreeing voice here. I am against a separate women only series. Auto racing is one of the few sports where women can compete on an even level with men. That's because its not about how big you are (being big is a disadvantage in formula cars), how fast you are or how strong you are. Its about physical conditioning, mental concentration and desire. There haven't been a lot of women competing at a high level in the sport because of various societal pressures. Women who have made it to a high level have had reasonable success considering the number who have even attempted (NOT counting Danica Patrick here ). Segregating women into a separate series is not the answer IMO.
    "Old roats am jake mit goats."
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    Quote Originally Posted by Starter View Post
    I'll be the disagreeing voice here. I am against a separate women only series. Auto racing is one of the few sports where women can compete on an even level with men. That's because its not about how big you are (being big is a disadvantage in formula cars), how fast you are or how strong you are. Its about physical conditioning, mental concentration and desire. There haven't been a lot of women competing at a high level in the sport because of various societal pressures. Women who have made it to a high level have had reasonable success considering the number who have even attempted (NOT counting Danica Patrick here ). Segregating women into a separate series is not the answer IMO.
    I don't think you have taken a disagreeing position as the female drivers would have to "inevitably" race against men if they make it into F1. But l think most people who disagree with the concept of a women only series miss a very subtle point. The series is to provide an incubator environment for up and coming female racers to find their feet. For most females, the male dominated environment can be intimidating for the fledgling female racer trying to decide if racing is for them. A women only series would help nuture the interest in racing and the talent required to compete outside the negative and poisoning prejudice environment where they would frequently hear from some that women can't and should not race cars.

    The idea here is, they would be going into F2 with confidence and with the requisite toughness to deal with whatever the F2 series has to throw at them. Besides most of the resistance to them would be reduced as we would have seen what the crop of female drivers moving up into F2 can do from the W series.

    If you are honest, when you think of female drivers in F1, some have a niggling doubt that they would be good enough. But how would you know unless we have a series like this to provide some high quality candidates for us to see compete in mixed series.

    I personally think this series could produce some very credible female racers in the near future. We just have to try to look beyond the stigmas and doubts. I would say, give it the benefit of the doubt.

    That said, the series would be very bad for women if it turns out to be the only avenue for women racers to get into mainstream racing series such as F3 or F2. Women who prefer not to race in the W series but prefer to head straight to F3 or F2 should be able to do so unhindered. Otherwise the W series then becomes a segregation series which would be bad indeed.

    As l have said before there are all kinds of racing series out there, thus l think there is room for a women only series.
    Last edited by Nitrodaze; 11th October 2018 at 19:31.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Starter View Post
    Segregating women into a separate series is not the answer IMO.
    Some schools in the U.S. now have girls only math and science classes for the very same reasons given by the organizers of this series. Don Panoz tried this same concept with GT racing back in the late 90's. Several of those women did go on to (limited) success in racing. Maybe this will provide something of a feeder for girls, maybe it won't. Personally, I see it more as a PC PR stunt (call me jaded and cynical). But anyway, I'm also of the opinion that putting girls in a "safe space", and then expecting them to be mentally/emotionally prepared when they go up against boys, who have been competing against the best in class since they were 5 or 6 years old, is a big ask.

    Even though I also do not believe in segregation (and gender is no exception), I don't mean to sound harsh at the outset. If a girl can turn this into an F2/F3 ride and earn enough super license points to get considered for an F1 drive, that's great. But if she whines for a seat (like Susie Wolff), after not collecting the required super license points, never winning a race or accomplishing anything of merit, then she goes in the waste bin with all of the other drivers who tried and failed. I'm certain that there is at least one girl out there who has the talent and mental toughness to make it in F1. But IMO, she'll have to be more like Angelle Sampey and less like Danica Patrick (Susie Wollf or Carmen Jorda). I'm sorry that Simona di Silvestro got tied up with that fraud, Monisha Kaltenborn. She most certainly had the mental toughness to make it. She just needed to polish off the rough edges and further develop her racecraft.
    "Every generation's memory is exactly as long as its own experience." --John Kenneth Galbraith

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jag_Warrior View Post
    I'm also of the opinion that putting girls in a "safe space", and then expecting them to be mentally/emotionally prepared when they go up against boys, who have been competing against the best in class since they were 5 or 6 years old, is a big ask.
    You make some valid points which has been raised before in forum discussions when Carlmen first floated the idea of a women only series. I think you would find that the girls going into the W Series would have been racing with the boys since 5 and 6 as well. Most of those boys go on to better things and the girls get left behind. This series give those girls something to aim for. They would know that if they do not make it into F3 there is at least Formula E or the W Series to aim for.

    That said, the series will quickly lose credibility if the quality of female drivers they attract are novices with no grass root racing experience such as go carting etc. The W Series should not be a learning ground but a proving ground for women with racing talent. Anything less than a proper highly contentious racing equivalent to F3 or at a minimum F4, with quality fast racing equipment would do a disservice to women racing.
    Last edited by Nitrodaze; 13th October 2018 at 23:04.
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