The women-only W Series has inaugurated its e-sports league to raise the visibility of female sim racing.
Partnering with PC and console gaming equipment provider Logitech G, tournament organizer Beyond Entertainment, and e-sport platform iRacing, the W Series Esports League will start sim racing in the coming weeks.
The W Series Esports League will be women-only with all 18 drivers who qualified for the on-track series expected to take part.
The series will race at Monza, Circuit of the Americas, Brands Hatch, Interlagos, Spa-Francorchamps, Watkins Glen, Suzuka, Bathurst, Nürburgring Nordschleife and Silverstone.
Digital versions of the Tatuus Formula Renault 2.0 will be created, offering similar performance to the W Series Tatuus Formula 3 race car.
Points will be awarded in every race with the champion being the driver with the most points.
Up to three races will be run at each of the 10 circuits of varying lengths and durations, usual qualifying but with some reverse-grid races.
Catherine Bond Muir, CEO of W Series, said, “I’m extremely impressed by the work that has been done to put it together, in record time, by ourselves and by our partners Logitech, Beyond Entertainment and iRacing, in association with our principal sponsor ROKiT Phones, and I’m confident that the result will be a difficult yet exciting challenge for our drivers and an innovative yet thrilling spectacle for fans watching on YouTube, on Twitch, and on other streaming platforms dedicated to online gaming.”
Reigning W Series champion Jamie Chadwick said, “Nothing beats the sheer thrill of driving a real race car flat-out on a real racetrack, and I don’t mind admitting I’m missing that enormously. But I’ve been massively impressed by the work that W Series, Logitech, Beyond Entertainment and iRacing have done together over the past few weeks, and the result, the W Series Esports League, is seriously impressive.”
