Alice Powell wins W Series season opener in Austria; defending champ Jamie Chadwick 7th

Associated PressJun 26, 2021, 1:00 PM EDT
W Series Round 1:Red Bull Ring - Race
Bryn Lennon/Getty Images
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SPIELBERG, Austria — Alice Powell won an eventful season opener to the 2021 W Series on Saturday.

The British driver, who was also fastest in Friday’s practice and qualifying, led from start to finish in the race full of collisions and spins on the track of Formula One’s Styrian Grand Prix.

Sarah Moore of Britain and Fabienne Wohlwend of Liechtenstein finished second and third, respectively.

Powell won the last race of the inaugural W Series two years ago at Brands Hatch to finish third in the drivers’ standings.

W Series Round 1:Red Bull Ring - Race
Winner Alice Powell (left), runner-up Sarah Moore and Fabienne Wohlwend toast their podium finishes in the W Series season opener (Bryn Lennon/Getty Images).

The second race is scheduled on the same track in the Austrian Alps next Saturday, a day before F1’s Austrian GP.

The W Series is an all-female championship, aimed at promoting women in motorsports as drivers and engineers. It started in 2019 with Jamie Chadwick winning the inaugural series championship, but last season was canceled because of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Moore became the first openly LGBTQ driver to score a podium during a Grand Prix weekend, according to the W Series.

Chadwick finished seventh, having started eighth after a technical issue in qualifying.

Chadwick had to restart 16th after she was hit from behind on Lap 2 by Jess Hawkins, an incident that was under investigation by stewards.

I’m feeling mixed emotions after that race. Firstly, I’m happy to get points on the board but massively disappointed at the same time, I had a really good start and first lap but then got spun around.

“We got a bit lucky with the carnage that unfolded after the safety car but I think it was damage limitation today given the circumstances we found ourselves in. Our potential was much more than that this weekend. Luckily there isn’t long to wait so we’re already looking ahead to the next race.”

Chadwick, 22, also is racing in the Extreme E Series this season and secured a developmental deal with Williams F1. She has credited the W Series having “professionalized women’s motorsport overnight” in helping propel her career.

“I was surprised it took off so much as well, to be honest,” Chadwick told NBC Sports in March. “Massively. I was skeptical when it first started. I didn’t feel it was necessarily the best way to approach the situation.

“But in retrospect giving that many women that kind of opportunity and a platform, everyone bought into it and gave it this popularity that was completely unexpected. But also for sport and women’s sport, it was far greater than anything we’ve seen in recent years.”

W Series Round 1:Red Bull Ring - Race
Alice Powell of Racing X leads during the W Series Round 1 at Red Bull Ring (Bryn Lennon/Getty Images).

Ford Mustang GT3 test has Austin Cindric dreaming of Daytona: ‘I want to drive that car’

By Mar 22, 2023, 2:30 PM EDT
Cindric Ford GT3 test
Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images
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Austin Cindric wasn’t the “mystery” test driver behind the wheel of the new Ford Mustang GT3 at Sebring International Raceway, but the Team Penske driver desperately wanted to be.

Ford CEO Jim Farley, an amateur sports car driver himself, made the big reveal via a Tuesday tweet that provided the first video evidence of the GT3 Mustang on track.

“I’ve watched the video in question about a million times,” Cindric said Wednesday during a Ford Performance Zoom news conference to promote NASCAR’s first road course weekend of the season at Circuit of the Americas. “Definitely exciting times for sure. I want to drive that car. It suits my experience level and also the relationships that I have.”

Ford will enter the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship next season with its GT3 Mustang, entering a two-car factory effort (that will be managed by Multimatic) in GTD Pro and making customer cars available in the GT Daytona category.

That increases the likelihood of seeing more NASCAR drivers crossing over to IMSA. Cindric has been the only full-time Cup driver in the Rolex 24 at Daytona the past two years, but Ford Performance global director Mark Rushbrook has said the GT3 Mustang will provide more opportunities.

Ford has used its GT4 Mustang as a NASCAR driver development tool in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge with Harrison Burton and Zane Smith combining to win the season opener at Daytona International Speedway in January.

“We’re excited about the Next Gen car and the new architecture there and the similarities between that car and GT3 and even GT4 cars,” Rushbrook said at the announcement of the Ford GT3 program in January 2022 at Daytona. “We think it’s a great opportunity and to do be able to do that in a 24-hour race and get NASCAR drivers even more time is something we need to consider taking advantage of that opportunity.”

Given his sports car background, Cindric probably still would be in the Rolex 24 regardless. He has eight IMSA starts since the 2017 season opener at Daytona, racing a Lexus RCF GT3 and Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the GT category. The 2022 Daytona 500 winner made his second LMP2 start this year with Rick Ware Racing.

But Cindric’s preference naturally would be in a Ford, particularly with sports car racing enjoying convergence and crossovers in both GT and prototype racing.

“It’s an exciting time in GT racing, just as it is now for prototype racing with a lot of new regulations and manufacturers building new GT3 cars,” he said. “And also the opportunity with WEC (the World Endurance Championship) and Le Mans and how that all lines up for that category of car. It’s definitely an exciting time. I want to be as much of a part of that as possible.”

Though those odds seemingly will increase with multiple Ford entries in the Rolex 24 field next year, Cindric said NASCAR drivers still have to put in the networking to land rides as he has in recent years.

“Now how (the GT3 Mustang) relates to specifically NASCAR drivers and how often they want to be in the Rolex, could it be an influence? Absolutely, as far as the tie-in with the manufacturer,” Cindric said. “But the challenge and the drive and the logistics of getting an opportunity for a race like the Rolex 24 will be just as challenging as it always is to find your one-off ride for the race. At least from my experience, that’s what I still anticipate.”

It turned out the “mystery” test driver wasn’t from NASCAR (Farley revealed the driver to be 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Joey Hand after a fan asked whether it was Joey Logano).

But Cindric believes there could be more Cup drivers — and perhaps himself — behind the wheel of Mustang GT3s in the future.

“There’s definitely more of a pathway than I think there would be before as far as Ford drivers are concerned,” he said. “Hopefully, I’ll get the opportunity to drive that thing. It’s obviously a great looking car. That’s the first box you’ve got to check. And it’s cool (to have) a guy like Jim Farley, no doubt he’s a racer just as much as he is steering the ship for Ford. It’s cool to see he’s just as excited as the rest of us about it.”