Filipina teen champion racer Bianca Bustamante has been selected to represent Asia in the 2022 W Series, an all-women open-wheel support series to Formula 1.
The 16-year-old Filipina Karter of the Year and Overall Champion is heading to the Inde Motorsports Ranch in Arizona for the W Series pre-season test running from January 31 to February 4.
Bustamante, previously named as the only Asian and Filipino driver included in the FIA Girls on track – Rising Stars Scholarship Shootout will be one of the 14 top young female drivers from around the world in the W Series event that marks the start of the W Series 2022 On-Track Programme.
The W Series test will be held in Formula 4 machinery to allow a new group of drivers to familiarize themselves with the same circuits used by the highest racing class of Formula 1.
Bustamante says she is humbled to be invited as the Asia representative and is excited to take part in the test and showcase her skills.
“I wasn’t expecting to have such a big opportunity like this so early in the year; competing in the W Series has always been a dream of mine. We’ve been working so hard on this my entire life, so it’s great to be given a chance to drive in the selection test,” said Bustamante.
“I’ll do my best to demonstrate my ability and motivation to have a place in the series be it in 2022 or the future. Most importantly I’ll try to have fun and learn as much as I possibly can from the top-level engineers and mechanics involved with the W series,” the Filipina rising star added.
Leading up to the W Series event, Bustamante will also take part in a 2-day test with Doran-Kroll Competition, an F4 U.S. Championship team. The test will be held at Buttonwillow Raceway in California on the 17th and 18th of January. She will be joined by British racing driver, Richard Lyons who will take up the role as her coach for the test. Working alongside a professional team, Bustamante will be able to understand her strengths and weaknesses in the F4 car, making her better prepared for the W series test and her future racing pursuits.
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