The announcement of the twenty-eight drivers selected for the second stage of the selection process for the opening season of the all-female W Series saw one notable absentee from selection, the often outspoken Carmen Jorda.
When the list was released, the Spaniard was not on it, however Jorda was not present at the evaluation tests that took place in Austria last week, and she has now revealed the reasons behind her absence from the series she had been an avid supporter of even since its inception last year.
The former Development Driver for the Lotus and Renault Formula 1 teams had been included in the original fifty-strong list for the W Series evaluation but will now sit out the season, with Jorda blaming the inability to find an agreement that would satisfy the needs of her sponsors.
“I’ll like to announce that I won’t be part of the W Series for its first season in 2019,” Jorda said on her official Twitter account. “It has been a pleasure for me to help promote a championship for women as W Series during the past months but unfortunately we couldn’t find an agreement that could fulfil my sponsors’ needs.
“I’ll like to wish the very best to @WSeriesRacing and all its competitors! Motorsport is my passion and my way of life. News about what I will be doing for my 2019 season will come soon!”
I’ll like to announce that I won’t be part of the @wseries for its first season in 2019. It has been a pleasure for me to help promote a championship for women as @wseries during the past months but unfortunately we couldn’t find an agreement that could fulfil my sponsors’ needs. pic.twitter.com/t8NGXaF4PN
— Carmen Jorda (@CarmenJorda) January 30, 2019
The twenty-eight chosen drivers will move on to participate in a four-day test in a Formula 3 car in Spain in March, with the eighteen selected drivers then going on to race on selected rounds of the support package of the DTM Series, starting with the Hockenheimring at the beginning of May.