Caitlyn Jenner to enter W Series team

Caitlyn Jenner will be the team principal of her own W Series team – known as Jenner Racing – that will enter the 2022 season.

The 1976 Olympic gold medal winning decathlete turned her attentions to racing in the 1980s, with a class victory in the 1986 12 Hours of Sebring alongside Scott Pruett the highlight of a career that also saw her finish runner-up to Pruett in the IMSA Camel GT Championship. Two victories in the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race at Long Beach also came before Jenner underwent a gender transition in 2015 – having previously identified as Bruce Jenner – and she will now become a team owner in the all-female W Series that aims to create a platform for women in motorsport.

“As a believer in fair competition, a lover of motor racing, and a supporter of all women in sport from the grassroots to elite level, W Series ticks every box for me and is a fusion of the different aspects of my career,” Jenner said. “A championship dedicated to inspiring young girls and giving women the chance to succeed in roles throughout what has traditionally been a male-dominated industry, W Series is changing the face of motorsport.

“As the series continues its rapid expansion with a truly international cast of drivers and races, this was the perfect time to come on board. W Series had a global reach of more than half a billion viewers in 2021, and I am going out to the market to acquire sponsors that align with mine and W Series’ joint missions.

“I watched on with great excitement last year when W Series made its American debut in Austin, Texas, where its drivers entertained 400,000 fans over the weekend at the Circuit of The Americas. In May, I will be beaming with pride when my Jenner Racing team starts its bid for W Series glory on motor racing’s greatest stage at the first race of season three in Miami, in support of Formula 1. As has always been the case, I’m in it to win it.”

W Series became a team-based championship last year in a move that has opened up more sponsorship opportunities, and CEO Catherine Bond Muir says Jenner is the perfect fit for the series given her background.

“W Series exists to promote women in motorsport, believing that they can compete equally with men if given the same opportunities,” Bond Muir said. “We are determined to give females a platform and a pathway to succeed in our sport, and when I first met Caitlyn Jenner, it was clear that she is as committed to that mission as all of us at W Series are.

“She has performed at the highest level in sport, is a proven winner and a complete petrol-head, and I know that her passion for sport and motorsport will inspire everybody at W Series. We continue to rethink racing and I am excited to see how the Jenner Racing team performs this season. With one of the world’s greatest athletes supporting them, the sky is the limit.”

The series has just completed a driver evaluation test in Arizona and will kick off its 2022 season alongside Formula 1 at the inaugural Miami Grand Prix on May 8.