W Series, the international single-seater motor racing championship for female drivers, today announces that innovative community owned race team CortDAO will compete in the 2022 season and Fabienne Wohlwend will drive for the newly formed team.
Fabienne has finished sixth in each of the previous two W Series seasons, recording three podiums and seven other points-scoring finishes from her 14 race starts. The 24-year-old from Liechtenstein – who has also enjoyed success in endurance racing and the Ferrari Challenge – will now look to make further progress during W Series' third on-track season in 2022, which consists of support races at eight Formula 1 Grand Prix weekends, starting in Miami, USA, in May. Fabienne's CortDAO W Series Team team-mate will be announced in due course.
CortDAO is W Series' first internet-based team allowing online community members to part-own a motor racing team. Community Owned Race Team DAO (CortDAO) is built around a community of motorsport fans and cryptocurrency pioneers who want to drive social change, including the promotion of women in motorsport. CortDAO operates as a DAO – a decentralised autonomous organisation – which is controlled by its members. Its financial transactions are maintained on a blockchain.
To embrace emerging NFT (non-fungible tokens) markets and allow participation of fans, CortDAO will offer online community members an opportunity to subscribe and purchase tokens that will be converted into a portion of the sponsorship of the team. Token holders are granted a percentage share of team ownership and can vote on certain team decisions. The higher the number of tokens owned, the greater percentage of voting rights an individual member receives. CortDAO intends to crowdfund its team in its entirety before accruing additional revenue by collaborating with sponsors committed to supporting W Series' incredibly talented female drivers.
Catherine Bond Muir (Chief Executive Officer, W Series) said:
"W Series aims to rethink motor racing – we are a free-to-enter championship, and our cars are the same specification, meaning drivers with the most talent – not the wealthiest backers or the fastest equipment – win our races. This fair, open, and inclusive approach accelerates our drivers' development and shows young girls and women around the world that there is a pathway for them to careers in the upper echelons of motorsport. W Series is a family and, as an innovative, community-owned team with equality at its heart, CortDAO chimes perfectly with our wider mission. I am delighted to welcome them on board and look forward to watching them during the 2022 W Series season – with Fabienne Wohlwend in their team, they have every chance of achieving success."
Fabienne Wohlwend (CortDAO W Series Team) said:
"It's great to have new teams coming on board and showing interest in W Series, and I love our CortDAO team's pink livery! Cryptocurrency is at the cutting edge and, with my financial background, I find it really interesting and CortDAO feels like a natural fit for me. I'm really proud to be racing for the CortDAO community and excited for what we can achieve together in this new collaborative format.
"I've finished sixth in 2019 and 2021, and this season I'm aiming for the top three. Last year, I had a great start to the season and then some bad luck in the second half of the year. I've been training hard over the winter and, as I haven't been in the car since the final round of last season, this week's test in Barcelona has helped me get back up to speed quickly, and I'm aiming to be on the podium at the first round in Miami.
"My winter training has been a mixture of gym work, simulator work, and time spent in the mountains near my home in Liechtenstein cross-country skiing. I also went to Sweden for a few days to do some drifting in buggies and snowmobiling, so I've done some fun stuff focusing on building my strength and car control, and I hope that stands me in good stead for the upcoming season. I feel more prepared for this season than any other, I'm really confident and excited to get started."
Michael Livingston (Founder, CortDAO) said:
"Community owned race team means exactly that. CortDAO is there for the community and the W Series team will allow us to elevate the fan experience so that everyone feels included and involved. The team is born out of an understanding that modern fans want a more immersive experience, and we want to deliver on this. We want fans to send us ideas, spread the word and join our Discord page. Sport has the power to unite communities online or offline around the world, so if you want to get involved, we hope you reach out to us!"