W Series have announced a W Series Academy Team for the 2022 season with Bianca Bustamante and Juju Noda as the team’s drivers.
Bustamante and Noda are the two youngest drivers on the grid – 17 and 16 respectively – and will join the team as an extension of the W Series Academy Programme. The two girls will make their W Series debut at the Miami Grand Prix weekend on 6-8th May.
In joining the academy team, both drivers will be supported in becoming well-rounded racing drivers both on and off track. To perfect their driving skills and race craft, the girls will have dedicated engineers through which they will receive intensive mentoring and coaching.
Noting the importance of supporting a young driver off track as well as on, the two drivers will receive guidance on fitness and nutrition as well as media training. The media training will work alongside the opportunity for Bustamante and Noda to support W Series at official media events and community outreach programmes – it is hoped this will boost their self-promotion.
The drivers of the academy team will be able to stay in that team for a maximum of two years, at which point a new pairing of young female drivers will get the opportunity.
Bianca Bustamante
Bianca Bustamante joins W series straight from karts after being awarded the 2021 FIA Girls On Track Rising Stars scholarship. At the pre-season test in Arizona and Barcelona, Bustamante impressed with her quick ability to adapt to the F4 and F3 cars and the potential she demonstrated in her racing. She joins the 2022 line-up as one of the youngest drivers and the first Filipina driver in W Series.
“I never knew what training meant until I spent the last few weeks with W Series’ professional trainers, but I’m making big gains in both my physical strength and mental focus. I’m also super excited to be team-mates with Juju this year, and my hope is that, together, we can demonstrate to the world what the next generation of racing drivers from Asia can do.”
Bianca Bustamante
Juju Noda
At the age of just 16, when Juju Noda makes her debut in Miami she will be the youngest driver to race in W Series. Hailing from Tokyo, Japan, Noda may be new to W Series but she is certainly not new to racing having driven an F4 before she was 10 and an F3 car at 14. Juju is an exciting new talent in the sport and with racing in the blood – her father, Hideki Noda, participated in 3 F1 Grand Prix – we look forward to seeing her progress.
“This is a great opportunity and I really like what W Series is trying to do for females in motorsport. Everything is new to me with these cars so I wasn’t sure what to expect, but the pre-season testing helped me get up to speed and I’ve been training hard physically and mentally to prepare myself.”
“I don’t feel pressure, I just want to do well, and I appreciate all the support that people give me.”
Juju Noda
