The nightmare season of a W Series title favourite

If you had asked, heading into 2021, who the likely title contenders for the championship’s second season would be, Beitske Visser is surely a name that would have cropped up, alongside current title rivals Jamie Chadwick and Alice Powell and third-placed Emma Kimilainen.

Dutch driver Visser finished second in the series’ inaugural season in 2019, taking one win, three other podiums and two fastest laps to end the year just 10 points behind champion Chadwick and 24 clear of third-placed Powell.

She was also the 2020 W Series Esports champion, the contest taking place after COVID-19 forced the cancellation of any real on-track action, and competed for the Richard Mille Racing Team in the European Le Mans Series.

But 2021 has been a different story, compared to her success of two years ago. Of the six races so far, Visser has failed to score in four of them – only one of which was within her control - and didn’t compete at Spa after a horrific crash in qualifying.

Visser made a good start to the season in Austria, qualifying fourth before moving up to third during the race, but an unfortunate collision with Emma Kimilainen dropped her to the back of the field, leaving her to finish outside of the points in 13th. She didn’t have any better luck in the second race – having qualified second, a stall on the grid left her to fight back up to 11th.

Things improved at Silverstone despite a late minute engine change due to a mechanical issue, taking a sixth-place finish after emerging in front from a last-lap battle with Sarah Moore and Abbi Pulling. Her best result of the season came the following round in Hungary, avoiding several on-track incidents behind her to take fifth.

Beitske Visser, Abbi Pulling, Belen Garcia

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

But the horrific crash at Spa dented her progress, forcing her out of that race and leaving her to struggle physically the following weekend at Zandvoort.

Asked how she would rate her season ahead of the double-header finale at the Circuit of the Americas this weekend, Visser said: “Pretty bad. I think it started off quite OK – at the first round in Austria we were quite quick, but in the first race I got hit off and then the second race I stopped myself so yeah, not really the best start.

“Then I had some decent races but then yeah, Spa was the absolute low so I haven't had the best season so I'm hoping we've passed all the bad luck.

"I think it's good that after an accident like that, you get back in the car as quickly as possible. Luckily, for me, it was the week after. It doesn't really feel different to be honest" Beitske Visser

“I kind of want to start the season over - I wish it was just starting now. But yeah, I don’t know, I always want to race so ideally for me the championship should be longer. We always need to have a winter break so yeah, as soon as it's finished I'm usually already looking forward to next year.”

Visser said the bad luck is “not great, because I went into the season wanting to fight for the championship and I know I have the pace in me”.

“But not really everything has been going my way so far,” she added. “I just go to Austin knowing that I can be quick and just need a trouble-free weekend. I think then we can show what my true pace is.

“I've had four zero scores so far, which three of them were out of my own hands so yeah, that's not helping for the championship but at least that’s something I don't need to worry about this weekend.

“I can just go in there, I have nothing to lose so I'm going to do everything I can to end on a high.”

Spa weekend was one to forget for Visser after being caught up in qualifying crash

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

The horror smash in Belgium also impacted her season. A six-car collision at Eau Rouge-Raidillon, which also included Ayla Agren, Sarah Moore, Abbie Eaton, Belen Garcia and Fabienne Wohlwend, left both Visser and Agren in hospital, although they were discharged shortly after.

Moore was first into the corner before losing the rear of the car and firing into the barriers. Rivals behind followed suit colliding into the tyre wall, with Eaton sent upwards after being hit side-on, while Visser was sent rolling upside-down. There was extensive damage and debris, with video footage showing cars strewn across the track.

Visser was ruled out of the following day’s race at the Belgian circuit, on a weekend when Formula 1 driver Lando Norris also suffered a sizeable shunt at the same corner, but she returned to on-track action the following weekend at Zandvoort.

“Obviously the accident has not been very nice,” she said of the crash. “But yeah, I think I have an angel on my shoulder there to walk away from that. Then obviously, I had the race in Zandvoort the week after, which physically I was not in a very good position, and then there was also a small issue in qualifying, which wasn't helping.”

She says it “wasn’t hard” to get back in the car after the crash, adding: “I think it's good that after an accident like that, you get back in the car as quickly as possible. Luckily, for me, it was the week after. It doesn't really feel different to be honest, apart from the pain I was having, but mentally, it didn't feel any different.

“But, since then, I've just been mainly resting at first. And then last week, I started to train again with my trainer and building up things. It’s still not 100%, but good enough for now.

“We’ve mainly focused on general fitness, because the weeks after Zandvoort I had to rest completely. So, then you just have to start generally improving everything again, so that’s what I'm continuing to do now.”

Visser is aiming to end season on a high in Texas this weekend

Photo by: Alastair Staley / Motorsport Images

Following the incident, Visser has joined calls to make changes at the perilous corner. It was the same spot where a horrific Formula 2 accident in 2019 claimed the life of Anthoine Hubert and left Juan Manuel Correa with severe injuries.

Williams Formula 1 reserve driver Jack Aitken was also injured in an incident at the circuit just weeks prior to Visser’s, sustaining fractures to his collarbone and vertebra in a crash at the Spa 24 Hours.

Aitken’s accident was also caused after he spun into the barriers and bounced back into the middle of the track before being collected by other cars.

Asked about what changes should be made to that part of the track, Visser suggested more runoff. “I think if there can be a bit more runoff - I think the main issue there is not the corner itself, it's the runoff,” she said. “What you saw with us as well, as soon as you hit the barriers, you get pushed back into the track, and it's a blind corner, so someone coming up there will not see that you're in the middle of the track.

“So if they can somehow either put gravel to slow us down or find a way that you don't get pushed back onto the racing line, I think that's the most important thing.”

Visser hopes to continue in the series next year, alongside her prototype forays, assuming she makes the cut

It was confirmed last week that the top eight drivers in this year's W Series standings will automatically qualify for next season – a benchmark Visser currently does not meet. But all 18 drivers on the grid will have the chance to guarantee their seat for next year in the last round, with just 22 points separating the eighth and last-placed drivers in the table.

Visser hopes to continue in the series next year, alongside her prototype forays, assuming she makes the cut. And so she should, considering the pace she has shown in the races where she hasn’t been afflicted by bad luck.

And the biggest lessons she’s learned from it? “Focus on yourself,” she said. “Just try to do the best you can, even if some things are out of your control.”

Visser is aiming to be in the top eight in the standings to secure W Series drive for next year

Photo by: Alastair Staley / Motorsport Images