W Series releases initial 2020 calendar as Russia, Sweden join

W Series will visit three new circuits in 2020 after confirming the initial schedule for its second season, which features six rounds.

The new W Series campaign will get underway at the newly-built Igora Drive circuit in St. Petersburg on May 30 next year, before Sweden's Anderstorp Raceway hosts the second race of the season two weeks later.

W Series will then pay a maiden visit to Monza on June 26-27 before returning to the Norisring on July 10-11.

After hosting the 2019 season finale, Brands Hatch currently stands as the penultimate round on the 2020 calendar (August 22-23) before the final currently-scheduled race weekend at Assen on September 4-5.

The schedule currently sits at six rounds following the loss of Hockenheim, Zolder and Misano, and will again be in support of the DTM rounds held at the circuits on the same weekends, with a final calendar set to be firmed up at a later date.

“We at W Series are thrilled to announce two exciting and important new countries in which W Series will race in 2020: Russia and Sweden," said W Series CEO Catherine Bond Muir.

“Our Swedish race, at Anderstorp, will take W Series to the Nordics for the first time, a region that’s home to our Finnish driver Emma Kimilainen, who was one of the stars of the 2019 W Series championship, winning at Assen last year, as well as one of our new-for-2020 drivers, our recently announced Norwegian driver Ayla Agren.

“Our Russian race, at St Petersburg, will be the home fixture for the youngest driver in the 2020 W Series championship, 16-year-old Irina Sidorkova, from Petrozavodsk, which is also in Russia albeit 266 miles [428km] north-east of St Petersburg.

“Both Sweden and Russia represent important new territories for W Series, powerful economies both, appealing to fans, media and sponsors alike.

“We’ll announce the complete 2020 W Series championship calendar as and when we’ve finalised it."