Ford Performance ‘The W Track’ Game Enables Players To Experience The Barriers Women Face To Get Into Motorsport

A new initiative from Ford Performance, the racing division of Ford Motor Company, called ‘The W Track’ was based around a customised virtual racing track that allows drivers to experience just how hard it is for women to get into motorsports.

Created alongside brand and customer experience agency VMLY&R and launched to leverage International Women’s’ Day, the initiative modifies the historic Monza racing circuit by adding some of the unforeseen challenges faced by women drivers seeking to get into motorsport.

Part of the auto giant’s commitment to encourage and support more women in pursuing racing careers, ‘The W Track’ not only adds the word ‘WOMAN’ to the historic Monza racing circuit in Italy, but also makes the racetrack longer and more challenging to symbolise the difficult path aspiring women racers face in real-world and virtual racing.

The track can be experienced in the Assetto Corsa videogame by Kunos Simulazioni – one of the most realistic and popular racing games – and ‘The W Track’ initiative was launched at the Monza Circuit itself with a media partnership with Freeda and a real-life event, created in partnership with BCW and Mindshare, including Pro Players’ performances, live driving sessions, and a panel conversation moderated by journalist Maria Latella.

“We are lucky to work with clients who share our values. Diversity is our greatest strength, so The W Track project was designed to help change the unequal reality we’re still seeing today in the world of motorsports,” said Executive Creative Director VMLY&R Italy Federico Russo.

“I hope The W Track sends out a strong message of inclusivity and gender equality in eSports and helps open this competitive and entertaining world to more women. We need to look harder for future women pro-gamers and help level the playing field,” said President and CEO of Ford Italia Fabrizio Faltoni.

At the launch event, Ford also announced the opening of ‘W Driving University’: a high-performance programme running under the Ford Performance Driving University which aims to recruit and train the next generation of women racing champions – both in real and virtual worlds.

“Women are trying to make their way in a world that has never been theirs. And it’s been hard to find more women for Team Fordzilla. We found only one, Sandra, in Spain in the last few years. W Driving University will encourage women to try sim and real-life racing and become a great talent pipeline for our team,” said Sara Stefanizzi (also known as Kurolily) who is a member of Ford’s Fordzilla eSport team.

The campaign was the result of a joint Ford, VMLY&R Italy, Mindshare, BCW Global (Italy), Freeda and Kunos Simulazioni initiative

Working on the project at Ford was a group led by Emmanuel Lubrani (Senior Manager, Brand Communications & Content Development, Ford Of Europe Communications & Public Affairs), Marco Alù Saffi (Head Of Communication & Public Affairs For Italy, Greece & EDM Markets Ford Motor Company), Monica Mecacci (Chief Press Officer, Ford Of Italy), Fabrizio Quinti (Marketing Communications Manager, Ford Of Italy) and Giulia La Paglia (Digital Manager, Ford Of Italy).

The team at agency VMLY&R Italy included Julian Watt (Chief Creative Officer, Europe, Ford Business), Andrea Manfredonia (Managing Director, Ford Business), Federico Russo (Executive Creative Director), Marina Biagini (Senior Art Director), Luciana Taurchini (Senior Copywriter), Leonardo Pastacaldi (Senior Copywriter), Francesca Pellegrini (Client Service Director), Federica Calori (Account Executive), Massimo Curti (Digital Manager), Barbara Petricciuolo (Social Media Director), Germana Russo (Social Media Manager), Giulia Mastropietro (Social Media Manager) and Mara Bruschetti (Head Of Production).

Media was run through agency Mindshare where the team included Luigi Sorrentino (Media Director Client Leadership – Team Ford) and Daniela Baldassarre (Head Of Content), with PR run through agency: BCW Global (Italy) where the group was headed by Lara Valenti (Senior Account Manager).

Comment

There is a brand backed movement supporting women drivers growing across the globe and other recent examples of it include NASCAR sponsor Busch Light’s 2022 ‘Accelerate Her’.