In an era of streaming costs and weird motorsport TV packages, it can be hard to get your hands on an affordable viewing of a live racing event. But believe it or not, the all-woman W Series actually has one of the few broadcast packages you can watch for free in the United States. You just need to figure out how to access beIN SPORTS XTRA, which anyone with a smart TV or even general internet access can do.
beIN SPORTS XTRA is a free sports channel that you can find over the air in most large cities, like Philadelphia or San Francisco. If you have a smart TV, you can download a beIN SPORTS XTRA app and watch W Series for free. You can even use the live Roku website to , without needing a smart TV; you just won’t have the ability to check out any replays or access any non-live content.
In case you’ve missed it, the W Series is an open-wheel racing series whose competitors are all women. It has earned some criticism in the sense that it still segregates women out from their male competitors, but I have to admit that the racing has been fantastic and that it’s incredible to see a grid full of women doing their thing.
Most importantly, there has been some great racing. Last weekend’s race was a chaotic one, chock full of collisions, spins, and dominant runs to the front of the pack. Alice Powell held a dominant lead, while Sarah Moore’s second place finish secured her legacy as the first openly lesbian driver to finish on the podium in an open wheel series — and during Pride Month no less.
You can expect much of the same this weekend; Jamie Chadwick, last season's champion, had a difficult start to her season after being struck from the rear, being relegated to the back of the grid, and having to work her way back up into a competitive position. This weekend, she's starting the race on pole in her effort to secure her redemption.