Three drivers remain to be ranked for 2015, and they're the three who were the top three in the drivers championship - Elroy Wagner, Enrique Ruiz and Enzo Domenicalli. But which of them performed the best in 2015 and who will be ranked number one at the end of an incredible season?
FIRST Motorsport have launched their 2016 challenger at the team’s headquarters near Charlotte, North Carolina. The team’s car has been named the FIRST Inspire 16 and it will be powered by the Ford Zephyr 146. Team Principal and Co-Founder Adam Blocker explained the team’s chassis name: “We have decided to name our first chassis the Inspire 16 to align with FIRST’s (who own 50% of the team) goal to inspire young people to passionately pursue careers in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) and think critically and creatively.” Blocker went on to explain why Ford have chosen the Zephyr 146 name for the company’s first Formula Virtual engine: “Ford have decided to name its 2016 engine after the company’s last American designed and built V12 engine, the Lincoln-Zephyr V12 that was produced during the World War II era. The ‘146’ designation refers to the displacement of the engine, which is 146 cubic inches or approximately 2,400 cubic centimeters.” Arden Hutchinson and Douglas Bacon will drive the two FIRST cars in 2016. Hutchinson left Meteor midseason after falling out with the team in the wake of the announcement of his signing with FIRST. Douglas Bacon missed out on the 2015 season and hasn’t completed a full Formula Virtual season since 2013, when he drove for Westwood. Hutchinson had the following to say at the launch of the Inspire 16: “I really like the livery of the car, it has to be one of the sharpest liveries I have ever seen on the grid. I can’t wait to drive it around Estoril later this month.” When asked about his expectations for the team, Hutchinson said “I think we can score points early in the season if we get the strategy right and others don’t. It is unrealistic to think that we will have the outright pace to regularly score points, but we could get some chances in the wet or early in the season. Hopefully myself and Douglas can maximize any chances that we get.” Bacon added: “I am really looking forward to driving a FV car for the first time in a year and a half. Like Arden said we will have to take advantage of the occasional opportunity for us to score points to make this season a success. The only team that we can realistically expect to beat in 2016 is North Star and that will not be easy. And as Adam has said before, this season needs to provide us with a good platform to build from in 2017 and beyond.” When Adam Blocker was asked about why he and the team decided to go with the livery they did, he replied “Electric blue with black accents looks fantastic on pretty much any car. A Formula Virtual car is no exception. In addition, it also goes well with the colors of our main sponsors FIRST, Ford, and Valvoline.” When asked about the team’s sponsors Blocker added “A large portion of our sponsors were previously associated with FIRST including NASA, Qualcomm, LEGO, Rockwell Collins, Delphi, and 3M. Some of the others like Sonoco and Boeing are companies that have a major presence in the Carolinas. SolidWorks are a great partner to have with the amount of CAD that goes into a modern FV team and Shelby also decided to sponsor us as a result of our tie up with Ford.” The car also prominently displays the American flag on the left side of the airbox and the flag of South Carolina on the right side of the airbox. The Inspire 16 will make its on track debut at Estoril on May 20th, where it will test alongside FIRST’s FV rivals. There are ten drivers left to rank from the 2015 Formula Virtual season, but who will miss out on being in the top three?
It was announced overnight that New Zealander Jarod Lindsey will be joining AMR as a Test Driver for the 2016 Formula Virtual season, having spent two years on the sidelines since his 2014 stint with the now-defunct KLM Team 23 squad.
Following on from the mid-season driver rankings, Formula Virtual now brings you a complete list of driver rankings (for those who have competed in five races or more) at the end of the season.
Statistics and data play a larger part this time than in the mid-season rankings, but as always there is an element of personal opinions. Let us know your thoughts with comments on the forum as we kick off today with 25-11. 10-4 coming Wednesday and 3-1 on Thursday. DS Automobiles Team Mathershaw have revealed their challenger for the 2016 season, the RJM-004, in a shakedown today at the Paul Ricard circuit, where the team is based. In front of selected media, the definitive car turned it's wheels for the first time, clocking 18 laps in a systems check in the hands of Olen Inman. The car was in an interim testing livery, which will also be used for pre-season testing, with the final livery set to be launched in Paris shortly after the test. After the demo run, Inman spoke highly of his car: 'I couldn't wish for a better car to be making my debut in. We've been testing extensively with various evolutions of this car, and we've got a package on the way for the first race in Australia, but it's so exciting to show everyone the car we'll be taking into the 2016 season.' Team Principal Arthur Lapierre was also on hand to offer his comments: 'We're here today standing next to what we believe is the best car to come from this team. We've entered every season strongly, but this season we've put the infrastructure in place to remain at the top throughout 2016 thanks to the tremendous work put in by everyone involved. DS Automobiles are determined, and we are here to stay.' Technical Director Robert Mathershaw was just as enthusiastic: 'This car is the culmination of the best part of 12 months of work. We've reworked it from top to bottom, and the new DS powertrain is just sensational. Downton have worked brilliantly with us, and I'm very optimistic that we're going to have a successful year in 2016.' Ocelot have announced they have signed Spaniard Hilario Bull as reserve for the upcoming 2016 season, and have renamed their chassis.
A couple of hours ago, the world of Formula Virtual caught the first glimpse of the 2016 challenger from North Star Racing, dubbed the NSR-V01, as the team released a teaser image on both their official website and Twitter account. Very few details are immediately apparent about the car, but the team have followed the same approach as Meteor in choosing the new low-nosed design, which it is predicted will offer an aerodynamic advantage over the classic high-nosed cars used in previous seasons. So far, Downton is the only team to have chosen the high nose, which data suggests will allow for greater straight-line speed. Team owner and principal Nick Forrest has claimed that everything is now in place for the car to make its on-track debut on the first day of pre-season testing, and that the car will be unveiled to the public when it arrives at the circuit. Pre-season testing will take place across four days, from the 20th to the 23rd of May, at the Estoril circuit in Portugal. So, the season is over and we have a Champion, but how did he actually compare to his team mate through the season, and how did everyone else compare to theirs? Let's take a look in the 2015 end of season team mate battles.
Meteor have revealed the Virgin-powered MM16 car they hope will propel the team from the back of the FV grid after their worst season to date.
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