Hello everybody, Formula Virtual is back! We’re here in Melbourne ahead of this weekend’s Australian V-Prix, round one of the 2018 season. Joining us today on the back row are Rai Miyamoto of Ocelot Japan Racing and Alex Easton of Phoenix Motorsport. On the front row we have Jamie Franklin of Franklin, Robert Mathershaw of DS Mathershaw, and Bradley Downton of Downton FV Team. Reporter: The first question is to Bradley. Bradley, this is the first time you’ve come into a season as defending champions, how does that feel?
Bradley Downton: It feels brilliant to have the numbers 1 & 2 back on the cars, but better because this time we’ve earned them as a team. What it does mean however is that we’re now sat at the front with a massive target on our backs. It’s a different feeling to be the team everyone is aiming to beat, but we don’t intend on letting them beat us. Reporter: How would you say the team’s mentality has changed, if at all? BD: The team’s mentality hasn’t changed at all. We still want to go out there and win every race, top every session; just be the fastest, same as we’ve always wanted. Reporter: How well did testing go for you? Were you looking at your potential title rivals to see their pace or were you solely concentrating on yourselves? BD: I think it’s well known that it is incredibly difficult to really pick too much up from testing, but of course you have teams analysing the laps of your competitors, it is only natural. Our primary focus was of course on our car and our program however; making sure everything ran smoothly and without issue, and that we got all of the necessary data we required. How did it go for us? Well, if I’m being honest we seemed a little further from the pace set by DS Mathershaw and Franklin than we’d have liked. Naturally we’ve slipped back from having a dominant car last season, but we were still hoping to be right at the top. Reporter: Thanks Bradley. Coming over to you Robert, but sticking with the topic of testing, how d’you think testing went for you? Everyone seemed to be tipping you to be the fastest team but perhaps it won’t be as clear cut as that? Robert Mathershaw: I think we’re very much at the sharp end of the grid, but like every other year, it is difficult for myself or anyone else to say who is fastest. I know for a fact we’ll be there or thereabouts, but for sure Downton, Franklin, and it seems even potentially teams like Ocelot, will all provide a huge challenge over the course of the season. Reporter: Ocelot really have stepped up their game, it seems, we'll come to them shortly! Allar had a mixed year last season I think it’s fair to say, but he’s got another chance this year. Would you say it’s make or break for his DS Mathershaw career? RMa: Allar is a huge talent, and his first season was very good I think. He clinched his first win, and he’s worked very hard on what I’d say was his only major weakness over the winter – his one-lap pace. The testing miles he has racked up are very important, but just as important are the short runs we have carried out with him to ensure he can get up to speed quickly and put in a quick lap time when it matters. This season is going to be another learning year for him, and we have set very definite targets for him over the course of 2018. If he fails to meet them, will we bring someone else in to replace him? I wouldn’t say it’s that simple. Reporter: And Adrien, being the oldest out of the guys who are widely regarded as the top drivers, would you say he seems desperate to add to his single title? RMa: Adrien is a fixture in the sport, and in the team. He deserves even more success than he has already achieved, and the hunger is greater than ever for him to win his second title. The team are in a similar position, hoping for success for the second time, so ultimately we are the perfect fit – we want to win everything there is to win this season. Reporter: On the subject of drivers, there has been a change at Franklin with Olen Inman coming into the team from FUN. Jamie, would you say you rate Olen higher than all of your second drivers last year? Jamie Franklin: I don’t think we would have taken him if we didn’t rate him somewhat. But as I’ve said a few times, Olen has to prove himself and this is the best opportunity for him to do so. I’ll leave it up to him to answer that question on track. Reporter: Speaking of Franklin’s drivers from last year, one of which was Puccio Giodano, who didn’t live up to the team’s expectations. Rai, is Puccio as hungry as ever to go racing or would you say that last season has really affected him? Rai Miyamoto: I know that Puccio got a lot of slack last year, but he’s been in the gym, week in and out. He’s been training on the simulator and is ready to go, we have faith in him and believe he has the ability to deliver on his day, it’s just a shame at Franklin he got a bit unlucky at times. We are sure Puccio knows the current standing of this and will take it one race at a time. Reporter: Sitting in the other car this year will be Ryota Yoshida, was it important for Ocelot to have a Japanese driver or was Ryoto solely chosen on his performances alone? RMi: Now it’s always great for publicity to have a driver from your home nation, it does wonders for fans in our home country and for the team’s pride. But we honestly promoted Yoshida for his talent, he’s fantastic for his age and we believe he will be at the team for a long time. It’s also fantastic to finally have a driver from our academy, we have some talented youngsters and have invested a lot into creating one of the best junior academies in the sport. Reporter: What about the saga with Pegasus? What went wrong there? RMi: The Pegasus saga was indeed confusing and dramatic, it mostly had to do with Maserati wanting the team to re-brand itself as it wanted a new start to try and create it’s own history away from Ocelot’s, we did agree to this and the sale of Ocelot shares to FCA, however eventually the deal fell apart as our CEO believed it wouldn’t be right to sell the team now especially with how things were looking with the car. So the deal was stopped, FCA and Ocelot had a falling out which led to us looking elsewhere before the spat was fixed and Alfa was offered up instead of Maserati, FCA stated they wanted to take Maserati down an electric route. Reporter: As you mention, it was announced last week that Maserati were to be replaced by Alfa Romeo engines. Do you think this will cause disruption so close to the start of the season? And do you feel a certain responsibility to perform well, considering the heritage of Alfa Romeo? RMi: I would hopefully hope that the effect of the switch to Alfa will not have an effect on the team, it’s not too major of a shift after all. Both brands are in the same family and both have such an iconic legacy, it will be fantastic to deliver Alfa a win, so many years later. We hope that the heritage will be a good driving force for us. It’s not like much has changed, the engineers from Maserati are still the same Alfa, if anything they just changed their overalls really. Reporter: The whole re branding could’ve potentially unsettled the team and led to a poor 2018, but it looks to have done quite the opposite judging by your pace in testing! Were you expecting to be so high up the order? RMi: Pace, what pace? Wake me up when we aren’t dreaming. But seriously no. I wasn’t expecting this pace, I’m very shocked by this entire ordeal, I don’t wish to get my hopes up but this team has worked ridiculously hard and it would be fantastic if we could get something back! It will be very interesting to see how things actually appear in the race, but that being said it’s all new to us being near the front. Reporter: Thanks Rai. Now, one of the stories at the back end of last season and over the winter break was that FUN were leaving the sport to be replaced by Phoenix Motorsport. So, coming to you Alex, how have the last few months been for you and the team? Alex Easton: First of all, I'd like to say that it's awesome that Dick is still in and around the paddock, even though FUN are no longer competing in FV, he's a fantastic guy! But yeah, for us the last few months have been pretty mad really! We’ve had to make the transition from being one of the smaller teams in the junior categories, to being amongst the big boys in Formula Virtual! But, of course, everyone involved at Phoenix Motorsport has been on a high all winter getting ready for this season. Carson and Sergio fitted into the team brilliantly from the get-go, and the guys and girls back at the factory in Manchester have, in my opinion, done a fantastic job with our inaugural FV car. Reporter: Davenport was a big signing for you, wasn’t he? AE: Yes, signing him was a great coup for us. His experience, speed, and most importantly his persona is huge for the team. He’s such a down-to-earth guy and he just gets on with the job at hand. He’s very committed to the cause, as are Sergio and James! Reporter: Testing went well for you, didn’t it? AE: It did. No one is counting any chickens just yet, but we feel like we’ve got a great base car to start with, in comparison to how new teams usually fare in their first year. Also, as a side note, it was incredible to hear all the new engines from our place on the pit wall, they sound excellent. Reporter: Thanks Alex. Coming back to you Jamie, Franklin’s last win was here at the start of last year. Looking back, now that we’re starting the new season, do you class 2017 as a failure or were you happy to finish in the top three ahead of Westwood? JF: Tough question. Were we disappointed to not take another title? Of course. Did we think we had a chance last year? I don’t really think so. We were well aware of what the case was going to be and we were able to learn a lot from it. I do find it funny however that coming third in a season is suddenly deemed a failure for us, when it would probably be a dream for most teams. Reporter: That’s true, but I imagine that’s just something that comes with the nature of success that your team endured from 2013 to 2015. What about this coming season? What are your expectations? JF: We’re still in a testing phase at the moment. Still a lot to learn going forward, and not being the favourites has given us a chance to do that. Despite our form in pre-season testing, I don’t feel like we are front runners, but I think we can be regular podium contenders. But who knows what else might happen. Reporter: The same question to the rest of you, starting with Bradley? BD: At a minimum we expect to be in the top three, but of course we want to win, we always want to win. Consistent podiums really are the intention, though giving how testing went we may only pick them up sporadically, but as ever consistent wins will be what we strive for, and a second title. Reporter: Robert? RMa: My expectations? To give our all and to come away at the end of the season knowing there was nothing more that we could have done to change the result, the same as always. This season, I think it would be a lie to say anything less than the title would be mission accomplished. Reporter: Rai? RMi: Erm… not to finish last I guess, a win would be fantastic but I’m doubting that will happen. I guess maybe a few podiums, I’m not too sure really. I’d love to actually be able to keep up with the big three, that would be an amazing achievement. Reporter: And Alex? AE: We don’t want to be cut off at the back, that’s for sure. Realistically I think we have to aim for 12th in the Constructors but that’s a huge ask as the only new team this year. Meteor’s pair of rookies are being thrown in at the deep end and it looks like they might take a little bit of time to get their heads above the water, so we need to aim to beat them for now. But we’re going to enjoy every last minute of the season, regardless! Reporter: Excellent. Finally guys, as is now customary with the press conferences, your hopes and expectations for this weekend. And who do you all think will be the winning team on Sunday? Starting from left to right, back row first. RMi: My hopes for this weekend, are interesting especially as the weather could have an effect. I think something like the top eight would be good for us. As for the race I’d love a cheeky podium or win to start off our season, but perhaps that’s ambitious, but we’ve always been ambitious but rubbish. AE: For us, this weekend is mainly about getting into the swing of things. I expect Carson and Sergio to bring both cars home safely, that’s a must for us. Other than that, everyone at Phoenix is just looking forward to enjoying our first ever race as an FV team. Who do I think will be the winning team this race? It’s difficult to look past DS Mathershaw, they seem really strong, but I doubt Franklin and Downton will let them have it easy out there. JF: The goal is always to win. We didn’t expect to have a shot last year, and we pulled it off, so we will always be gunning for it. RMa: Hope? One-two in dominant fashion. Expectation? Victory, however it comes. As for the winning team, I’m going to back ourselves in this fight! BD: We just want a strong start to the season, no-one wants to be on the back foot. I don’t think we’re going to arrive in Australia with a chance of winning but we’ll do our utmost. As for the winner, I think that’s going to be DS Mathershaw, but you can never rule Franklin out – especially when they look as close to the pace as they did in pre-season. Reporter: Excellent, seems like most are backing DS Mathershaw for the opening round, including Robert! That concludes today’s press conference from Albert Park, thankyou as ever to the team principals here today. Join us tomorrow for the first practice session of the year!
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