Hello everyone and welcome to Fuji ahead of this weekend’s Japanese V-Prix, round two of the 2018 season. Joining us for today’s Thursday press conference on the back row are Rai Miyamoto of Ocelot Japan Racing and Kaz Armos of Meteor International FV Team. On the front row we have Will Ingram from Ingram Grand Prix, Robert Mathershaw of DS Mathershaw, and Adrian Arnello; Team Principal at Arnello, Milner and Ronson Autosport. Welcome gentlemen. Reporter: Starting with you Rob, it was pretty much a perfect start for you guys in Melbourne, with Adrien getting the win and Allar setting the fastest lap. You did say to us in the Thursday press conference that you expected a win, were you pleased with how the weekend went in general?
Robert Mathershaw: For sure, any victory means the race weekend went well, but for us it was a little bit close for comfort at times. On reflection the medium tyres were perhaps the optimal tyre for the conditions, and I think that was highlighted by how difficult Allar found it to progress up the order despite his obvious pace – hopefully as the season progresses to tracks where overtaking is less of a challenge, the more aggressive strategies will bear fruit. Reporter: Purely judging by testing and Melbourne, it does look like yourselves, Downton, Franklin, and to a lesser extent Ocelot are all pretty close. Do you foresee anyone pulling way ahead in development or do you think it’ll be close all the way through? RobM: I think it’s naïve to suggest the running order will remain as it is. Downton and Franklin will both push us, so we’re going to have to work very hard to maintain our position, but I think Ocelot pose a huge threat. They’re up at the top for the first time, so I believe they want to make the most of it, potentially developing for the entire season even if that comes at the expense of next year. Rai Miyamoto: I think that Robert is correct when it comes to the order of the grid. It’s going to be intriguing to see how the running order is affected. However, the big three should easily be able to stay ahead of us, they have the funds and resources. This is our first time up here yes but that doesn’t mean we are gonna spend it all in one area. Reporter: Sticking with you actually Rai, it was also a great start to the season for Ocelot; Giodano drove well to claim second place! Do you think it was important for him to get a good race early on? RaiM: It was spectacular indeed, we were unbelievably surprised and impressed! We think it was good psychologically for Puccio to get a good race in for his confidence. Hopefully he can keep the momentum going for the season. Reporter: Ryota had a pretty good race too on his debut in Formula Virtual, except a couple of incidents. Did he impress you or were you expecting him to be on the pace of Puccio right from the first race? RaiM: I think Yoshida did well for his first race and had the potential to battle with Vasquez in fifth if it wasn’t for a few things. We think that Ryota does have the pace to match Puccio but that will come with time. Reporter: Thanks Rai. Coming over to you now Ryan. At one point last year, it looked very possible that you guys wouldn’t be on the grid this year! After the turmoil and rumours in 2017, it’s fantastic to see AMR still here; in the form of Arnello, Milner, and Ronson rather than Australasian Motorsport Research. Is the new hierarchy working well so far? Adrian Arnello: Absolutely! We have much greater cohesion now between departments and we’re all working towards a common goal, rather than one group focused on their research and the other the racing team. Jan (Milner) heads our R&D and Technology sectors, Brad’s (Ronson) got Engineering, Mechanical and crew aspects under control, and they shove me (Arnello) in front of the cameras for a bit of relief now and again. We run an intra-departmental team who then help tie each management team and their crews together, so a lot of talk, lot of agreeing and disagreeing. Much about how long the team name is now, actually! Bit of a mouthful though, isn’t it? AMR for short works well. We’re gonna have to get onto licencing again… Reporter: Excellent, sounds like the start of a great partnership! How was Melbourne in comparison to your expectations? Were you about where you expected to be? AA: We’re about where we thought we’d be. We knew 2018 was going to be tough but to still keep pace with a fair few cars was cool to see! If we snag a point or two then hell yeah. Otherwise, we’ll keep the backmarkers happy and make sure we use our blinkers when the leaders come for another lap. Reporter: Will Hoskins left for Holmqvist over the winter, he’s been replaced by Kovalenko. Was this planned and how is Dmytro settling in so far? You also signed Emma Wilson as your reserve driver, will she be getting any chances to prove herself this season? AA: Yeah it was sad seeing Will go, but at the end of the day, he’s his own man with aspirations. Holmqvist were smoking us all year long pace-wise, he knew we wouldn’t have the pace again, and we didn’t have the moolah to meet their offer either, so there we go. We’d welcome him back at any time, and he knows that. Dmytro has been wonderful so far and we’re happy with how quickly he’s getting up to speed with things in FV. Drinks like a fish when he can, though, by God! Put us all under the table last weekend! We have plans for Emma once we get a little more stable. She has options for three races. Reporter: Great, thanks Adrian! Kaz, regarding pre-season testing and then Melbourne, were you expecting to be about where you were in terms of pace? Kaz Armos: Absolutely. We knew coming into this season was going to be a challenge. Meteor have very little money to develop, and massive cuts were made last year. We are going through processes of sorting the finances at the team out, so we knew we were going to effectively have a below par season in order to make significant progress in the coming season. It’s a sacrifice in the long-term strategy. Both Sebastien and Jules, however, drove very well and put the car in positions we truly didn’t expect. We have high hopes for them. Reporter: What were your thoughts on the Vocquelin-Alvarez incident that took both of them out of the race? Would you put the blame on anyone? KA: Both drivers are young, and new drivers get into incidents. It’s a learning process and as both drivers get comfortable with the discipline these sorts of issues, I hope, will be ironed out. We were obviously gutted for Sebastien, but he will come back stronger next race. Reporter: Very diplomatic! Would you say it’s more of a challenge this season, in that you have two guys racing for you who have only previously competed in tier three? Does the lack of experience show, or would you say they’re they beyond their years? KA: We would never bring in drivers who we didn’t think were capable. Yes, it is a gamble. However, we have both drivers on multi-year contracts. Both drivers will take time to grow and develop their craft, but as a team we have full faith that they are up to the challenge. Reporter: Over to you now Will. Ingram seem to be back at the sharp end of the grid, is the mood noticeably different in the team as opposed to last season? Will Ingram: Life is certainly better now we’re fighting for points again! I wouldn’t quite say at the front – Australia certainly flattered us – but the result has boosted the teams spirits no question. Reporter: Do you think you can push the top few teams? Or are you more concerned about the chasing pack behind you? WI: I think we’ve peaked already to be honest. Van Snelheid, Kangur, and the Franklins will beat us most races and based on pace, gotta assume Yoshida will as well. The big teams are up front for a reason and it would be unrealistic to think we could catch up. Ocelot’s finances could hamper them so will be interesting to see if we can match them. From behind? Westwood always develop well, and I imagine they will be our biggest threat. Holmqvist impressed in pre-season so I imagine we haven’t seen the best of them either. Reporter: There have been two pretty big news stories in the last week or so, one regarding DS Mathershaw which we’ll come back to, and one that Nikolai Milkovich will be moving to IndyVirtual in 2019. Will he be a big miss for you or do you think it’s important to now get some fresh talent, as is being done this year with Vasquez? WI: I’ve always said that Nikolai can move on if an opportunity to race becomes available, be that FV or IndyVirtual. He’s the best driver statistically this team has had so obviously it will be an emotional end, but I trust he will fit right in over there. If he gets a good car he will win races, no doubt. While his experience will be missed we’ve obviously still got Jean who is vastly experienced, and James is learning all the time. A breath of fresh air is such a cliché, but James has been very impressive so far. I’m very happy with our driver line up. We will need new blood next year of course but let’s see how the season plays out first. Reporter: I think we’ll all be sad to see Nikolai not around in Formula Virtual anymore, but at the same time wish him well over in IndyVirtual. Coming back to you now Robert, as aforementioned, Arthur announced at the team’s base last Sunday that both Adrien and Allar have already been retained for 2019. Does this give you an advantage over your opponents in that everyone can solely focus on the job in hand, rather than any of your drivers trying to overdrive the car or anyone in the team to be preoccupied with contract negotiations? RobM: Firstly, I’m delighted that both of them are sticking around for next year. I’ve worked with Adrien for six years now, and his technical knowledge is in my opinion unparalleled on the grid, making my life so much easier. Allar’s a smart guy too, and he’s learning from the best – between them, they give the team so much direction in terms of development. You’d have to speak to Arthur about the commercial side, but all I know is that when our lads are confident and comfortable, they’re a force to be reckoned with. We’re giving our all for 2018, and now they know they’re here for at least another season yet, they’re already giving their all for 2019 too. Reporter: Could I also ask you your initial opinion on the new engines? RobM: I adore them. They sound incredible, mechanical and visceral, and the performance they’ve brought to the FV grid is wonderful. I’m a huge advocate of technical variance within the sport, so the different approach each manufacturer has taken is very exciting for me. And of course, the Downton-DS engine is by far the best sounding, but that may be bias! Reporter: Everyone else, anything to add regarding the engines? KA: Obviously it’s good for the fans to hear some variety. But for us it’s just important to make sure the car and the technical aspects of the engine work effectively together. WI: New engines are ace! The Honda Omega is a brilliant piece of kit and I’m just thankful we get to put it in our car. RaiM: It’s great I think as the sound and engines give each team a voice and personality! It was a great addition I feel to the series! AA: We didn’t think we’d get the ageing V10 from last year sounding this good! Bit of wastegate trickery or something there; I’ll have to hit up Jan and see what he’s done to it. Overall, they’re sounding mega. Or Omega if you’re Will. A groan goes around the room at Adrian’s pun Reporter: Moving swiftly on! Rai, this weekend is Ocelot’s home race, as well as Ryota’s. How has it been coming here to Japan now that Ocelot are in with a great chance of a podium? Has it been very different to previous years? RaiM: The support from the fans and media has been incredible. There is a massive difference between our previous seasons. We just hope we can deliver something, that would be brilliant. Reporter: I’ve definitely seen lots of promo posters with Ryota in his Ocelot overalls! Where do you expect to be in the order this weekend? And who would you say is looking strongest for victory? RaiM: I expect us to be behind the top runners, potentially between fifth and tenth. Although it would be brilliant to be on the podium or to win at home. Imagine our first ever win at Japan!? The scenes!! I expect DS to continue their form here with Downton close by. WI: We’ve actually run quite well in Japan before – Nikolai got a podium in 2014 – but realistically I’d be happy with a points finish. Based on pace anything better than ninth is a success. DS do look strong this season, but Ruiz has something to prove I feel – he avoided a penalty and I could see him being very much in contention. KA: For Japan, the team would just like both cars to finish. Realistically we are not looking at points but consistency. We need to know what aspects of the car need to be worked on. AA: We’re at Fuji yeah? Umm, somewhere at the back. Yeah, that sounds about right! It’s gonna be between Downton and DS. I’d go DS one-two. That sound good Rob? RobM: I’m well up for that Adrian, but I’m not sure it’s going to be that easy! We started with a win, so we want another. Adrien has the pace and the aggressive strategy to go with it, so I’ll always back my guys. Reporter: Fantastic stuff guys. So, with that, we’ll finish the press conference there. Thank you to the Team Principals in attendance today. Make sure you tune in tomorrow for Friday practice at the Fuji Speedway, Japan. Comments are closed.
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