Good morning and welcome to Spielberg, Austria for the team principal’s Thursday press conference ahead of this weekend’s Austrian V-Prix – round ten of the 2019 Formula Virtual World Championship. Joining us today, from left to right, are; Adrian Arnello of Arnello Milner and Ronson Autosport, Dylan Lopez of Lopez FV Team, Nick Forrest from North Star Racing, William Ingram of Ingram V-Prix, and Rai Miyamoto from Ocelot Japan Racing. Welcome gentlemen. Reporter: We’ll start off the press conference today with one of the biggest talking points from the US V-Prix, so Adrian; Kovalenko crashed into Kinnumen, costing the Finn the race win. There's been a lot of backlash against him following that incident, have you talked to him and what's his mind set going into this weekend?
Adrian Arnello: He was devastated after the crash, as we all were. It cost them the win and we can't reverse what's happened. He feels the backlash is justified, but he's got his eyes forward for the next race. We also want to stress that we have no plans of standing Dmytro down for this. Mistakes happen, and a whole career need not be jeopardized for one incident. Reporter: It sounds like you and the team have been very level-headed about the situation. You slipped down to fourteenth in the championship after Milkovich’s superb drive for Cheema last time out, are you worried about possibly finishing last? AA: It's a possibility, but we're focused for now on getting out of Q1 regularly and racing. That's the bit we at least control! Reporter: Very true, thanks Adrian! Onto you Nick, after the race at Indianapolis three weeks ago, we heard that you had gone to the stewards asking for a review into a couple of incidents involving Johan, for which there have been no consequences for either driver. Are you frustrated with the stewards after Gabriele was penalised earlier this year? Nick Forrest: I probably wouldn't use those words myself, the race last time out saw quite a lot of incidents for quite a lot of drivers, and we simply felt that what Allar did to Johan was more substantial than the majority. I'm slightly more frustrated with Gabriele's penalty from Malaysia in the context of Judson's penalty from the same race last year, but there's not any sense in dwelling on either of them now. The stewards make their decisions and we all have to go racing either way. We're disappointed to have only gotten a single point from Indianapolis, but we're hoping this weekend can be a clean one, at the very least. Reporter: Garcia has been beaten by Halvosen in every race they've both finished, have you been disappointed by him? NF: I wouldn't say so, no. It is only his first season, I think we need to understand that. We've seen a whole slew of promising young talent being thrown by the wayside after a single season - less than, in some cases - because they weren't instantly matching their teammates who had much more experience in Formula Virtual. Generally Gabriele's only finished a position or two back from Johan, which is roughly in line with our expectations. He's scored a number of victories in the junior categories, so he knows how to get good results, and we're looking forward to seeing what progress he can make. Reporter: He is up against a formidable teammate, of course. Okay, Rai, we heard a long time ago that you were going to aim to do well in 2021, possibly mount a title challenge. Does this mean you'll be towards the back again next year or should we expect a more competitive Ocelot in 2020 compared to 2019? Rai Miyamoto: We will have to see, I can’t comment on the future without testing being fulfilled. Reporter: Very reserved answer there! There's not been much talk engine wise from you, are Alfa Romeo interested in supplying any more teams for next year? RM: We are happy to offer our engines, the door is always open. You just gotta step through. Reporter: I’m sure there’ll be plenty of teams interested to hear that. Over to you Will; despite being quick in Britain with Vasquez you've only had one other points scoring race, in Spain. You lost seventh in the championship in the USA to Phoenix, have you lost pace since the start of the season and should we expect you to fall back more? William Ingram: I don't think since the start of the season, our strategies haven't been perfect this year, whereas teams around us have delivered more, notably Phoenix last time out or Lopez earlier in the year. We need to deliver more on that side of things. Our points scoring has been strange this year, two big hauls and nothing else. I'd expect to see us pick a couple of ninths and tenths before the year is out. Reporter: We all know how much Ingram love a good ninth and tenth! Similar to Ocelot, you haven't said much engine wise, what will happen with Ingram and the Honda relationship with Franklin gone next year? WI: We haven't said much in public, but we have had productive discussions behind the scenes. The loss of Franklin, and thus Honda's point of contact in FV, was a shock to us all and forced us to ask serious questions about our status in FV and Honda I'm sure have had similar internal discussions. I'm sure more news will be revealed in the coming weeks - I certainly hope so! Reporter: Great stuff Will, thanks. Question to everyone; Formula Virtual is arguably at its best in this current era; with consistent title fights, battles throughout the field, and various things such as the introduction of Q1 adding more teams – and therefore more people – to the sport. However, if there was one thing you could change about Formula Virtual, or ask Nic Morley to implement, what would it be? Dylan Lopez: You'd struggle to find anybody up and down the paddock who isn't enjoying the series in some way, shape or form. If I could change one thing... I'd probably like to see the series visit some places we haven't seen in the past. I'm thinking tracks like Imola, Yeongam, and the Hungaroring, just to name a few. RM: Have every one else given the same money and see what happens! NF: That is a tough call, there's not too much about Formula Virtual that I would say needs urgently improving. The one problem that I perhaps might want to flag up is that it's been proving extremely difficult for any teams outside of the established top three to sustain themselves near the front of the grid for any significant length of time. You look at Meteor in 2016 and Ocelot last year, they had one strong season and then fell right back to where they were. If there was a way to avoid that happening, I think Formula Virtual could be even more competitive, even more unpredictable, and even more exciting to both watch and be a part of. AA: A bit more control over strategy and aero setups wouldn't hurt. WI: I'd agree with that statement. I think the only thing I miss is the randomness of some results in the early season. I suppose all of us getting on top our cars and the regulations has inevitably led to a more stable order but I do miss the more random results. If we had a faster car I'm sure I'd think differently! Reporter: Some great answers there, I’m sure some of which will spark discussion! Time for the fan questions. First one is for you Adrian; “When can we expect Emma Wilson's cameo appearance?” AA: Emma's role is reserve and test driver for the time being, so no cameos - just yet! Reporter: Fair enough, okay Rai; “There are rumours, which were pretty much confirmed by Lilly Westwood in USA, that Giodano will be leaving your team next season. Is this true and do you already have a backup?” RM: It’s sad to see Lilly return and pooch our driver with a money offer that we just couldn’t handle. That being said it’s nice to have her back and all the best for Puccio. Reporter: Pooch? That’s an interesting one! Here’s one for you Will; “How many pit stops have you made this season?” WI: Hahaha. Ouch. Too many! Reporter: I don’t actually have the official statistics here telling me how many, so I’ll just say you’re right there! Nick, an interesting one here; “Canada two races ago marked two years since your first – and only - win. When do you think you can next replicate that?” NF: I think it's unlikely we'll manage it this season. We got a bit lucky with the podium in Spain, but the top three seem to have quite a gap to us right now, and there's FIRST between us and them as well. At the earliest, I think 2020 is when we could be winning again. We're planning another significant step forward for next year, and Franklin's upcoming departure leaves a vacancy at the front of the grid, hopefully North Star can move right into it. Reporter: That’s quite an exciting prospect for a lot of strong midfield teams, I’m sure; the possibility of filling that vacancy. Penultimate fan question here for you Dylan; “Can you tell us why Lopez has been called JML, since, you know, it's MJL?” DL: I don't follow the commentary while on the pit wall, but Miss Westwood must be drinking her seventh or eighth pint of Stella Artois if she's conjuring up that misconception. Reporter: Final fan question, this one is to everyone; “Give us either a truth or a lie about your driver line-up for the 2020 season, 'tis the silly season after all. Definition; every team principal either says one cryptic truth or lie about their 2020 line-up.” Dylan, d’you want to start us off? DL: Oh man, that's a corker of a question! Can you come back to me actually? Reporter: Of course, we’ll come back to you. Rai? RM: We are in talks with Agostino and Yoshida. One of them will join the team. NF: We will sign Diego Campos. AA: No news is good news! WI: Next seasons drivers will be mega value. Reporter: Some obvious and some not-so-obvious ones there! Back to you then Dylan...? DL: Hi again! I can hear all the pens and keyboards going nuts already! But what if I was to say that Wagner would be driving the 26 car for our team in 2020? Hehe.. do you believe that? Reporter: I’m afraid to say I find it hard to believe, but that’s an interesting one. Sticking with you Dylan - as we said to Will earlier - you’ve had a rather drastic downturn in pace since the opening races; going from points scorers to mostly back of the field. Are you beginning to focus on next year or is this going to be temporary? DL: Yeah, unfortunately we haven’t been there in the standings, but we haven’t necessarily been super far away from some of our midfield rivals in terms of lap time. We still believe we’re capable at some of the upcoming circuits but it’s never as simple as simple “going faster” per se. Tenth where we currently sit would be subtly disappointing given the great start we had, but there’s still eight opportunities for us to fix that. Reporter: That’s very true. Victor will be leaving FV next year to join the navy, what would you say is the highlight of his Lopez career so far and do you have a replacement waiting in the wings? DL: Viktor’s been a hard worker since he’s been in our academy back in the day. I’d say his two points finishes in Fuji and Jerez this season have been his best drives. In both events he didn’t qualify very well, but drove fantastically in the race to gain as many positions as he did. I think he started as low as twenty-third in Spain as well. And we are very close to confirming who fills the vacant seat left at the team, so keep your ears peeled! Reporter: That sounds exciting! Okay final question to everyone now, the usual please; your hopes and expectations for the weekend, and who do you think are favourites to take the victory on Sunday? DL: Points is the goal for us. But we need to take a look at fixing qualifying both here and in the upcoming races to give ourselves better chances. RM: Back of the grid. Downton win. NF: Like Lopez, points is the short answer. Preferably with both cars, so we can get a better hold on fifth in the championship. I think the second half of the season looks like it could be a bit tricky for us. As for the win, I'm gonna go for Franklin, I've got an inkling they're throwing everything at this final season for them. AA: Bit close to call, isn't it? Maybe Franklin? WI: I think Ruiz will win this weekend, Franklin need some strong results if they are to close in in the constructors. I hope we'll be fighting for lower end of points, we will need some luck however. Reporter: Excellent stuff, thanks guys. So that wraps up the press conference today, make sure you tune in tomorrow for Friday practice!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
|