Good morning and welcome to Imola, Italy for the team principal’s Thursday press conference ahead of this weekend’s Italian V-Prix – round fourteen of the 2019 Formula Virtual World Championship. Joining us today, from left to right, are; Dylan Lopez of Lopez FV Team, Ahmed Cheema of Cheema FV Racing, Adam Blocker of FIRST Motorsport, and Jamie Franklin from Franklin. Sadly, Rai Myamoto for whatever reason chose not to attend. Other than that, welcome to the four of you. Reporter: As per usual, I'll fire some fan questions and general questions the way of the principals in a moment, but initial questions will now be asked by all manner of journalists who have suddenly taken interest in this series! For the sake of the transcript, they will all be indicated with "R".
R: Leyton Smith, Thegrid.net. Jamie, how do you see the incidents involving both of your drivers in Turkey? You said yourself in the paddock after the race that Tumo has lost you this Championship; why is he still in the seat? Jamie Franklin: I see them differently. With Tumo, he seems to lack the ability to act under pressure. The pit stops put him behind the DS cars, and despite having the faster car, he couldn't get it done and then panicked. It was a silly move that cost us points. But that move alone hasn't come us the title, it's the fact that he's just not been there. Only now is he competing with the top 3, and I think that's more down to the car than his own ability. The rest of the time, he wasn't challenging. Some may say that those comments are harsh, but I say coming to use for a drive, telling us that he's the one for the team and then letting us down is harsh. As for why we haven't replaced him, I've given him chances, he knows where he stands, but who would replace him? To be honest, I'm a bit tired of the lack of talent on the grid. Most of them are just meh. As for Enrique's move. Well, it wasn't good to see, but he still clawed back a fair result, albeit it one place behind where we should have been. But that's backmarkers for you. Reporter: Scott Parkin, FVTV. Ahmed, congratulations on Cheema’s first ever points in FV last time out with Milkovich finishing ninth. Can you describe the feeling for you and the team when Nikolai crossed the line? Ahmed Cheema: Thank you very much. It's hard to describe the feeling, it was sort of like a mix of relief, joy and pride, relief at seeing Milkovich hold off Mattson until the end, joy at achieving something that seemed impossible at the beginning of the season and pride at managing to score points in our first year. As for the team, well, you only need to see the race footage to get an idea! R: Theo Parker, VM Magazine. Adam, Turkey was the team’s best result since the US V-Prix, and it was nice to see both your drivers keeping out of trouble to pick up some solid points for the team. Are there any goals to achieve between now and the end of the year? Adam Blocker: The main goal for the rest of the season is to get both cars in the points every race. I think it is clear that we have cut our 2019 development shorter than the guys at the front of the field and as a result we are firmly 4th or maybe even 5th fastest at the moment. R: Scott Parkin, FVTV. Dylan, Turkey was the team’s 100th V-Prix, a truly incredible milestone to reach. What are your favourite moments in the team’s history so far and what are your hopes for the future? Dylan Lopez: 100 races for sure is no lean feat. It's been an exciting and challenging experience but I wouldn't take anything over our time in the sport. Both our first race as Warrior and Harding's Pole and podium in 2016 are easily our biggest highlights to date. We're looking to add to the highlight reel, but we need a few miracles for it to happen soon. R: (Scott Parkin) Back to Ahmed. How far do you think you can go this season? Are your sights set on Andromeda after passing Ocelot in the Championship? AC: It would be very tough to beat Andromeda, I think 11th would be very good to hold onto. We need what, 4 points? So an 8th place assuming Andromeda don't score anything. On pure pace, we're not points contenders, we were lucky with the rain in Turkey. But it's not 100% impossible, Mexico and Brazil have been chaotic in the past. The only thing we can do is do the best job we can and what we end up with is what we deserve. R: Theo Parker again here. Jamie, Enrique has only finished off the podium once this season, where does it rank in terms of his best seasons, regardless if he wins the title or not? JF: I think it ranks fairly highly. He's a mega driver, and I feel he deserves another Championship with such a sterling performance. But luck hasn't really been on our side and it could be anyone's game. R: Scott Parkin back on the mic. Dylan, with the junior series now finished, does it make any decisions over Ostberg’s replacement easier? DL: Oh it's you again? Erm, not really? We're still keeping a close eye on a couple of drivers but we're not really in any rush. We've got Max Meyer and Rafel Palou who are performing well in VWRS, and we also have had talks with a few teams as well. R: Thankyou very much, but it's time to move onto the much loved fan questions! First one is for... Jamie! It says "If you had to be any other role in a team other than team principal, what would it be?" JF: Hmm, chief strategist maybe? Head of driver development? Can't fault the fact that I'm ruthless enough to ensure that only the cream of the crop would come through. R: Very true! Alright, this next one goes to Adam. "Same question as Alex had last time, if you could change one result in FV history, what would it be and why?" AB: I would change any one result that would give us a race victory. Could be the leader having trouble in Austria or Brazil 2017 where we finished 2nd or even this season at Silverstone not having the rain affect the end of that race and therefore giving Felix Perez a chance to win the race. Not saying that he would have won, but he at least would have been in the fight. R: Thanks Adam! Here we have a question for... Dylan! One of your fans asks "Any news on your future engine supply that you can reveal?" DL: We're in negotiations with a manufacturer, but I can't comment on anything. R: Ooh playing your cards close to your chest eh? We're all excited to see who Lopez work with in 2020. Moving on, a fan question for Ahmed! It reads "What is your favourite time of the year, and why?" AC: Hmm, probably either March/April because that's when the weather gets better in Ireland and all the calendar year racing series usually start, or June because that's when my birthday is. R: Lovely answer Ahmed, thankyou. Finally, only one in depth question for all of you today, as the other one I had prepared was, ah, for Monza, which due to last minute safety concerns at the circuit, we haven't been able to race at this year. Earlier this month we heard that the calendar may only have sixteen races next year, with South Africa returning it means that two races face the chop; which two should go? JF: I'll be honest, as always. I don't really care. Won't mean anything to me next year. Drop the shit ones I guess. Jerez comes to mind. AB: I think we should keep the 17 race season, but if we have to get rid of two races from the current calendar I would choose Jerez and Istanbul. Istanbul because Turkey does not get very good crowds and it isn't an important market for automotive manufacturers. Jerez because the racing there is not very good. DL: Well, how long is a piece of string? Yeah, look, I don't organise the calendar so I'm not the most informed bloke in the paddock to ask. There's bigger issues in the sport that I'm more concerned about rather than where we're racing next year. AC: Hard one to say to be honest. Based off these new cars, Canada seems to be a procession now. I do like the circuit but in the interests of the sport I think it should be the first to go. Apart from that there's no standout, Jerez has been near impossible to overtake on but it's thrown up crazy strategies so it's a track from the norm I guess. I don't really think there is another track which deserves to be thrown out, so it's up to the higher powers to decide I guess. As long as it isn't Indy. Indy must stay. End of. R: Thanks for all the answers. Finally, as always, expectations from all of you this weekend, or any parting comments regarding the infamous Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari we now find ourselves at this weekend? DL: This place still gives me goosebumps when I get a moment to stop and admire this place; the famous corners, the history, the food, the fans, the list goes on. AB: No matter the circuit we race at, Italy is a motorsport rich country with lots of passionate fans and lots of motorsport history. The aim for the weekend is a double points finish with two clean races. AC: What can I say about Imola; it's situated in a beautiful area and obviously it's Alfa's home race so that makes it a bit more special for the team. As for our aims, we're feeling more confident for this weekend than most. If we could get both cars through to the race and perhaps get one in the top 15 I would be very happy, but with rain forecasted for this weekend who knows? JF: Not much to say other than it's a nice place to be. The Italian fans are passionate, which is what you want, and the track has a lot of history. So, despite its past tragedies, I'm sure it'd be up there with the best. R: That's all we have time for today! Thanks to the four principals who were able to participate, and to everyone who asked questions, fan and journalist alike! With the title fight heating up between Downton and Franklin, and of course between Nathaniel Powers and Enrique Ruiz, we're sure to see some sparks fly this weekend. Make sure you catch the Friday free practice session tomorrow!
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