Holmqvist-KoenigseggDrivers: Felix Beyer, Sebastian Bergkvist, Maximilian Thunstrom (Reserve) Standings: EX Wins: 0 Poles: 0 Podiums: 1 Points: 0 (53) Best Finish: 2nd Holmqvist started the season with lofty ambitions of mounting an assault on the top five after a consistent rise saw them improve to eighth in 2017 after finishing dead last in their debut season, then in 2018 they once again improved to sixth. Pre-season testing seemed to indicate another strong midfield performance was on the cards with Felix Beyer motivated to re-establish his reputation in Formula Virtual, and Swedish rookie Bergkvist aiming to make his mark, it looked set to be a competitive year for the team from Malmo. Bergkvist scored eighth on his debut and set himself up for a first season to remember. A further nine points finishes followed for the team; the highlight of which being a stunning drive from Beyer in Spain where he managed to secure Holmqvist’s fourth podium and make them the only team outside the top three to secure a podium in each of the last three seasons. However, this would prove to be the final time seeing a Holmqvist driver on the rostrum; as following the Bahrain V-Prix it was announced that the team had been disqualified from the Championship and would leave with immediate effect, thus bringing a sad end to the popular Swedish team’s four year stay in the top tier of Virtual Motorsport. Founders Fredrick Holmqvist and Cory Evans must hold their heads high, though, as their 66 races heralded a total of 247 points, with the afore mentioned four podiums and two fastest laps firmly cementing them as a real success story and a model to future new teams as to how to achieve success over time amongst Formula Virtual’s elite. Felix Beyer has been given a lifeline by Scuderia Meteor, while Bergkvist looks set to have a year on the side-lines. Excelsior-KoenigseggDrivers: Karl Beckenbauer, Lewis Ellington, Danilo Forini (Reserve) Standings: - Wins: 0 Poles: 0 Podiums: 0 Points: 0 Best Finish: N/A The story of Excelsior dates back to late last season when Adam Willis briefly took control of the ailing Meteor team before Kazuki Armos returned shortly afterwards. The short period gave Willis his first taste of Formula Virtual team management which surely played a large role in his decision to set up his own team to enter the 2019 season. The vastly experienced duo of Karl Beckenbauer and Lewis Ellington were signed as race drivers, with Danilo Forini taking the reserve role alongside competing in his second season in Virtual motorsport’s second tier. The signings of Beckenbauer and Ellington seemed to show real intent and a lucrative deal with Marvel – which prompted the unique Spiderman livery at launch – seemed to suggest the American based team had serious intentions to challenge the midfield. However, when the teams arrived for the pre-season testing, it soon became clear that Excelsior were well off the pace and struggling. Worryingly for the team, reliability didn’t seem an issue until the final day where their best lap was well over a minute shy of anyone else, the main problem seemed to be that the car was just very slow, simple as that. One would think that the only way was up for Excelsior, sadly this would not be the case; with the new limit on entries for 2019, the new qualifying format meant that for the first time in FV history, some cars would not qualify for the races. This meant trouble for Excelsior and ultimately the closest they came to being on the starting grid was four tenths away in Japan. Their pace seemed to drop further away each race and - following the Malaysian V-Prix – the team pulled out of the sport after just four races, becoming the first team to never actually complete a lap despite officially entering. Beckenbauer returns to his former team Westwood for their return in 2020, while Ellington will remain with Scuderia Meteor. AMR-FordDrivers: Dmytro Kovalenko, Finn Schnyder, Emma Wilson (Reserve) Standings: 14th Wins: 0 Poles: 0 Podiums: 0 Points: 0 Best Finish: 13th x2 Expectations for AMR were low for 2019, after AMR stalwart Felix Beyer left during 2018 amid financial difficulties which lead to the Australian outfit ditching their own engine supply in favour of Ford V10s. The team had just a few short months to modify the chassis to accommodate the change, and it showed. Dmytro Kovalenko and Finn Schnyder were kept on for second seasons and Emma Wilson was retained as the team’s reserve. However, with the field expanding to sixteen teams and the introduction of Q1, many feared it would be another difficult year for AMR – and so it was. Out of thirty-four attempts, Kovalenko and Schnyder qualified for only seventeen races and even when they did qualify, there were very few highlights. Possibly the most memorable moment of their season was when Kovalenko came together with race leader Tumo Kinnumen at the US V-Prix, but everyone at AMR – and probably Franklin – will not want to remember that. Both drivers, as well as Emma Wilson, are staying with the team for 2020, so everyone at AMR will be hoping to see their drivers competing much more frequently on Sundays. Andromeda-HondaDrivers: Will Hoskins, Rodolfo de la Fuente, Oleksandr Zozulya, Qing Xun Zhao (Reserve) Standings: 13th Wins: 0 Poles: 0 Podiums: 0 Points: 5 Best Finish: 8th Andromeda became the first Formula Virtual team from South America when they were announced as one of the new teams for 2019, and the colourful Brazilian team soon showed their intent by signing highly rated Brit Will Hoskins, with Spaniard Rodolfo de la Fuente alongside.
The Brazilian outfit enjoyed a great first half of their debut season with excellent results in Malaysia and Spain. However, as the season went on, off-track crisis left the team having a very anonymous latter half of the campaign, and it was announced that they would not be returning for 2020 due to financial problems. The team largely flew under the radar after that until their two cars collided at their final race, in Brazil of all places. Will Hoskins joins FIRST permanently for 2020, after a one race spell with them in Spain, and de la Fuente has been snapped up by new boys Arrow Mechanics.
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