Hello and welcome to Melbourne, Australia for the Team Principal’s Thursday press conference ahead of this weekend’s Australian V-Prix – round three of the 2020 Formula Virtual World Championship. Joining us today, from left to right, are; Adrian Arnello of Arnello Milner & Ronson Autosport, Dylan Lopez of Lopez FV Team, Arthur Lapierre from Coca-Cola Porsche Team Mathershaw, Ahmed Cheema of Cheema FV Racing, and Jamie Franklin from JFPT Franklin. Welcome gentlemen. Scott Parkin – FVTV: We’ll start off today with the winners in Malaysia. Arthur; it was, of course, Enrique’s first win outside of Franklin and also your first win with Porsche. Does a win like this – with so many special meanings – feel any different than all your other wins? Arthur Lapierre: For sure it was a big moment for us - it’s the first manifestation of the extraordinary work that has been done by us and Porsche Motorsport, and we are hopeful that we will be able to push on from here. As for Enrique, his talent shines through at every opportunity, and I can’t wait for many more successes in the future both with him and Adrien. SP – FVTV: Certainly, an exciting season ahead for the team. The first two races in 2020 have been infinitely better than this time last season for Cheema. Ahmed, how different does it feel coming into your second season in Formula Virtual compared to your debut year? Ahmed Cheema: Yeah it has been a massive step up and the whole team is buzzing. Probably the main change for us between last year and now is Q1, last year it was a big challenge for us and we would have to be conservative with the strategy since we weren't sure if we could get through or not. Now so far we have done good there with getting both cars through and we can take risks with tyre choices, so it's crucial we continue to do well there. Another big change is the fact this year we have a direct rival. Last year sometimes we were fighting Lucas cars, sometimes Ocelots, sometimes AMR but right now the only team on our pace is Westwood, everyone else is further up or behind. So we usually feed info on them to the drivers - how far ahead or behind they are, whether they are a big threat or not, what's their strategy like. It's really different compared to just going into a weekend and adapting to whatever team you're up against. SP – FVTV: I think that battle between Cheema and Westwood has caught the attention of quite a few actually, hopefully it continues throughout the year. Jamie, I’d just like to say first of all it’s great to see Franklin still on the grid after we all fully expected Brazil last year to be the very last time. But, given how different 2020 will be for the team compared to the previous seven seasons in Formula Virtual, what sort of goals are you setting for the season? Do you have any expectations at all or is it a case of just getting through and getting back on your feet again? Jamie Franklin: Thanks. It was a crazy winter and a lot has changed. One thing remains the same, and that is that we want to strive to be the best. Obviously in our current state, that's not possible, but with the team we have now we're certainly going to try and rebuild some of what we had. So our aim for this year is to do just that, which means we need to stay on track, so sinking into Q1 isn't really an option, we need to be at every race. That's our goal. SP – FVTV: That’s definitely something to keep an eye on. We are now two races into Lopez being a Porsche customer team. Dylan; how has it compared to the Downton engine partnership both politically and performance wise, from what you can tell at such an early stage? Dylan Lopez: We’ve only had Porsche engines for two races so far, compared to four years with Downton. I for one would like to think everything has gone as well as we could’ve hoped so far with our new manufacturer. When we won the race in Japan, that was the moment the team realised that we’d made the right decision to make a fresh start with a new manufacturer coming into the sport. Going forward we hope that it leads to bigger and better things because we want to keep fighting for wins and becoming something more than just a customer team. SP – FVTV: Adrian I hate to remind you of this but, if AMR fail to score a point either this weekend or in South Africa, you will equal the highly unwanted record set by Meteor of 40 races without a point. Are the team aware of statistics like these and do they weigh heavy on team personnel? Adrian Arnello: Oh you make it sound like a bad thing! Records are meant to be held, right? Nah in all seriousness it doesn't affect us too much. Might sting a little at first, but we know where we're at, and we know where we're headed. Just gotta stay patient and wait for our time to shine in the sublime. SP – FVTV: That sounds like there’s definitely a plan in place. Okay the Team Principals will now take questions from the assembled press. Darren Dry – Fox Sports: Dylan it’s your home race here this weekend and AMR’s too, so my question to both Dylan and Adrian; does it feel any different coming here to Melbourne for round three instead of the opening round of the year? Do you reckon there’s still just as much of a buzz? DL: Melbourne always has been and always will be the best event of the season. Yes, it’s halfway across the world for most of the paddock, myself included nowadays. Nothing compares to waking up in the hotel on a lovely Friday in Autumn, getting on the city circle tram in peak hour to Flinders Street Station, and walking down past the Shrine of Remembrance and the Botanical Gardens. Make a right-hand turn past the Albert Ground, get on the overpass, and suddenly you’re there. Turn 9 and 10’s in front of you and the Porsche Supercup is completing their qualifying session. Sometimes I wish I could forget the V-Prix is on and spend more time back home in the western subbies, meet my mates from cricket and from the ol’ maccas on Point Cook Road, where I once worked. Mate, there’s just nothing like this event, simple as that! AA: Best part of the year brother! Was a bit weird being in Japan for the first round though. Kinda cold! Their beer is good though. The atmosphere is just as good as last year. You could throw this round in the offseason and us Aussies would still show up with a slab of tinnies and a smile! Mattias Hirvonen – FFV: Already there are rumours that Milkovich is getting preferential treatment to Tumo, what do you say to these rumours? AC: Well, I know we're only two races in but Tumo has taken our best result so far. I think that speaks for itself. Rebecca Parnell – XtremeV: As I’m sure none of you need reminding, the current situation around the world is totally unprecedented and has left so many people in isolation. So, my question to you all is; which person from the world of Formula Virtual would you most like to be quarantined with, and who would you least like to be stuck with? JF: If we're talking about managers, then I'm going to say the likes of Rob and Lucas, purely because it'd make our training easier. There are plenty of people here that would be fun to hold up with, and night be a bit harsh to single people out as not wanting to. Although things might get a bit awkward with some former Franklin drivers... AL: I’m sure Rob needs Jamie too with his exercise regime - no excuses when Jamie is right there to tell him what to do! In terms of one person from the paddock from my point of view, I’d have to say Rob too - we know each other like the back of our hands, and we get on well to the point sometimes everyone has to ask whether we’re simply an extension of the same person... DL: I would enjoy some quality time in quarantine with none other than Adam Blocker. His South Carolina accent is unique and it’s something that’d keep me entertained the whole way through, especially when he’s hella upset because of a double DNF with dodgy circumstances, or something along those lines. He can have all the shrimps on the barbie he wants, and I’d get all the moonshine I want. Win-Win. AC: I can't think of anyone I wouldn't mind not being quarantined with to be honest, there's no real bad eggs in the paddock, though I suppose you wouldn't want to anger Ellington. If I had to choose someone... maybe Alex or Rai since I'm close to them, or Diego, he's a great person and I've enjoyed working with him so far, probably him if you twisted my arm for an answer. AA: Frankly you're all invited! We all get along and we all look out for each other. Strange times indeed, but it feels like we're all handling it well. Hugues Antoinette – Canal+: Arthur, as we know this season is the first time that Adrien has started a year without a podium in the first two races but this is clearly no reflection on him or his driving. Does he worry about the deficit to Ruiz already being twenty-one points behind or is this too early to cross his mind? AL: I know Adrien extremely well, and he’s as focused as ever. A combination of factors have put him in this position, most of which are outside his control, and he’s been around long enough to know these things tend to balance themselves out. DF – Fox Sports: As he comes here to his home race; Nick’s first season in Formula Virtual has been great so far, he at least looks to be on a par with Enzo. Of course we all know about Enzo’s history in the sport but how successful do you reckon Nick could be? Do you see him having a long career at Franklin? JF: I have to say that Nick has been a pleasure to work with and I sincerely hope he gets the result he deserves at his home V-Prix. His energy, his attitude, it really buoys the team, so if the results keep coming, I can see him sticking with us. Layton Smith – Thegrid.net: A question to all of you. If you had the power to remove a current team from the grid and replace them with a historic team, who would you choose? JF: No offense to the team, but given their lack of history in FV I'd have to say swapping Arrow with Team 23. We'd like to see our first rivals back. AL: ooh interesting - I’d perhaps say rather than a replacement, a return for Scuderia Rossi in collaboration with Ocelot with an increased factory presence from Alfa Romeo or Ferrari. DL: I’d like to see Franklin come back, it’s strange not seeing them near the front becau- oh… umm, hi Jamie! How’s it going, mate? … Ohhhh, you’re at the back of the grid now? Well, I suppose no Ruiz really does equal no Franklin ay mate? JF: Haha, good one, mate. Just thought we’d give you a nice head start. I mean, now that we’re out of the way, you were finally able to take your first win, so congratulations! AC: I’ll move us swiftly on… since it's hypothetical I would drop us out and add, hmm, FUN. They were a great team and I feel they were on for a good 2018 before they left so it would be fantastic to have them back. Kind of cool that none of us have given the same answer so far. AA: I'd swap us for Zyla just for the fireworks! SP – FVTV: Some great questions and answers there guys, we’ll now round the press conference off with one final question from me. After the first two races of the season, we’ve got a rough idea of where we expect teams to be in the pecking order now, but at what point in the season do you expect to really be able to predict where everyone will be in relation to yourselves? Do you change your targets throughout the year? JF: I think it's going to fluctuate through the year. These are ever-evolving prototypes and different teams will have different plans for the year. I know what we want to do, but I can't say that for every team. AL: I think you have to be continuously re-evaluating your targets throughout the season, with plans changing to reflect the landscape of the series. Of course, you have a baseline goal to achieve, and it’s your performance relative to that which dictates your choices throughout the season. Of course there has to be a choice of when you divert your full attention to the following year, and I think that is the approach many teams take differently. DL: We’re P3 as things stand, and that’s at least where we expect to finish come the season’s end. That being said, we need to be ready to adapt to the challenges that are associated with being a top team. Anywhere higher would be a dreamland for us, so consolidating our position there is the goal this weekend. It isn’t going to be easy but we’ve produced our best package ever this season, and the team is as confident and high on morale as they’ve ever been. Winning this weekend would also mean the world to us. There are a few Aussie expats in the team and if anything, we consider this event as a home race for the team. AC: We predict and make targets from the start of the season - at the end of the day the first few races count to the championship as much as the last few races, so there's no point in thinking someone's pace now is just an early fluke and we don't have to worry about it. And of course targets change throughout the year, pretty much from race to race even. This isn't our strongest track so we aren't expecting anything amazing but the aim is still to beat at least one Westwood - if we can do that we know we are in a very good position right now. AA: We need to wait for the Euro leg. That's where most folks are situated and where a lot of the new dev will come through. We're thinking by Round five or six we will know where we stand. Still room for a surprise or two yet! SP – FVTV: Excellent stuff. Thank you to the five of you for attending today and the press for their questions. Make sure you join us tomorrow for Friday practice ahead of the Australian V-Prix!
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