Hello and welcome to Silverstone, Great Britain for the Team Principal’s Thursday press conference ahead of this weekend’s British V-Prix – round five of the 2020 Formula Virtual World Championship. Joining us today, from left to right, are; Lilly Westwood of Westwood Racing Technology, Nick Forrest of North Star Racing, Arthur Lapierre from Coca-Cola Porsche Team Mathershaw, Alex Easton of XXX Energy Phoenix Motorsport, and Lucas Wilson from Lucas V-Prix. Welcome to you all. Scott Parkin – FVTV: We’ll start off today with you Arthur; South Africa was an incredible race for the team, with Enrique claiming the second ever grand slam in Formula Virtual history – the other being when the Brazilian did it back in Portugal 2015. Surely, barring Adrien’s struggles, it doesn’t get much better than the utter domination of the weekend that you had? Arthur Lapierre: I think when you look at the weekend, we couldn’t have had better results. Enrique was in imperious form, and Adrien was as fast as ever but was somewhat unlucky with backmarkers. If every race was like that, then my life would be simple, but unfortunately for us we’ve got some incredible teams and drivers against us, so we cannot rest on our laurels. SP – FVTV: Nick; Johan had a great weekend in Kyalami, where he looked to be about where people were predicting North Star to be aiming for this season. Did you feel like the previous race results were an underperformance or would you say everything just fell into place last time out? Nick Forrest: I'd say more of the former, we've definitely had a very unfortunate start to the season this time around, for a number of different reasons. It's worth remembering, as well, that Johan was on course for another very strong result in Malaysia before his engine failed. With as close as the battle looks at the head of the midfield this season, it's going to be a real challenge to stay there race-on-race, but with the experience we have fighting in the upper half of the grid compared to some of the teams around us this year, I think we're likely to see a good few more results like South Africa coming our way in 2020. SP – FVTV: A very good point there Nick. Kyalami was probably the toughest race for the Westwood team this season so far; with Karl not making it past Q1 then Puccio having no luck in the race. Lilly, did you feel you lost out on a potentially great result or did the circuit not really suit the car anyway? Lilly Westwood: We were a bit too confident going into Kyalami, and we tried to get clever with the car based on our old data. We took it in the wrong direction, and I have to hold my hands up there and own that mistake. While it was definitely our hardest weekend of the season, we still gained valuable data, and learned more through our mistakes than I think we could have from a perfect weekend. SP – FVTV: The second season of Lucas V-Prix since the return last year has been tough so far, possibly very similar to 2019. So Lucas, how have expectations compared to reality so far, and what do you put the performance down to? Lucas Wilson: It has been tough I'm not going to lie. We were confident in our package this year but it hasn't turned out as well as we hoped. The grid is incredibly strong this year. We really need to look at the design philosophy of our car and see what improvement can be made now we are in the European season. SP – FVTV: Hopefully you can turn things around. Alex, Phoenix haven’t scored a point since Alvarez’s great drive to eighth in the opening race of the season although you’ve been on the fringes a few times. Is it going to be tough for you to break into the top ten often this season? Alex Easton: At the time, in Japan, that eighth place finish felt incredible and we celebrated it like a win. But now, looking back, I think it was even better than that! Right back when we first went testing this season, I said that it was going to be an incredibly tough season for the teams outside the top six or seven to get a sniff of the points and it certainly looks like it’s panning out that way. I think - unless anyone can pull off a result like Ledesma did in South Africa where overtaking was at a premium – the Constructors’ Championship below seventh or eighth is probably gonna be decided by the odd point or even best placed finishes. SP - FVTV: Okay, the Team Principals will now take questions from the assembled media. Hugues Antoinette – Canal+: Arthur, in the last race Adrien was clearly held up multiple times by backmarkers refusing to fairly let him pass. What is your opinion on this? Did Adrien feel he received the worst treatment compared to Ruiz? AL: Adrien was definitely annoyed during the race which may have contributed to his mistakes, but after the race we spoke like always, and honestly he was OK. He knows that luck doesn’t always fall the right way, but that it also balances out eventually, so I’m sure he’ll bounce back strongly this weekend. Layton Smith – Thegrid.net: Many in the know were predicting great things from the North Star team this season, but after four races you lie in sixth once again. Would you say the improvement this season has not been as much as you expected, or is it merely that other teams have surprised you with their competitiveness? NF: Perhaps a little bit of both, but certainly some teams have made a big leap from where they were in 2019. We've definitely made a step towards the frontrunners in terms of outright pace in the car, despite the jump in performance that Porsche Mathershaw have made, all the numbers back at the factory in Perth are telling us we're closer, but it seems more that - from an outside view, at least - both Ocelot and Lopez have thrown pretty much everything they had last year into this season. North Star, though, we don't really do things that way, we're not a team that comes into a season wanting to trundle around near the back with our points tally in single figures, if that. Barring the odd blip, it's been a relatively consistent upward trajectory for us in Formula Virtual, and we're aiming to continue that in the years to come. Freddie Star – Manchester Evening News: Question to Alex and Lilly; with the Westwood team setting up their new base in Bolton, Greater Manchester, the county finds itself going from having none to now having two Formula Virtual teams based in it. So, to Alex; how have you seen the city, and county, change over the years in regards to Formula Virtual exposure? And to Lilly; it’s been less than a year but how have you found it different having the team base up in Bolton? Did it feel necessary to in some ways start afresh when the team returned? AE: It’s been pretty huge actually, yeah. Back when we first moved into our base in 2014 in preparation for entering the junior series, Formula Virtual was still very much only just gaining popularity and a lot of the people round here didn’t really have much knowledge of it. As FV has grown over the years – as well as us finally making the step up in 2018 – it’s really become massive in the area now with advertisements and flyers all over the place, especially with Nathaniel Powers’ face plastered everywhere too as he’s from the area. I think Phoenix has always had a small but passionate cult following but the buzz last year when people found out the iconic Westwood team were coming to Bolton was incredible. It just goes to show the pull of a heavyweight team like they are. I think it’s great that we’ve not got two teams in the area – we were happy to change our motto to ‘The second biggest Virtual Motorsport team in Greater Manchester’! LWestwood: Well it's certainly a bit chillier! But seriously, already it's been such a huge change for me and for the team. We actually had the option to remain in Southampton, where we previously had links with the university for their renowned aerodynamics department. But Bolton was always going to be where we got set up for our return. It's a lovely town extremely close to Manchester, and we're also taking this opportunity to put down new roots and form new links with Bolton University, who have majorly impressed us with their state of the art motorsport engineering centre. It's logistically not as easy as being in a port town but we're having no issues making it work, and we're lucky that Greater Manchester is where we can call home. And as for Alex's comment? I think Phoenix may yet retain their motto of 'The biggest Virtual Motorsport team in Greater Manchester'! All I know is the future is bright for us here. FS – Manchester Evening News: As well as Westwood and Phoenix, Lucas; you of course are from the North too. In the off-season there were rumours that the Lucas team may relocate one day, is there any truth behind that? LWilson: Yeah we are looking to relocate. I can't really say much more than that at the moment. We have a few sites that we are interested in. Nothing solid yet but we will be moving at some point into West Yorkshire that much I can tell you. Gianmario Angelino – SportItalia: In the last V-Prix of Kyalami we see the amazing race of Giani Ledesma holding back the much faster cars to get the great result for Scuderia Meteor to help their battle with the Q1. So now Lilly does this result put Westwood in danger of the Q1 drop and Lucas, is it now not possible for the team to avoid Q1 or will the fight remain as ever? LWestwood: That's an excellent question, and I'd just like to say Giani put in a phenomenal drive last time out! Truly showing that the best performances don't always happen at the sharp end. But, no I'm not worried about dropping into Q1. Our car is as quick as, if not quicker than Cheema and Meteor, and we've definitely got enough of a margin in hand back to the bottom four. However, this situation really does highlight that consistent pace isn't always enough for the part of the pack, and we're having to learn that lesson very quickly. LWilson: As much as I would like to say we are in the battle I think we are nailed on to be in Q1. Our package just isn't good enough at the moment. Theo Parker – VM Magazine: Alex; Xylander has really struggled in qualifying this season, compared to last year when he outqualified Alvarez the majority of the time. Is there anything that’s specifically a problem, and is it true that Thierry is under a lot of pressure to step it up? AE: It’s certainly no secret that Thierry has had a tough time of it this year, and if you look in from the outside well… he’s being mullered by Sergio. But we don’t look at things like that. I think I might’ve made a comment after Malaysia or Australia that a reporter heard and took out of context, I can categorically tell you that Thierry is currently under no more pressure than anyone would expect to be at this stage of the season. It’s easy to forget the lad is only twenty years old! He’s got a mighty fine future ahead of him in Formula Virtual and a tough start to the season - in a midfield packed like sardines – won’t even be remembered in the long run. Rebecca Parnell – XtremeV: Question for Nick. It hasn’t been the easiest of starts for Gabriele in his second full season in Formula Virtual. We saw this same sort of story unfold with Judson in his final year; is the young Brazilian under as much pressure to retain his drive as Judson was at the same stage in 2018? NF: Well, Johan is a very tough yardstick to be measured against, one of the best drivers in the midfield right now, I would say, so it is a challenge for any driver opposite him in the garage. For Gabriele, though, as was the case for Judson, like you said, the first year was all about settling into Formula Virtual and getting up to speed as part of the team, the second year is when we expect to start seeing results coming in. Gabriele knows there's still a bit of work to do on that front to close the gap to Johan, but the team has every faith in him, we brought him up through our Protostars young driver program, he's got the full support of the team behind him, and we're looking forward to seeing where he goes for the rest of the season. Hans-Jurgen Zoller – Auto Motor und Sport (AMuS): As we come here to Europe and the start of the European season, so far every race has been won by the mighty Porsche engine. My question is, Arthur, asking how deep is the Mathershaw team involvement with the customer teams? AL: On a technical basis we are very involved. The Porsche Motorsport guys take the lead on the engine development, while we are highly involved with collaborating with the Porsche Customer Racing teams, both in a technical sense and in the sporting front - particularly with Porsche Junior Allar Kangur’s involvement with Lopez, which has already seen him take a victory this year through his sheer talent alone. HZ – Auto Motor und Sport (AMuS): As Arthur says, the Mathershaw involvement with the Porsche Customer Racing teams must be influential to the efforts of yourselves and the Lopez team. Is it fair to assume Lilly that the Westwood return has been made even more successful with the help of Porsche and Mathershaw? LWestwood: Absolutely! I can't speak for Lopez, but due to our limited experience of this generation of cars we've largely taken Porsche's feedback onboard, and I've made no secret that the links formed with Porsche Mathershaw and the sponsorship that comes with that have been a massive boost. It's a privilege to work with names as prestigious as Porsche and Mathershaw as it is, but the impact they've had on our return has been monumental, and we're excited to do the badge proud. Klaus Ammermuller – RTV: Question for all of you except Lilly. Last season, the start of the European season brought changes for most of the teams presumably as various teams larger developments were added onto the cars for the first time and the field changed. For example the Mathershaw team dropped back from the Downton and Franklin teams, North Star had seven points finishes from eight but then from Great Britain had just seven from a possible twenty-six, Phoenix made a step up into regular points scorers and Lucas struggled to qualify much more than before. My question to you is this; how do you foresee the 2020 European season changing the current running order, if at all, and do you as teams look forward to the large developments or worry about them not working? AE: That’s a question and a half isn’t it, bloody hell! Err, okay, so to answer the first part of your question about the running order; yes, I do see it changing as the season goes on as it always does, however I do wonder if the change might come a little later this year. With the field being as incredibly close as it is, I think it would be a very brave call from anyone right now to call off work on the current car and switch focus onto 2021. For the same reason, I think the teams with much larger budgets and workforces will really come to the fore next season as they’ll be able to do the balancing act between this tight season while making sure their 2021 plans aren’t affected. To answer the second part of the question; at Phoenix it really isn’t feasible to bring huge developments to the car throughout the season like some teams do. We really can’t take that sort of financial risk if we get it wrong. So, instead, our development you see throughout the season is pretty much just perfecting what we’ve already got and basically everyone getting more used to the car and how it works. A bit like a new pair of jeans, at first you’re sat there thinking “these new jeans are pretty snazzy, I’m glad I bought them, but they’re a bit tight on the ol’ package” but then after a while they become your own and you slip into them like a glove. I’m gonna let someone else have a say now… AL: On a technical basis we are very involved. The Porsche Motorsport guys take the lead on the engine development, while we are highly involved with collaborating with the Porsche Customer Racing teams, both in a technical sense and in the sporting front - particularly with Porsche Junior Allar Kangur’s involvement with Lopez, which has already seen him take a victory this year through his sheer talent alone. NF: Alex is very much on the money there, you always see a shuffling around of the order at the start of the European season, within a couple of races or so. I just hope that North Star doesn't get shunted down the grid this time around! One thing that I think is worth keeping in mind, though, is that we have a bit of a truncated season this year compared to others, with only twelve races from Great Britain onward. That's potentially going to see some teams rushing developments a little more, and maybe allowing a few missteps to creep in, and is certainly going to curtail the time we all can spend on research for next season, which - with significant regulation changes coming in on that front - could give us a whole new Formula Virtual landscape come 2021! LWilson: I have sort of covered it with my earlier comments but I will reiterate again. I do not think our package is strong enough at the moment. We need to really find the root cause of our problems. As Alex has just stated, with the switching focus to 2021 I don't think we will be bringing major upgrades to the European season. If our guys at the factory want something added then we'll put it on. But we are not tracking for a big update at the moment, we have more fundamental issues to sort out. SP – FVTV: Okay final question from myself now before we finish. This weekend, Formula Virtual is here in Silverstone, Great Britain; the home of motorsport. North Star, Westwood, Lucas and Phoenix are all British teams and Porsche Mathershaw’s Robert Mathershaw is British – as I’m sure many other members of the team are. So, the final question, to everyone; is there a difference for you all when the Formula Virtual circus comes here? Do your teams get more attention than in any other race? And is a result here even more meaningful? AL: The nature of our team means we have a number of places that are very special to race in, and Silverstone and the United Kingdom ranks right up there. I think we get less attention than those who are based here, but there is certainly more attention than usual which is always nice! A result anywhere in the world is always meaningful - South Africa where we’ve just been for instance is somewhere which is deeply ingrained in both our and Porsche’s motorsport heritage - but absolutely, to take a win at one of the oldest and most prestigious venues in the world means an awful lot. LWestwood: Silverstone carries a special kind of atmosphere because many regard it as the birthplace of motor racing. It's certainly doing alright for a disused airfield! The fans are intensely passionate, only falling behind the likes of the tifosi, and it's great for the engineers and mechanics to enjoy the home race atmosphere. But I'm not much of a nationalist myself, and I do my best to take each race as it comes. NF: It's logistically a little easier, not having to fly out halfway around the world, plus the race crew get a little time to spend with their families here, which can only be a good thing. I think you do have to at least respect the heritage that Silverstone carries, though, having held some form of motorsport for 70 years now, and Lilly is certainly right about the fans as well, there's such a love for that motorsport in Britain, even sport in general. There's always a fair amount of support for every team wherever we go, but it seems to be even more so for the British teams when we're racing in front of British fans, I've already seen a lot of Downton orange in the car park! At the end of the day, though, it's the same points on offer here as any other race weekend, and it's all about where we finish on the Sunday. LWilson: I think it is a special race for our fans who can attend. For our guys at the factory, it is a little less to travel. But FV is an international sport so every race is special and equally important to me. AE: I’d say we get a little bit more attention than usual, yeah – although that isn’t hard! JT tends to get more media attention here though, as I’m sure do all the British drivers. As Nick has already pointed out, there’s always a really strong Downton following but at Silverstone it gets ramped up even more and I’d say this year I’ve seen more than ever. The historic British FV teams such as Franklin, Ingram and Westwood always get a big roar from the crowd when their cars go through, but I like to think the fans are pretty fair and will cheer on anyone who gives a good show. As for how important the race is to us; for myself and the Phoenix team it’s certainly the race where it would be most special to get a good result. A good result anywhere is an incredible feeling but if we ever get one here it would rank above all else. SP – FVTV: Excellent answers from all of you, thank you. That’s the end of today’s press conference, make sure you join us tomorrow for Friday practice ahead of the British V-Prix.
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