Hello and welcome to Fuji, Japan for the Team Principal’s Thursday press conference ahead of this weekend’s Japanese V-Prix – the opening round of the 2020 Formula Virtual World Championship. Joining us today, from left to right, are; Ben Farrell of ROKiT Arrow Mechanics, William Ingram of Ingram V-Prix, Arthur Lapierre from Coca-Cola Porsche Team Mathershaw, Lilly Westwood of Westwood Racing Technology, and Rai Miyamoto from Ocelot Japan Racing. Welcome to the five of you. Scott Parkin - FVTV: We’ll start off with you Lilly. First of all, I have to say, welcome back - it’s fantastic to see you along with all of the team back home in the paddock again. Did you expect to return someday, and how has the response been from fans and your peers alike compared to expectations? Lilly Westwood: Hi Scott! It's a privilege to be back here. When I left the sport I thought I'd move gradually into a more media oriented role, and never imagined I'd be back here in the paddock running a team once again. The reaction from the teams and drivers is great, Karl and I are on much better terms now than in 2018. Some of the fans do still feel a bit wary of us and let down, which I completely understand and expected, but I know we can win them over. SP – FVTV: I’m sure they’ll come back quickly. Coming to you now Arthur; how has it been since Enrique arrived at the team following his title victory in Brazil? Of course, it wasn’t the way he would’ve liked to win, but how would you say his mindset is approaching this year as a double World Champion? And how is Adrien gearing up for the in-team battle with his toughest teammate to date? Arthur Lapierre: For sure, it has been incredible - I honestly cannot say the feeling in the team has ever been better than this. Enrique arrives with the number one, and he’s ready to push for another title, he’s honestly one of the most driven individuals I’ve worked with. The only other driver I’ve seen work as hard is Adrien, and the fact both of them are here with us is testament to our hard work. Adrien is ready for sure - he’s been a big asset to us for seven years, and his work developing the Porsche 921 RSR has been invaluable. I don’t think either of my drivers will argue with the fact that, though equally motivated to win, they go about their work on the track in different ways, and all I can say is that they will both be given 100% of our efforts to be world champion, because that’s the only way we can ensure we are on top in the team’s championship. SP – FVTV: Excellent, it certainly seems we could be in for a great dual between the two this season. William, the long-standing relationship with Honda has ended and so begins a new chapter with Jaguar. How has the team reacted to the change and do you believe there is more potential to reach the top of FV with Jaguar? William Ingram: I'm very much looking forward to a long and prosperous relationship with Jaguar. Clearly Honda provided a brilliant engine while we were partners but we believe Jaguar can deliver as well. As we are now the lead team we can provide a little more direction in terms of the engine but ultimately we trust Jaguar to work well alongside us. SP – FVTV: There’s been a lot of excitement about Jaguar coming into the sport, and it’s not just Ingram who will be powered by Jaguar; FV’s newest team Arrow will be too. So Ben, welcome to Formula Virtual to you and the entirety of the team! Since your entry was announced, we’ve learnt a little bit about Arrow and I’m sure we’ll get to know more about you over the course of the year, but could you give us a little bit of history on the team’s previous motorsport endeavours and what it means to you to be debuting in Formula Virtual this season? Ben Farrell: Of course - to explain briefly, Formula Virtual isn't the team's first rodeo. We have competed in many smaller endurance series over the years and collected various levels of experience, whether that will help us here is yet to be seen, but we can remain optimistic after a decent pre-season outing. SP – FVTV: I’m sure everyone wishes you the best of luck for your debut season. Pre-season testing seems to indicate an incredibly successful season ahead for Ocelot. Rai; now that you’re settled into your brand-new headquarters, do you think now is the time for the team to really make a push for sustained success in Formula Virtual? Rai Miyamoto: The main goal as you mentioned is to try and successfully be constantly near the top, we aren't looking to constantly yo-yo up and down the grid. We want to firmly remain as a competitive outfit without any fear. SP – FVTV: Great stuff. Okay, the Team Principals will now take questions from the press in attendance. Hugues Antoinette - Canal+: Question for Arthur and Lilly; how does the approach to this season with Porsche compare to either of your team’s previous seasons with other engine manufacturers? In terms of their preparation levels, ambitions, and drive? AL: Hugues, you’ve been in our factory often enough to know the answer to that! Our approach is the same as always, to maximise the potential of the team, car and drivers. As the Porsche works team for 2020, we need to push and uphold the kind of form that is expected of both us and them, and I’m willing to admit that the first indications are that we are in the mix for a good position this year. Dr Heinrich Wallinger has been excellent from day zero when we had Adrien up at Lime Rock Park for that first run, all the way through the collaboration between us at Le Mans working on the chassis and aerodynamics and Porsche Motorsport in Weissach, to today - he’s here at the circuit and will be for most of the season, but he also has the faith to sit at arm’s length and leave us to represent his brand in the way we know how. Altogether, I think we’re in the best position off-track that we have been since our formation - it just remains to replicate that on track! LW: Well, speaking frommy experiences with manufacturers... Ferrari were never too involved, and then obviously we made our own engines for years. Renault were a dedicated manufacturer but I've never experienced anything like the level of efficiency, preparation, and ambition that Porsche are bringing into the sport. It's truly phenomenal, and not only will it create a force to be reckoned with right out the gates, but also I think for years to come. Theo Parker - VM Magazine: Another year at Ingram for Jean and a third season with James alongside him; after a great first two seasons together driving for you, are you starting to see the balance of power shift at all in favour of Vasquez, or would you say the team still tends to trust Jean as the senior, vastly experienced driver? WI: Jean is clearly a very knowledgeable driver and we take great care to make a car that suits him. However, over the last couple of seasons James has learnt how he likes the car to feel. It is important for both to contribute to the direction of our car. Akiyoshi Hirakawa - Fuji TV: Question to Rai. Ocelot the best Motorsport team in this country and one of the best in Formula Virtual, is coming to Japan for the grand opening of the 2020 season. Do you feel pressure and expectation on your team to promote sports to the Japanese and provide a path for Japanese talent to reach the top? RM: It's always a pleasure to represent our home-nation in the Formula Virtual and there is pressure to perform especially with it being a home race for us. I'm seriously hoping we can deliver for everyone at home and the fans to give them something to smile about. In regards to home-grown talent we are always on the lookout for someone to wow us. Layton Smith - Thegrid.net: With de la Fuente and Takahashi being seen by some as one of the weaker line ups on the grid for this season, do you feel confident of making it through Q1 in the opening races or are you concerned? BF: I disagree with that, to say that a driver line-up is weaker than all the others before the drivers have even hit the track is nonsensical, the best drivers make themselves when everyone else counts them out. As for the Q1 statement, I am heavily optimistic of qualifying for a race in the first coming rounds, although the picture is quite scary with so many established teams coming back to the grid. Rebecca Parnell – XtremeV: A question to all of you. As we enter a new decade of Formula Virtual, there have been lots of murmurings of large-scale rule changes which could totally shake up the order. How have you perceived these potential changes and is there anything you’d personally like to see changed or added? BF: As of yet, we have the same information as the press (yourselves) do, it will be certainly interesting to see where the sport can evolve and progress to over the coming years. A huge grid shake-up could be exactly what the series needs and personally I'm all for it. RM: I'm not sure really how I feel in regards to these changes, I personally was rather happy with the current regulations but as always we will just need to adapt and follow what’s going on. AL: I’ve spoken to Robert from a technical viewpoint, and he’s very excited to see these rules coming into place. They all have their basis in technical innovation and engineering, so it will be excellent to see how the teams react to the extra freedom of development that we will have. From our point of view? It’s business as usual, we will work as hard as ever. LW: I personally adore the new regulations. It gives the teams a fresher opportunity moving forward to gain or lose positions due to the massive amount of freedom to develop new areas of the car. As Arthur mentioned, it is very interesting to see which teams are embracing this change with open arms, and which teams seem to be less eager for a shakeup of the rules. WI: I'm excited to see what the new rules do. For smaller teams like ourselves there's always the possibility of nailing the new regulations. Of course it could easily go the other way, but we'll see what happens! SP – FVTV: Just one last question for you all from me before the we round the press conference off. For the first time in Formula Virtual history we’re not in Australia for the season opening V-Prix. The decision was made very late on, how did this affect your planning, if at all? And to all of you except Ben - does coming here to Japan for the first race feel any different to going to Melbourne? BF: Of course not, and as stated it won't exactly break our routine having it be the first season for us, and I'm even more enthusiastic to have the home race of one of our drivers so early on in the year! RM: It didn't really effect us too much with our HQ being here and all and always it's pleasure to start the season at home, it means our personal didn't need to go through any jet lag. AL: In terms of a sporting spectacle, I think having the season opener in Australia always provided a certain charm and familiarity, but I’m always happy to race in Japan - with three wins here, I’m hopeful Fuji will give us a race to remember, and when we go to Australia later in the year, that will be good too. Logistically it’s not that much difference - the freight was loaded weeks ago and it was an early enough call to divert it to Japan without any additional costs or issues, and in terms of personnel, they’re all leaving in a few days so it’s just a case of some re-booked flights and hotel rooms! LW: I'm more than happy to start off at Fuji. Australia always has its place as the season opener but sometimes gets known as just that, when it’s produced some good races in the past too. As for Fuji, well it always provides a cracker of a race and an opportunity to push the cars on the softer tyres due to the cold conditions. And, if you cast your mind back to a rainy Sunday afternoon at the end of the 2015 season, it's where we got our second ever victory, so I've definitely got fond memories here. Logistically though? Nic had kept everybody updated that this could be happening well in advance, allowing for plenty of time to adjust accordingly. WI: We had enough warning that no containers were accidentally shipped to Australia so we're doing well. As much as I enjoy tradition it will be fun to start in Japan. The fans are always up for it and create a great atmosphere. SP – FVTV: Some good points made there. Okay final question, to everyone. What are your personal hopes and expectations for your teams this season? Are you setting any goals? BF: Points are definitely a goal for us, and I won't be happy come the end of the season if we don't become regular Q1 qualifiers, I believe we have the drivers and equipment to do so and not even getting to the race would be disastrous for us. RM: Our goal is to be constant and hopefully get as many points as we can, we'd love something like a win being on the podium but for now it's mainly about consistently being near the front. AL: I think it would flippant to say our goal is anything other than winning the championship, but it would be remiss to think it is an easy task. I think the pecking order will truly reveal itself after the first three or four races, so that will be the big test for us. From a personal point of view, we have the two greatest drivers in FV history in the same car, so I cannot wait! LW: This season is all about finding our feet again. I think regularly getting out of Q1 has to be the focal point of our season, if not then simply qualifying at least one car for every race. We've not been in a Q1 battle before but we've scrapped with the likes of Downton, Franklin, and FIRST in the championship before, so we know how to take a fight! WI: We've got to be realistic. The first year with a new engine could have teething issues and both Jaguar and ourselves are prepared. That said we will aim for points where we can and we are hoping for a season of consolidation. SP – FVTV: Fantastic, thank you very much to the Team Principals attending today – you’ve been brilliant. That’s all for the first Thursday press conference of the season, make sure you tune in tomorrow for Friday practice ahead of the Japanese V-Prix!
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