Following the Japanese V-Prix, the opening round of the 2022 Formula Virtual World Championship, we take a look at the winners and losers from the weekend. 1st May 2022 | Written by Scott Parkin Star of the weekend: Thierry Xylander I don’t think there’s a single person in the paddock who would deny Thierry Xylander this accolade in Japan. Coming into the season, it seemed almost a foregone conclusion that both Highwind and Scuderia Meteor would fail to qualify at all in the early stages of the season, following a pre-season testing performance that seemed to show both teams cut adrift from the rest of the field. The 22-year-old Belgian, though, disagreed. Xylander immediately looked to have solid pace during Friday Practice, putting in a lap that saw him end the session in 21st place; ahead of his teammate, both Scuderia Meteors, and SIX other drivers. He not only looked quick on his low fuel runs, but also during his race sim, setting off alarm bells at Highwind’s closest rival teams. Saturday was a similar story, a mistake from North Star’s Johan Halvosen in Pre-Qualifying left him vulnerable and Xylander jumped at the opportunity with a late lap that put him through to the race and resigned the highly rated Danish driver to an early end to the weekend. Xylander continued his form into Qualifying with another fantastic lap which resulted in him qualifying 21st on the grid, to the shock of fans and teams alike. After getting a solid launch off the grid, Xylander jumped his ex-Phoenix teammate Alvarez – who was on the hard tyres – before passing Zozulya the next lap. The Highwind driver then dropped back behind Zozulya and Ryan after a spin from Ingram’s Jean Mattson caused chaos in the midfield. After settling into his battle with the group of cars stuck behind Max Meyer, Xylander then crucially passed the South African during the pit stop phase, which allowed him to scurry away from some of the faster cars behind him. A decent stop from the Highwind mechanics ensured the Belgian maintained his position ahead of his midfield rivals, which he superbly held until the end. A fifteenth place was his – and the teams – reward for a great opening weekend of the season. Struggler of the weekend: Stefan Klien The opening race of 2022 was clearly a struggle for FIRST’s new driver. The Austrian – who has spent four years as the team’s reserve driver – seemed to struggle to get to grips with the new cars, spinning early on in the race and never really recovering or looking like having any real impact. The saving grace for Klien, and FIRST, will be the fact that both he and his teammate Perez kept their noses clean throughout the race. This will surely come as at least some sort of satisfaction to Team Principal Adam Blocker, who endured many a race watching Perez and Zozulya take themselves out of contention. Hard luck story: Brock Kidd This was a tough one in some ways, as Porsche Mathershaw’s Adrien Simon was incredibly unfortunate to lose his front wing after Enrique Ruiz spun and drove into him, but Simon’s ability to recover to sixth place means that Brock Kidd takes this unwanted title. The weekend was a struggle in general for North Star, with their lead driver Halvosen failing to make it through Pre-Qualifying, resulting in his – and the team’s – first ever non-qualification. Kidd, on the other hand, comfortably made it through the Saturday morning session with a lap three tenths faster than his teammate. The American qualified fourteenth on the grid with a solid lap, before making a good start to the race which saw him maintain his position in the midfield on the medium tyres. Unfortunately, the gearbox of his North Star gave up on lap 24, forcing him to retire from a position which could have seen him in the fight for the final points position. In a race where his team’s hopes rested solely on his shoulders, the former IndyVirtual and eVirtual champion was dealt a cruel blow and will want to bounce back swiftly in Adelaide. Standout rookie: Will Taylor Another slightly contentious selection, here, with the standout rookie being given to Phoenix’s Will Taylor. It goes without saying that Matteo Zetticci drove absolutely flawlessly in his first ever Formula Virtual V-Prix, but the performance by Taylor equally cannot be ignored. The British driver – making his debut at the age of 30 – looked to match his ultra-talented teammate, Allar Kangur, all weekend, but unfortunately just couldn’t get his second lap together in qualifying; ending up thirteenth. Taylor’s incredible start to the race set the tone, overtaking the Arrow pair of Addison and Takahashi, then Ocelot’s Giodano after just one corner. Mattson’s spin up ahead gifted him another place, before Kangur’s slightly long pit stop swapped the Phoenix pair around. However, Taylor comfortably kept Kangur at bay for the remainder of the race and ended the race in a brilliant eighth place, leading Kangur across the line for a double points finish for Phoenix; the first time the Mancunian team have done so at the opening race of a season.
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