Following the Malaysian V-Prix, the third round of the 2022 Formula Virtual World Championship, we take a look at the winners and losers from the weekend. By Neil Allenby Star of the Weekend: James Vasquez Once again, I have picked the race winner for the Star of the Weekend. This week, however, I don’t think anyone would’ve suggested anyone else. Vasquez qualified well on Saturday, as he has done all season so far, to put himself in a great position once the penalties had been applied to the Porsche Mathershaw and Lucas drivers. The Colombian kept a steady gap to the front runners in the first stint and made the perfect strategy calls at just the right time, credit must also go to the Ingram team for getting those calls spot on. After that, it was all about keeping his cool as he battled with the Downton of Matteo Zetticci in the wet and the Phoenix of Allar Kangur in the dry conditions; when the Estonian was on the soft tyres. Vasquez drove beautifully and, even when Zetticci eventually passed him for the race lead, he didn’t let it get to him and remained composed which proved crucial when Zetticci then retired from the race, handing the win back to Vasquez. It feels a little bit as though James’ maiden win has been coming ever since that first podium four years ago, again in Malaysia. The young Colombian has been nothing less than excellent, consistently, since his debut for Ingram and surely there’ll be many more wins to come in his Formula Virtual career. Struggler of the weekend: Oleksandr Zozulya For the second race in a row, Oleksandr Zozulya failed to get out of Pre-Qualifying and was beaten by Xylander in his Highwind – comfortably, it must be said. The Ukrainian looked scruffy and untidy all session long which left the door wide open for the ultra-impressive young Belgian, an opportunity which he duly took. It means that, once again, the AMR team were left fighting with one arm behind their back, solely depending on Finn Schnyder on race day. In races like Malaysia, you want to have both drivers there in the mix – at the very least – and it could really hurt the team in the long run that they failed to score a big result as other teams around them got crucial ones. Zozulya is currently struggling to match Schnyder and really has to start getting on equal terms with the Swiss driver before the pressure mounts any further. Admittedly, AMR has been Schnyder’s home since midway through 2018 and it will take Zozulya some time to bed in, but that needs to happen fast. Hard luck story: North Star Racing These articles are supposed to be for drivers only but, to hell with it, I’m breaking my own rules for this one. North Star have had absolutely miserable fortune in recent times and, indeed, seem to not get the rub of the green when it comes to incident-filled races. However, last weekend really was the worst of the worst for them. A great qualifying from the team left Kidd and Halvosen fifth and ninth respectively on the starting grid – their best starting position for some time – and both drivers drove beautifully to keep out of trouble. Kidd was running in a magnificent seventh place, which would’ve turned into fourth if he would’ve made it to the end, and Halvosen retired from a comfortable ninth place, which would’ve been seventh at the flag. Of course, this is all ifs and buts, however it just shows the sort of result the team would’ve had if their cars would’ve held on. It is little surprise that Team Principal Nick Forrest was visibly furious on the pit wall after Halvosen’s retirement, then in the paddock afterwards. North Star now find themselves, unbelievably, down in fourteenth place in the Constructors’ Championship – ahead of only the hapless Scuderia Meteor – which is a total injustice given they clearly should be much higher. Luckily the car does look in much better shape than last season, and even the first race, so hopefully it won’t be long before they pick up a result they deserve. Standout rookie: Will Taylor The standout rookie was a tough one, again. Both Will Taylor and Matteo Zetticci made strong cases; Zetticci almost winning his first ever Formula Virtual race in wet conditions was an incredible effort, only to be thwarted by his Downton engine. However, the honours go to Will Taylor this time. The British driver has nestled in beautifully at Phoenix and, despite having an awful qualifying which he attributed to a slight mistake on his push lap, he continued his knack for gaining places on the opening lap. Taylor got himself up into a great position before the first round of pit stops then made the gamble to stay out one lap later than most of the field, which elevated him into the battle amongst the frontrunners. Despite having never driven a Formula Virtual car before this season, the Brit showed great car control and composure to withstand the pressure of Klaas van Snelheid and ultimately repel the Dutch ace to finish a magnificent second. It’s been almost the perfect start to the season for Will and the team will surely be extremely happy with how he’s performing against Allar Kangur – who is clearly a top talent. If Taylor can continue to be there or thereabouts with Kangur for the rest of the season, surely he’ll be on the radar of other teams who would’ve never given him a second thought before this year.
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