Hello everyone, Scott Parkin here from FVTV, and welcome to the second edition of ‘An Interview With:’. The feature where I have a short chat with various figures from the world of Formula Virtual. Today, we are with a man who has gained a level of notoriety before even appearing in Formula Virtual, a real character who will become the 76th driver to participate in a full race weekend when he lines up for Phoenix Motorsport at the Brazilian V-Prix next week. He is James Thompson, or ‘JT’, and I’m here with him today at Phoenix’s base to find out a little more about him, and his time so far at the Mancunian team. Scott Parkin: Hello James, it’s great to finally get the chance to sit down with you after years of ‘knowing’ you. To start things off; could you give a bit of an introduction of yourself to those who don’t know you? James Thompson: Of course. Right, so, my name’s James Thompson and I was born in Burton-upon-Trent in England – although I’ve lived in Manchester for a long time now. I started racing competitively pretty late, in 2014, after watching the first ever season of Formula Virtual the year before. Phoenix Motorsport were set up to compete in the 2015 FV2 season and signed me for their first season in FV3 in 2016, and I’ve been with the team ever since. SP: Great so, as you say; you started out in FV3 with Phoenix when they entered the category in 2016 and went on to have two seasons in FV2 – one with Phoenix and the second on loan at Bronislav – how was your time in the junior series? JT: They were good times, definitely good, but coming through the junior series can be a tough environment. In 2016 for example, my first year in single seaters, I was up against 29 other drivers all with dreams of making it to Formula Virtual but, for most, even FV2 or VWRS is above their limit. You’ve got the likes of Zander [Brynildsen] who won the title that year, who I think might finally get his chance in FV next season. Maximilian [Thunstrom], Stefan [Klien], and Rafael [Palou] have all been signed to FV teams, Zhao was with Andromeda too but obviously they collapsed so he’s out of the picture again. But then beyond that, the rest of the guys have struggled and trust me when I say there were some properly talented guys in that field. I suppose a lot of it comes down to who you’re linked with. Max and myself were lucky to be with Johansson and Phoenix for the duration of our junior careers, we had that stability of almost being ensured a drive for the next season, whereas most drivers didn’t have that luxury. I think that can make quite a big difference in everything you do, because knowing where your future lies really does allow you to relax and just lets you focus on the racing. Saying that, though, I didn’t have the financial backing that some teams and drivers have – being at Phoenix – so I had to put the graft in with my Dad in any downtime I had. Thankfully the calendar only ran from late summer to early autumn so I was able to work for around eight months of the year. SP: What were you doing for work? JT: Oh, welding. My Dad has been a welder all his life and I learnt that from him at a young age. The company – T&T Welding – is jointly owned by us both now, our logo is actually on this year’s car! It’s not exactly a glamourous job but it’s a trade that’ll always be needed, especially as more and more people these days lose their hand skills because they’re sat in offices all day at their desks; practical jobs are becoming in much higher demand. Next year will be a great chance for me to focus on growing the company a bit more though. Dom [Hanson] has obviously been around Phoenix for yonks now but he’s been officially listed as a reserve for 2021 so he’ll be sharing the reserve role with me and be able to be on hand at race weekends in case Sergio or Thierry can’t compete for whatever reason. I’ll still get to as many races as I can though, of course! SP: It’s well known in the inner circles of the paddock that you get on so well with everyone in the Phoenix team, what makes them different to other teams? Why have you stuck with them for five years? JT: Yeah, it’s mad to think this has been my fifth season here already! I mean, for me and Dom it’s obviously helped that we’ve come through the ranks with them. So, whilst we’ve grown as drivers and human beings through the last five or six years, it’s been exactly the same for the whole of the team. If I look back to the team in late 2015, when I first signed with them for 2016, it’s pretty much exactly the same group of people now as it was back then. It’s been well documented how tiny the team is and how many financial struggles there’s been but I think that has always ensured that level of togetherness and the bond has remained so strong. You know, there’s been plenty of hard periods where you’d leave the factory at the end of the day and wouldn’t have a clue if the team would still exist in the morning, or you’d arrive in the morning and there’d be big chains on the gates with people seizing possessions and all that sort of stuff. But again, all that stuff just brought everyone together even more and made everyone really appreciate the good times since Lucas saved the team a year ago. I’m not saying there aren’t financial problems anymore but somehow it feels a bit more ‘safe’ now, if you know what I mean? At Phoenix we’re… well, we’re something else really. All the sorts of things that you wouldn’t think could happen at a Formula Virtual team – and probably shouldn’t happen – happen! I mean, for an example, we share our canteen – and I’m using the word canteen loosely here – with the company next door, Vibrant Boards, so you’ve got all the lorry driver guys going up to the hatch for their dinner at the same time as you’re on your dinner and you know you need to get there first or there’ll be more cigarettes than beans in the drum, they just get stirred in and you get told not to worry about that. That’s just an example but it’s a good representation of the entire setup we’ve got here. The real place to be though is the ‘Phoenix Centre of Entertainment and Leisure’. SP: Where’s that? JT: Where we’re sitting now! SP: This portacabin? JT: Yeahhh… but it’s got a pool table and a darts board with a makeshift bar down there! Tezza [Terry McCarroll, Phoenix Head of Sponsorship and PR] came up with that name. Honestly though, this is where you want to be if you’ve got a bit of spare time. Me and Dom pretty much spend all our time in here with Wardy the truck driver [Scott Ward, Phoenix Head of Production, Supply & Logistics] and Big Dave; playing pool and keeping the bar busy. SP: What does ‘Big Dave’ do? JT: Drink, like a fish! And darts too. He’ll have a game at pool but he’s more of a darts player. SP: Sorry, I mean, what does he do at Phoenix Motorsport? What’s his job role? JT: Oh! Err, actually I don’t know you know… -shouts to a nearby Dominic Hanson- Dom! What does Dave do here? Dominic Hanson: Which Dave? JT: Big Dave! DH: Big Dave, oh… dunno mate. He’s been here ages though. JT: Well that’s that established then. But yeah, we love it here. The amount of bets and pranks that go on is mad though. You turn up at most race weekends and, more often than not, there’s a member of the team with a poorly shaved head or with no eyebrows because they’ve done a forfeit – they’re the tame forfeits though! I remember we had one lad here, I’m not sure if I should name names or not… ah, he won’t mind; Dino Palma [Phoenix FV2 winter series driver 2015-2016]. Well he came last in a darts tournament we had and his forfeit was that – if he got a podium that season – he had to pretend to make love to one of those big life-sized Nathaniel Powers calendars, and we’d film it. Anyway, it gets to the final round in Birmingham and Dino’s bloody buzzing. He’d had a crap season and hadn’t scored a point until the round before, in Romania, so it was looking like he’d get away with it and he’s all like, “unlucky lads”. So, we’re all gutted thinking it was gonna be a disappointment, then he goes and finishes second in the sprint race doesn’t he! We thought he was gonna slow down and let a couple of guys pass him but, to be fair to him, he didn’t and he took the forfeit; that video must still be hanging around somewhere. Best not show Nathaniel, mind, it might scar him. I had to do one too actually. If I do say so myself, I’m a bit of a dab hand when it comes to pub sports but this one particular time, we had a doubles tournament at pool and I’d been paired with bloody Thierry [Xylander] who’s never played in his life – he doesn’t usually get involved but we insisted then I drew the short straw. So, let me think, there’s Dom and the gaffer [Alex Easton, Founder & Team Principal], Sergio [Alvarez] and Big Dave, Wardy and Tezza, Christian [Sear, Deputy Team Principal] and Ethan [Matthews, Phoenix Youth Academy driver], then me and Thierry. I’d already had a skinful by the time we started so it was all on Thierry to carry the team but he was absolutely hopeless, it’s a bloody good job he’s a better driver than he is a pool player! So, we came hopelessly last and the rest of the guys all came up with this forfeit for me; I’m not allowed to cut my hair until I score a point in Formula Virtual. SP: So that’s what’s going on with the hair! JT: Yeah, hence the mop head. I could do with some mental weather conditions in Brazil to give me a shout of troubling the barbers’ clippers! Anyway, I’ve gone on long enough about all this haven’t I? What was the original question? Oh yeah, what’s made me stay here for so long. Well, yeah, here at Phoenix we’ve got seriously top craic, that’s obviously something that makes it enjoyable and I guess, for the guys and girls who work here, it mustn’t feel like they’re coming to work every day; so many of them have told me that. I think, as well, you know the type of people who you’ll be spending most of your hours with. You know, there’s all sorts of initiation trials that go on here so; when someone joins the team – it doesn’t matter if it’s a new cleaner or a new driver – they get the full treatment off us lot. Most of them pass with flying colours, but there’s the odd one who can’t hack it and then you know this might not be the right place for them. There was one driver, I won’t say his name, but he came over here to race for the team for a short time, anyway he didn’t want to get involved with any of that and didn’t want to take part in it. So, obviously, all that does is get everyone on his back even more until eventually he was like “alright, fine, I’ll do it”, but he did it crap so that was that then. Day after day was just one of us doing something, only little things like filling his trainers up with anti-vandal paint or putting wasabi in his drink, but he just had enough of it and didn’t see the funny side at all and ended up leaving as soon as he could. It was a shame really because the lad was a quality driver, but anyway he ended up going back home driving for a team from his home country where I guess he fitted in. SP: That sounds a bit harsh actually. Do you think it ever overstepped the line? JT: Oh yeah, loads of times! Laughs But listen, if you ask Callum [Brandon], [Luke] Stokey, Dino, or Ethan about life during their time here, they’ll tell you it made them stronger, it’s all character building. Drivers come here as boys and leave as men. We’ve just signed a young girl for next season and I’ll tell you now, she’s as sharp as anything. She’s come in and instantly got involved with the craic and started giving it out as much as anyone; she’ll do just fine here. But, you see, once people get past that initial stage and they’re in; that’s it then. If the media is on your back, or if you’ve had a bad day as a driver or team member, anything; the entire group has your back. They’ll run through walls for you. That’s why it all makes sense in the end. SP: I have to admit the whole thing was sounding a little dodgy and unnerving to me but, when you said that at the end, I can sort of see how that might work for the team. JT: We, here at Phoenix, are a tiny fish in an ocean of bloody big sharks and the sport will eat you up and spit you out if you can’t fend for yourself. We know we’ve got to do things a little differently here if we want to stand any chance of surviving. SP: Indeed. Anyway, moving on, what did it mean for you when the team were granted entry to Formula Virtual in 2018, with you slotting into the reserve driver role? JT: That was a really special time. I remember I was here with the lads and I got the call – it wasn’t the gaffer actually, it was Tezza – I had him on speaker and he just goes; “We’re in mate, we’re in!” then all hell breaks loose here. There’s Buck’s Fizz and Lambrini going everywhere, caulks from the bottles and food being thrown around. Pool balls, shoes, a bucket, literally anything that could get thrown… got thrown. Dom and Big Dave are up on the table chanting and singing with their tops off, followed by many drinks being consumed by the lot of us. It was quality. Then I remember there was a meeting that evening with the gaffer and Christian, Tezza, Wardy, myself, Dom, and the FV3 guys were there too; Theo [Blackman], Ryan [Carter], and Jake [Oakley]. The mood was electric but at the same time it was a bit like, “sh*t, what do we do now?”. We had to somehow make, well… whatever that was, into a Formula Virtual team. We had to go from trundling around at the back of the field in FV2, with more penalty points than actual points, to going up against the likes of Downton, Franklin, Mathershaw and the like. Obviously, we knew we wouldn’t be racing them but I just mean being on track with them. Even the teams we’d be fighting at the back – like Meteor who everyone knew were in for a tough year – were absolute leviathans, goliaths compared to our little team operating out of essentially a big shed with no hot water. From my perspective, as a driver, it was clear that the team couldn’t go in with me and Dom in the seats; that’d be suicidal. I’d just had my first season in FV2 and Dom, well… Dom’s Dom… DH: I can hear you; you know! JT: Sorry mate! But yeah, we knew we wouldn’t both get the nod. The gaffer had been on the blower to Carson [Davenport] as soon as FUN collapsed and got that deal struck pretty much instantly when the entry was confirmed, then the second seat was a free-for-all. It was basically a competition we had, in an FV2 car at Oulton Park, to see who could do a quarter length race distance in the fastest time. I can’t even tell you how many drivers came in to try out for it, but to name a few who I remember being there; me, Dom, Theo, Jake Oakley, Callum, Luke Stokey, Alex Didlock, Ivana Pruett, and this African guy… I can’t remember his name now, but he was bloody awful. Honestly, you wouldn’t know he’d ever turned the wheel of a car in his life, never mind a racing car! Mbanefo, that’s it. Anyway, after that calamity, the gaffer and Tezza looked like they’d had enough for the day to be honest, then in comes a Team Principal from another team with this foreign lad. He was unbelievable. He was doing things with the car that shouldn’t have been possible. He was lapping comfortably a second faster than any of us had managed, but going easier on the tyres at the same time! Tezza turned around to me and Dom and – this still makes me laugh to this day – he goes, “that’s it for you two Chuckle brothers then!”. I was gutted, we both were, but this guy was special and you’ve just got to accept that in life sometimes. The Team Principal was Lilly Westwood and the driver was, of course, Sergio. The gaffer and Lilly had been good friends and had a good working relationship for ages so they managed to get a deal done for Sergio to join us on a season long loan, which turned into a permanent move when Westwood pulled out of FV after a few races that year. I ended up getting the reserve role which I was content with, to be fair. Dom was left without any official role at the team in single seaters but was kept around to help with development and ended up driving in the 2018 VTC World Cup, with me and Callum. SP: So, you had a second season in FV2 with Bronislav alongside your reserve duties in 2018, then for the last two seasons you’ve just been Phoenix’s reserve. Has it been strange not racing? JT: A bit, but it’s not like I’ve not been driving. I’ve done the VTC twice with the team and I’ve put countless hours into the simulator, as well as a few Friday practice outings here and there. I’ve still been living the dream; basically travelling around the globe with my mates with front row seats to the best racing series in the world, generally causing mayhem wherever we go, what more could I want!? I’d love to be in one of those seats regularly, but that’s what opportunities like Brazil are for; I have to do what I can whenever I get the chance and show that I deserve a shot at it. SP: We’ll definitely come back to Brazil shortly! But first, I wanted to ask you what it was like a year ago, when the team were in dire financial difficulties. Is it true that the administrators came within minutes of liquidating the team? JT: Yeah, I was there. The team went into administration in the autumn of 2019, which was pretty awful. That was when we had bailiffs coming in taking things to try to pay off the owed debts. Of course, all development of the PX2 had to stop immediately, which really showed at the final two races of the season, and everything started to effectively shut down – we all thought for good. So then, I think it was in the middle of December, there was a meeting between the team and TMF Advisory to discuss the liquidation – or basically the extinction – of Phoenix. I say a meeting, it was a bit of a weird one because TMF is Tezza’s administration company, so there was a bit of a conflict of interests I guess you could say… but he had his administrator hat on and was basically saying, “Look, there’s no way this team can continue for any longer unless substantial funding is found from somewhere”. So he was ready to liquidate the team there and then – which he obviously didn’t want to do but he’d exhausted all other options – but then the gaffer’s sat there on his phone, texting away, and he goes, “Don’t liquidate, we’ve got the investment”. He’d been talking to Lucas [Wilson, Lucas V-Prix Founder & Team Principal], they’d been working on a deal to bring in Wilson Oils as a big sponsor and link the two teams to form some sort of technical partnership. Lucas must’ve given the go-ahead and the deal was done, Phoenix lived to fight another season. Things improved a lot after that, we had the security of Lucas’ funding providing enough to keep the team going whilst also being able to finally attract new sponsors – like XXX Energy – after the previous ones had all disappeared during the dark days. To be fair to them; Downton had always shown faith in us and wanted to do everything they could to help keep the team going when things were looking bleak, and they sent a team of Downton High Performance Engines staff over to work tirelessly on making sure the new engines fit and worked perfectly in the PX3. That pretty much set the tone for this season, I suppose, with the new partnership between Downton, Lucas and ourselves; Downton showing the levels of impeccable determination to succeed which has won them yet another Constructors’ title, then Lucas and ourselves chugging along towards the back of the midfield whilst running absolute riot off track. Things were mental at Phoenix before, but the wild parties hosted by Lucas just took things to a whole new level. I won’t go into all that though, it’s all a bit too recent! SP: That’s probably a good idea! Onto Brazil then, how did it come about, and what does it mean to you to finally be making your Formula Virtual debut? JT: Well, it had been on the cards for a while with the bad luck Thierry was having. So I’d been preparing myself for a while but, regardless, it still came as a shock to the system when Christian told me the decision had been made for Brazil. I’ve felt bad for Thierry at times this season, when he’s lost out on great points because of factors totally out of his control, but that’s how the cookie crumbles sometimes and I’ve just got to go in and do the best job I can do. To finally be making my debut; I can’t quite put into words how proud I am, especially doing it for the team I love. I’ve said it before but the thought of going up to the front of the grid for the national anthem before the race, standing alongside the likes of Nathaniel Powers and all the other legends of Formula Virtual. I’m not sure what Enrique Ruiz will think when he looks to one side of him and sees me standing there with a big cheesy grin on my face! The grid is full of absolute elite drivers who’ve turned into the superstars of Virtual Motorsport in the last eight years or so, then there’s me, just your average bloke from the Midlands with a bit of a beer belly. SP: That’s brilliant, I can’t begin to imagine what it’ll feel like for you. Anyway, James, I think we’ll wrap it up there. It’s been a pleasure today, thank you so much for your time and good luck in Brazil. JT: Nice one Scott, appreciate it!
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