Phoenix Motorsport test and reserve driver Dominic Hanson will make his Formula Virtual race weekend debut in the Japanese V-Prix, in a last-minute change that could not have happened any later in the day. The team was due to run regular reserve driver James Thompson in place of the injured Thierry Xylander for the opening round of the season, but despite beginning the weekend in Friday practice yesterday – where Thompson set a time just one hundredth shy of teammate Sergio Alvarez – the team were forced into a last minute change before qualifying when the infamous JT “couldn’t be located”. The team have remained tight lipped on the matter, but when pressed for a comment Terry McCarroll simply said “JT couldn’t be located. We’ve had no other option but to chuck Dommo in at the last minute with no practice.” This means that Dominic Hanson, from Great Britain, will make his unexpected Formula Virtual debut at the age of 32; becoming the oldest ever driver to make an FV debut other than those at the inaugural race of the series in 2013. Hanson began his career in the 2014 FV3 season, finishing seventeenth with 39 points. The following year, he joined Phoenix for the first time; racing for them in FV2 where he failed to score a single point and was subsequently dropped for 2016. He then made a surprise return to the team for 2017 – partnering James Thompson – when both Callum Brandon and Luke Stokey made the step up to IndyVirtual. Hanson once again failed to score a point and, when Phoenix were granted entry to Formula Virtual in 2018, moved to a new role as a development driver. With 2017 being the last time he raced ‘competitively’; it will be a tough ask to make the huge step up to FV four years after his last FV2 race.
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