The 2020 Formula Virtual season kicks off this weekend and will be the shortest season of FV since 2015 with the calendar back down to sixteen races; South Africa returns while China and Austria have been dropped, meanwhile the opening round will be at Fuji in Japan following on from rumours that Melbourne will also lose its place. This very brief team-by-team preview looks at each team individually. Downton FV Team#13 Klaas van Snelheid (NED) #14 Nathaniel Powers (GBR) Klaas van Snelheid and Nathaniel Powers remains the Downton line up for the fourth season in a row, with Klaas coming into the season having beaten his triple World Champion teammate for the first time in 2019. Matteo Zetticci steps up to the reserve role for the Amesbury based team. Downton’s titanic fight last season with Franklin could have hampered them considerably for this year, and they certainly look to be struggling in comparison to some of their rivals. Make no mistake though, the team clearly knows how to consistently fight for wins and titles and this will not have changed overnight. JFPT Franklin#11 Enzo Domenicalli (ITA) #12 Nick Addison (AUS) The complete U-turn of the Franklin team – who were believed to be leaving the sport after seven years at the top – has led to one of the most sensational stories in Formula Virtual history. Just five days before pre-season testing began was when the news broke that Jamie Franklin’s team would be staying in FV after all – albeit minus all of their former sponsors and without their star man Enrique Ruiz; as the Brazilian had already moved to Mathershaw Porsche. That isn’t the only sensational return either, with former Scuderia Rossi V-Prix winner Enzo Domenicalli making his return to the series; five seasons after he last raced in FV. He will be joined by Australian former IndyVirtual driver Nick Addison. As expected with Franklin’s eleventh-hour entry, testing seemed to indicate an incredibly tough season ahead for the most successful team in history. No one will doubt the talent in the team, but this is the first time they have started in this position, and they will have a long road ahead of them back to the top where they have become so accustomed to belonging. Coca-Cola Porsche Team Mathershaw#1 Enrique Ruiz (BRA) #2 Adrien Simon (FRA) Adrien Simon once again showed his teammate the way in 2019 and even managed to keep himself in the title race – at least mathematically – until the Belgian V-Prix; a strong season for the evergreen veteran World Champion. With the departure of Allar Kangur to Porsche customers Lopez, a new challenge arises for Simon; the 2014, and reigning World Champion Enrique Ruiz. Ruiz joins the team after six full years at Franklin and surely will be the biggest challenge of Adrien’s career to date. With Enrique eager for even more success after fending off the Downton pair for the title last season, this line up is quite rightly seen as the most exciting pairing in Formula Virtual’s history. If Mathershaw can provide the package, their drivers will surely deliver the goods. Porsche’s pace in pre-season testing looked mighty and seems to signal a very strong season ahead for all three Porsche powered teams; especially the Mathershaw factory outfit. The one niggling doubt will be the various reliability issues that plagued the Porsche teams throughout the four days, however, these seemed to be ironed out by the final day. If the general consensus is correct about the gap Porsche Mathershaw have over their rivals; 2020 could be one to remember for the two-time Constructors’ Champions. FIRST Motorsport#73 Felix Perez (MEX) #74 Will Hoskins (GBR) Felix Perez’s second season in Virtual Motorsport’s top tier announced the 23-year-old as a potential rising star, and he had the beating of his slightly more experienced – but slightly younger – teammate Oleksandr Zozulya for the most part. British driver Will Hoskins will replace the Ukrainian for 2020, and brings with him vastly more experience of Formula Virtual. Will has raced for eight different FV teams in the last six seasons and surely, now at 34, he must absolutely prove himself at FIRST and nail down a long-term drive with the team. Now the only team from North or South America following Andromeda’s departure from the sport and Scuderia Meteor now being based in Italy; FIRST look to have made the step up to consistent challengers at the front of the grid. 2019 was their best season yet and if they can have a similar 2020; they will be well on the way to solidifying themselves as one of the very best teams who we expect to consistently see in the top echelon of Formula Virtual. BMPS Scuderia Meteor#5 Lewis Ellington (GBR) #6 Felix Beyer (NED) Lewis Ellington really showed the world that he still has what it takes to mix it with the big guns in Formula Virtual, making an astronomical impact to the team when he joined midway through the season after fellow American team Excelsior disappeared after four V-Prix. However, with Felix Beyer joining the now-Italian team for 2020, he has a very capable teammate on the other side of the garage and must hit the ground running this year to prove to the world that he is truly back to his best. It is now the third time the two have been teammates at different teams, after spells together at Zyla and AMR, and that’s not the only reunion taking place at Scuderia Meteor; as Giani Ledesma returns to the team where he spent six races in 2013. After their late surge last season opinions were split as to whether the team would maintain their position high up in the order, or struggle to hold onto it and drop considerably. The reality seems somewhere in between for the Italian team and it could signal a year of consolidation for the new management. North Star Racing#9 Johan Halvosen (DAN) #10 Gabriele Garcia (BRA) North Star have an unchanged line up for 2020; Johan Halvosen’s third season with the Scottish team and Garcia’s second full season – although the Brazilian enters his fourth season with them after his reserve and stand-in roles in 2017 and 2018. Garcia will be expected to be closer to the highly rated Dane in his second full season in Formula Virtual, but it could be a tough ask. The team seemed to be gearing up for an assault on the top three of Formula Virtual in 2020 however testing seems to indicate that – while North Star have definitely made a step forwards – other teams have made significant gains, leaving North Star in the midst of what looks to be a mouth-watering fight for the title of third or possibly even second fastest team. XXX Energy Phoenix Motorsport#41 Sergio Alvarez (ARG) #42 Thierry Xylander (BEL) Consistency in their driver line up could prove vital for Phoenix as Sergio Alvarez stays with the team for a third season, and will be joined again by Thierry Xylander who made his move from Mathershaw permanent. Last season, the Belgian rookie out-qualified his teammate twelve-five and managed to finish every single race in his debut season, scoring fifteen points along the way and not finishing below twelfth all season after the first six races. However, it was Alvarez who really shone for Phoenix on Sundays, scoring thirty-four points despite not finishing eight races; the most non finishes in the field. If the Argentine can find some luck, and Xylander can continue his consistency, the young pair could certainly help Phoenix challenge the midfield once again. Phoenix’s performance is difficult to gauge after the British team solely ran on the hardest tyre compound for the entire test, seemingly focusing on mileage with their new Downton engine instead of looking for lap time. Team Principal, and Founder, Alex Easton seems to think his team are in for a very tough season but early predictions suggest another year of unremarkable mediocrity for The Worker Bees from Manchester. Ingram V-Prix#37 Jean Mattson (NED) #38 James Vasquez (COL) Ingram is a team famed for its consistency – both on and off the track – and as far as the line up is concerned; 2020 is no different. Jean Mattson, who turned 35 recently, will race for Ingram for a sixth consecutive season and will be joined for the third season in a row by Columbian James Vasquez – who has been very impressive in his career so far. The only major change for Ingram is the switch to Jaguar engines - after Honda departed the sport – and a rather stunning livery change to a predominantly British Racing Green colour scheme. The aforementioned change from Honda to Jaguar power may hurt the Ingram team in the short-term, and testing seemed to suggest they may have dropped behind more teams than expected. But regardless of where they currently sit it is clear that the Jaguar project is a long-term plan which – in theory – should enable the popular British team to soar to new heights. Lopez FV Team#25 Elroy Wagner (GER) #26 Allar Kangur (EST) One of the most exciting pairings this season has to be at Lopez; where 2015 World Champion Elroy Wagner enters his fourth season in yellow and will be joined by seven-time V-Prix winner Allar Kangur; who has joined on a loan deal from the factory Mathershaw Porsche team. Without a doubt this looks to be the best line up Dylan Lopez’s team have fielded to date, these are very exciting times for the Swiss team. 2020 will be Lopez’s first season without Downton engines since the Warrior days of 2014 and 2015, but they seem to have made the change at the perfect time. Porsche have come into Formula Virtual and flexed their muscles; joining with the Mathershaw team to form the works outfit and adding Lopez and Westwood to bolster their roster. Lopez look to have brought their best car to date and, combined with their strongest line up, look set for a fantastic season. Lucas V-Prix#15 Carson Davenport (POR) #16 Marcus Thunder (GBR) Lucas’ disappointing return to Formula Virtual will have hurt team owner Lucas Wilson and word has it that more money has been pumped in to avoid a repeat of 2019 - and their new partnership with fellow Downton customers Phoenix can only be a good thing for the team. Carson Davenport keeps his drive after a hugely impressive return to the Kent-based team in the second half of last year, while Marcus Thunder has what could well be a final chance to prove himself after a miserable 2019 season. Arden Hutchinson steps down to reserve and is joined by ex-Holmqvist reserve Maximilian Thunstrom. The Lucas team were hoping for a change in fortunes from last season and reportedly went back to basics with their 2020 car. The four days in Dijon seemed to show a lack of pace though, and they must turn it around quickly if they are to live up to their hopes and aspirations. Ocelot Japan Racing#81 Hunter Ryan (AUS) #81 Dominykas Zvironas (LIT) 2019 was a very grim reality check for Ocelot after the huge highs of the season before. However, right from the word go, Team Principal Rai Miyamoto made it clear that 2019 would be a year for consolidation and planning for the future; with their new state of the art team base being completed and the beginning of their partnership with Cheema under the Alfa Romeo umbrella. Hunter Ryan performed relatively well against long term Ocelot driver Puccio Giodano and has been kept on for a second season. Giodano, however, departed to the returning Westwood team and will be replaced by reigning VWRS champion Dominykas Zvironas; who becomes the first Lithuanian to grace the Formula Virtual grid. Zvironas must adapt quickly to the step up in class and Hunter Ryan must show maturity beyond his years to lead the Japanese team in their pursuit of the top teams. Testing seems to indicate Ocelot will be one of the biggest movers from 2019 to 2020, with many expecting the Japanese team to possibly be involved in the fight for second place this season. Ryan and Zvironas will have to step up to the mark; as history shows that Ocelot do not tend to wait around if drivers are under performing - especially when at the front of the grid. Cheema FV Racing#17 Nikolai Milkovich (RUS) #18 Tumo Kinnumen (FIN) Cheema’s first season in Formula Virtual must be seen by all as a success for the Irish team. Two points finishes in the second half of the season as well as a number of very respectable performances which ultimately didn’t yield points was a solid start for the team and the fact that they are the only team left out of 2019’s brand new teams is a testament to their dedication and commitment to their long-term future in the sport. Nikolai Milkovich, the second oldest driver on the grid, has been kept on after being so impressive for Cheema in 2019 and he’s joined by ex-Franklin driver Tumo Kinnumen; who will be under pressure from the get go to perform at his new team. Diego Campos drops back down to reserve after his relatively successful stint in the car last year. The team seemed less pleased with their pre-season as each day passed, however early estimates suggest a lower midfield position for the Irish team to begin the season; which would be a very respectable effort considering the ground they made up in 2019. Campos seemed relatively comfortable throughout the four days of testing so now it remains to be seen what Milkovich and Kinnumen can achieve come Japan. Arnello Milner & Ronson Autosport#91 Finn Schnyder (SWI) #92 Dmytro Kovalenko (UKR) The record for the longest points drought for a team in Formula Virtual is held by Meteor – 39 races. The unfortunate reality for AMR is that they currently sit just three races away from equalling the unwanted accolade. After a dreadful 2019, in which they failed to qualify as many times as they made the grid, everyone involved with the Australian outfit will be hoping for much better things this season. Finn Schnyder and Dmytro Kovalenko will both drive for third consecutive seasons with the team, while Emma Wilson will be joined on reserve duties by Lopez loanee Rafael Palou. Emma Wilson participated in all four days of testing for AMR, with regular drivers Schnyder and Kovalenko sitting out the entire test. All seemed to be going as expected until the final day when Emma stunned everyone and topped the session; an indication that there is definite pace in the car. If AMR have managed to build a car for 2020 capable of challenging for points; it will be a very welcome sight indeed. Westwood Racing Technology#69 Karl Beckenbauer (GER) #70 Puccio Giodano (ITA) It’s been almost two years since the Westwood team abruptly left Formula Virtual amid sponsor troubles and financial concerns, but with all that in the past, the popular British team are back. The team’s return is heavily backed by Porsche and boasts a line-up of Karl Beckenbauer and Puccio Giodano who, between them, have seven wins and a further twenty-two podiums to their name so far. Beckenbauer has only entered eight races in the last two years after both seasons were cut short when his teams left after just four races in 2018 and 2019, and the German’s last full season for a single team was way back in 2016 driving for Ocelot. The ex-Mathershaw driver turned 34 earlier this month and this could be his last chance to prove he still has what it takes. Joined by Giodano, it is - without a doubt – a great line up for Westwood in their first season back. Many have predicted Westwood to have one of the strongest ‘new or returning’ seasons we have seen, and their performance in testing backs it up. The reliability problems that Porsche suffered seemed to hit Westwood more than anyone but once the issues were ironed out; they looked to be solid midfield contenders. ROKiT Arrow Mechanics#3 Rodolfo de la Fuente (ESP)
#4 Yakumi Takahashi (JAP) Arrow Mechanics will become the twenty-third constructor to compete in Formula Virtual and will do so with ex-Andromeda driver Rodolfo de la Fuente leading the charge for the German team. De la Fuente was paired with the highly rated Will Hoskins last year and for the most part was quite comfortably out-performed, however, the Spaniard – in his rookie season – did pick up points where it mattered and outscored Hoskins by four points to one. His teammate will be Japanese driver Yakumi Takahashi, who last raced in the now-defunct IndyVirtual series back in 2018. Many predicted a tough first season for the Arrow team as one of only two ‘new’ teams alongside returning Formula Virtual heavyweights Westwood and, indeed, testing seems to back that up. It would be harsh to write them off so early on in the season and any who do may be made to look foolish by the German team – who have plenty of Motorsport pedigree in various other series – however, their first season in Formula Virtual may be a steep learning curve.
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