Welcome to another edition of the ‘Let’s get to know…’ series, hosted by me Scott Parkin of FVTV. This series aims to, whilst keeping it short and sweet, provide an insight into various people from inside the Formula Virtual paddock ranging from the famous drivers to the behind-the-scenes staff at some of the teams. Today we welcome the first non-driver of the series so far; a Team Principal whose team – founded in 2014 – made their Formula Virtual debut in 2018 and have become known for punching above their weight ever since. Welcome Alex Easton, Founder and Team Principal of Royal Phoenix Motorsport! Alex Easton: Punching above our weight basically just means we’re crap but likeable, right? I’ll settle for that! Laughs It's great to be here Scott, thanks for having me. Right, let’s crack on shall we? Scott Parkin: Tell us about yourself as a person, and how do you think the people who know you most would describe you? AE: To describe myself… I guess I’d say I’m very easy to get along with and approachable but also a very driven and motivated individual who always works hard to maximise results in anything that I do. I think my biggest downfall is allowing my heart to rule my head, at times, whereas if you look at the most successful people in our sport – and indeed in life – they tend to be ruthless with their decision making. As for how people who know me would describe me? Well, I can’t be too sure, I suppose it depends who you ask! But I guess I’d hope that people who know me best would describe me as someone who’s always up for a good laugh but is always ready to offer help in any way possible, just a nice guy, I guess! SP: What do you most enjoy doing in your free time? AE: I’m not ashamed to say that my free time almost entirely revolves around sport! When I’m not studying or taking care of anything to do with Phoenix or Formula Virtual in general, I’m most likely watching some other form of motorsport or football, playing football, or keeping fit. But of course, I do value my family and friends above all else so I love spending time with them, or enjoying wildlife and nature in general. SP: What music do you listen to the most? AE: I definitely don’t restrict myself to one type of music, but I guess the sort of music that would come up as my ‘most listened to’ would be Indie, Britpop, or rock. I’ve always been big on my Mancunian bands like Oasis and The Courteeners, and I actually used to do a bit of radio presenting back in the day for a station that played that sort of stuff! SP: What is your favourite food? AE: This is a tough one. Does the question mean which food do I enjoy the most, regardless of the effect it has on me, or which food do I actually eat regularly that I love? SP: Is there a difference? AE: For me, a huge difference! Okay, so, for the foods that I enjoy the most and could absolutely gorge all day – chocolate, specifically those big stodgy blockie things that you can get from cookie shops, bloody hell they’re good! But, for a food that is actually part of my diet that I love… can I just say chicken? Pretty much every single evening meal revolves around some form of chicken for me! Either chicken or rag pudding – an old Lancashire favourite! SP: Do you have any fears? AE: I really am not scared of much at all, to be honest, other than being stuck inside with an angry wasp! I’m fine if I’m outside, but if I’m in an enclosed spaced with one, I really don’t like it. Although, I am getting better with them slowly! SP: What is your greatest achievement outside of motorsport? AE: I think I’d have to say the last year has been the thing I’m most proud of, actually. Going back to study at 25 was something I wasn’t sure would go very well; I worried my brain might not be able to take information in as well as when you’re a kid. But I’ve actually exceeded my own expectations and achieved the highest grades possible across the board, so I’m definitely proud of that. SP: If you had not worked in Virtual Motorsport, what do you think you would have done instead? AE: It’s easy now for me to say I probably would’ve worked in conservation, or wildlife rehabilitation, but when I first got into Virtual Motorsport I was working in retail, then as a plumber! So, I suppose if things had gone down that path then I’d be a Gas and Heating Engineer. SP: Who is your idol outside of FV? AE: Gary Neville. As a United fan growing up, I’m sure you can imagine that most people idolise the world class players like Ronaldo, Giggs, Beckham, or Scholes, and I absolutely did love them, but for me I’ve always loved Gary for his incredible work rate and mentality. For a player like him, who wasn’t necessarily the most talented player, to make it with the biggest team in the world and have the career that he did… it’s a testament to where hard work can get you. Every sports team needs a Gary Neville. SP: Who is your idol in the world of FV? AE: It’s actually probably easier for me to answer this question than it would be for a lot of Team Principals. Because I spent so long as a Team Principal with Phoenix in the junior series before actually getting into FV, I was able to admire teams in the series without actually being a competitor. I guess you’d have to give credit to the guys at the very top; who have stayed consistent over the course of a number of years and rule changes. The likes of Bradley [Downton], Arthur [Lapierre], and Jamie [Franklin] have all run multiple World Championship winning teams and kept themselves at the top by – quite simply – being amongst the very best at what they do. However, as someone who doesn’t get too involved with the technical side of things, I really do have a huge amount of time for the Technical Directors of those top teams. Declan [Johnson] and Robert [Mathershaw] are probably the best in the business with the unbelievable knowledge they have to maintain the unbelievable performance of their teams, year on year. William Vancouver was exceptional as well, those Franklin cars were scarily good in the early days of FV. SP: Who are your closest friends in FV, drivers or anyone else? AE: Well, as I’m sure anyone would expect, everyone under the Downton High Performance Engines umbrella is very close; so, everyone at both the Downton and Lucas teams are good friends of mine. Rob is a guy I have a lot of time for, we’ll often spend huge amounts of time in the paddock discussing everything from technical regulations, to places in France, to our shared love of company branding and logos! Lilly has always been there to offer help from the very beginning, but I actually do feel incredibly lucky to be able to say that I’m good friends with a lot of people up and down the paddock; so many people involved in Formula Virtual have helped me down the years and are people I’d call true friends. I also can’t forget Christian [Sear], we go way back like reclining car seats! We pretty much became best mates when we were shy little one-year olds and it’s just stayed that way ever since! SP: What do you enjoy most about being in Formula Virtual? AE: Being interviewed by you guys! Do I get a present for saying that? Laughs But seriously, that’s another tough one. There are far too many things to list that I love about Formula Virtual, so for me to pick just one thing out from that is really hard. I think I’d have to say… pauses for thought hmm, watching careers develop. One of Phoenix’s main aims, when we set the team up in late 2014, was to help bring young drivers through the ranks and give them a pathway in Virtual Motorsport, basically enabling them to have the best chance of succeeding in Formula Virtual. I’d say we’re well on our way to beginning to achieve that. When you look at how Sergio [Alvarez] and Thierry [Xylander] have developed in their time with us, that’s exactly what we set out to achieve! Sergio is off to a very successful race winning team and Thierry has got himself a move to one of the most successful teams of all time. We’ve also brought JT up with us from FV3, through FV2, and into Formula Virtual; I believe I’m right in saying that we’re the only team and driver combination to compete together at all three levels. We’ve given Dom [Hanson] his debut in Formula Virtual, too, something that he thought he’d never be able to achieve and I’m sure no one really expected! Additionally, we’ve got a thriving Youth Academy; with Dan [Zientek] recently being promoted to race in Formula Virtual next season, Ott [Eskola] going well in his debut season in VWRS, and Chloe [King] looking fantastic in VERS. SP: What has been your personal favourite race so far and why? AE: Oh no, this is the hardest so far, I can only just remember what I did this morning! Well, from the perspective of Phoenix, we’ve had a couple of races very recently that will be remembered forever as some of our best weekends! Thierry’s pole at Hockenheim was a landmark moment for the team, but obviously that was a Saturday. The race itself was fantastic, though, with Sergio having a stormer and Thierry driving superbly up until he got held in the pits. Then, of course, Dubai was a whole new level. The stress, excitement, hope, and ultimately disappointment at missing out at the final corner – a feeling we know all too well – all just combined to make it a race that everyone involved with Phoenix will remember forever. If I take my Phoenix Team Principal hat off, though, I think three races stand out to me as the best of all time. USA 2014 is a V-Prix which is always talked about when people ask about their favourite race – especially if your name is Ahmed Cheema or William Ingram! Another that I remember being an absolute classic was Brazil 2018, where you had Allar [Kangur] and Adrien [Simon] tied on points going into the race, with Nathaniel [Powers] about nine points behind, and in typical Powers style he managed to capitalise on the DS Mathershaw boys having issues and take the title after just one win all season! The third one, and my personal favourite race ever, was Spa in 2018; FV 100. The occasion alone would’ve already had it right up there amongst the best, but the race itself was absolutely brilliant! I might be slightly biased because it was Big Carson [Davenport], in the commemorative Golden Phoenix livery, who was one of the guys that just seemed to know exactly how to get the tyres switched on perfectly, to the point where he was chasing down the likes of Powers and Ruiz and then bloody passing the pair of them! Not only that, but throughout the field there was quality racing and a good few teams running special liveries – the whole weekend was just the absolute epitome of Formula Virtual at it’s very best. SP: Do you look at any driver or team and see them as a rival? AE: Not to the extent that true rivalries get to, no. I mean, in our sport, everyone is a rival of course, but down at Phoenix I don’t think we’ve ever been in a competitive enough position to really forge a true rivalry with any team – like Downton vs Franklin vs Mathershaw, or when teams like Team 23, Westwood, Ocelot or FIRST have pushed those guys hard. I suppose we’ve more often than not found ourselves in tight battles with Ingram, we always seem to be fairly close together in terms of performance! But we’ve always had a great relationship with Will and the team, so any rivalry there is purely on track. I suppose Ocelot have always been close to us on track as well, except 2018, so maybe that could develop into something if we get more battles for crucial position! But realistically, who would honestly come out and say that they see Phoenix as their bitter rivals? We’re just a bunch of Garagistes operating out of a shed in Greater Manchester! SP: Which team do you admire the most other than your own, and why? AE: Anyone who says they don’t admire the consistent success of Downton would be either lying, or someone who can’t stand back and appreciate long term planning and continued success. The job that they’ve done to be the team to beat since 2017 is simply phenomenal, they’ve had the sort of success recently that I’m sure we all aspire to. But I’d also like to give a quick shout out to the guys down at AMR. They’ve been through absolute hell since early 2017 with massive financial problems – which we know all about – and the loss of Ryan [Petersen] from the team, but they’ve come out of the other side and are finally looking a solid midfield outfit again so I do admire everyone at that team for the work they’ve done. SP: And finally, who would you like to nominate as the next person to do a ‘Let’s get to know…’? AE: Skims down the list Hmm, let’s see… oh! Well, in light of recent rumours suggesting he’s secured a drive for next season, how about Zetticci? SP: That’s fantastic, thank you so much for your time Alex and all the best for the remainder of the season!
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