Japanese team Ocelot have announced in a press conference who they will be supplied by for the 2017 season, the team are known to be moving away from Downton after a two year deal. They were known to be in talks with a couple of manufactures such as Ferrari and Renault or so the rumors in the paddock suggested. The full transcript of what happened at the conference is available below. Rai Miyamoto: Welcome everyone especially to those in Europe; we’d like to apologize for waking you up so early for this announcement. Firstly I’d like to say a big thank you for Downton for helping us find our feet in Formula Virtual; we would like to wish them and DS the very best for the future. So when we first joined Formula Virtual we had an ambitious plan to create a dynasty, a team to be remembered and from the 2017 season we will be in phase two of our plan. So with that being said please allow me to be joined by our 2017 technical partner Jamie Franklin! Jamie Franklin walks down towards the press conference table and shakes hands with Rai Miyamoto before sitting down as attention turns to the media. Reporter: How did the negotiations start? Franklin: Ocelot actually came to us first, notifying us that they had interest in the Honda engine, and from there we discussed what each party would need for the deal to go ahead. It’s no secret that at the start of our relationship with Honda, we were wanting a more exclusive deal with them, but our partnership with Ingram has definitely changed our perspective on this. Miyamoto: Like Jamie said we were extremely interested in obtaining the Honda engine, after all it is championship engine. We were in discussions with a couple of manufactures but in the end we were convinced by Jamie. He’s a good closer, law firms should keep an eye out. Reporter: How does the deal effect your relations with Ingram? Franklin: We have a great working relationship with Ingram. We’re not going to take credit for their successes, but I believe we’ve certainly played a role in helping them get to where they are now as opposed to where they were three years ago, and this new deal won’t change that. Reporter: What made Franklin agree to the deal, following Ocelot’s decision to move away from Downton? Franklin: I don’t think there’s anything in particular that ’made’ us agree to any deal. After some negotiations, we believed it would be in good interest of both teams to engage in this partnership, so it was more just a matter of convicting Ocelot to see why they’d benefit from this as well. Miyamoto: Jamie managed to convince us that there was an interest from both parties which would allow both of our teams to move forward, on top of the fact that we will now have the strongest home nation engine in our cars which should give the people at home something more to cheer about. Reporter: How much will the two teams be involved from a technical stand point and will resources be used from either team? Franklin: We’re still at the foundation of our relationship. It will take time to build things up, and I’m sure as long as both parties continue to prosper from the partnership, then we will be able to provide more resource to help each other. For now, we are focused on helping Ocelot to move further up the grid, as we did with Ingram in 2014. What that will involve specifically will remain a secret though, I’m afraid. Miyamoto: Having seen the developments of Ingram and how they have managed to move higher up the grid, we were certain that this would be the right move for us from a technical point of view. However unfortunately the secrets of the partnership we will not be able to share with the media. Miyamoto: Thank you, everyone for coming that concludes our press conference.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
|