Following the Downton announcement after the British V-Prix - where the team confirmed their 2021 line up will remain unchanged – Downton Engines customer team Phoenix Motorsport have today confirmed their first signing for next season. In a move that has left the Formula Virtual paddock and FV fans alike questioning ‘Why?’, Phoenix confirmed via their official Twitter account that 30-year-old British driver Dominic Hanson will join the FV team for 2021. The team confirmed ‘Big Dom’ will be their test and reserve driver, although Belgian youngster Thierry Xylander has been the victim of increasing media pressure this season after a poor start to the year, and some have even called for the 20-year-old to be dropped. On the signing of Hanson, Team Principal Alex Easton said; “I suppose, to anyone who doesn’t know the team, Dom may look like a slightly left field choice for 2021. However, he has been with Phoenix right from the beginning in 2015 – bar the odd year – and has been crucial in the development of the team from being a junior series team literally operating out of a glorified shed, to a Formula Virtual team operating out of… well, a slightly bigger shed. Whilst I cannot confirm just how much time Dom will get in the car in 2021 aside from tests and practice, I can confirm that he will – as the most senior driver - be acting as a mentor to all drivers contracted to Phoenix including all of our young drivers coming through the junior series.” Dominic Hanson showed his delight in a tweet: Hanson’s career so far has yielded few achievements; possibly the highlight of his career so far being a race in EJGPC (FV3) in 2014 where he beat pole sitter – and Formula Virtual race winner - Allar Kangur to finish second in Belgium, it was his second and final podium at Tier 3 level. That winter he began the 2014-15 FV2 Winter Series with American Engineering but was dropped after scoring no points in six races. After that disappointment Hanson was picked up by Phoenix Motorsport for their debut season in FV2 where he failed to score a point; his best finish being eleventh. He was then dropped for 2016 before making his FV2 comeback with Phoenix; where he duly failed to score a point again, with a best finish of fourteenth. The Mancunian team then made the big step up to Formula Virtual and Hanson was moved across to the team’s VTC team and in 2020 so far, the Brit is currently yet to score a point.
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