Royal Phoenix Motorsport launched their challenger for the 2023 Formula Virtual World Championship today in an online live launch video, hosted by FVTV’s Scott Parkin. Scott Parkin: Good afternoon everyone and welcome to the 2023 Royal Phoenix Motorsport launch event. I’m Scott Parkin and I’m delighted to have you all joining us as the new season of Formula Virtual draws ever nearer. Phoenix come into 2023 off the back of their best ever season, having finished in an incredible third place last year – behind only Porsche Mathershaw and Downton. Will Taylor impressed in his debut season in Formula Virtual and will be joined this year by one of the hottest young prospects around at the moment; Ott Eskola. Shortly we’ll speak to both Will and Ott, reserve drivers James Thompson and Abel Osterhagen, as well as Alex Easton, but first let’s take a look at Phoenix’s brand-new car; the PX6. SP: Royal Blondes keep their title sponsorship with Phoenix Motorsport for a third season, with the livery once again reflecting that. Long term sponsors Platinum Estate, V Foods, Flame, T&T Welding, Vibrant Boards and TMF Advisory all appear once again, alongside technical partners; Goodyear, Wilson Oils, STOP-Tech, EnviroMat and Crown Logistics. Two brand new sponsors join Phoenix for their 2023 campaign; transport company Beeline, and Jacksons Barometrics. It was the huge investment from Royal and Wilson Oils over the last few years that enabled Phoenix to build the fantastic facility known as The Hive, alongside their base in Middleton, Manchester. The Hive – both the facility and Phoenix’s Young Driver Academy under one name – is a fantastic development that will enable the British team to continue their support of aspiring racing drivers for many years to come. The current three members of The Hive; Chloe King, Barney Hoskins, and Zayna Radif, spoke about their upcoming 2023 campaigns. Zayna Radif: So this year will be my first since Phoenix signed me to their academy last season, when I was racing for Perfection in VOARS. For 2023, I’ll be racing in VERS for OSM. I’ll be up against some super talented drivers in VERS so for sure it’s going to be really tough but, it can only be good for me to prove myself against the very best drivers around my age. Barney Hoskins: This season is a huge year for me in my career as I make the step up into VWRS with OSM. The last two years in VERS have exceeded even my own expectations, finishing second in 2021 then taking the title last year, so now I need to really kick on and make my mark in the second tier. Chloe King: It feels weird to say I’m heading into my final year as a member of The Hive, it really does seem like only yesterday I signed as an official Phoenix young driver heading into that amazing 2021 campaign, then to be here now in my ‘graduation’ year is honestly crazy. I was kinda okay with how my debut VWRS year went in 2022, but I really want to step it up again this season. I really hope to be right up there with the top guys in this series and I know my team will give me the tools to do it, so it’s up to me to show what I’ve got. SP: It’ll certainly be interesting to see how Chloe, Barney and Zayna fare in their respective 2023 series. Now, let’s bring out the key Phoenix team members; Team Principal Alex Easton, race drivers Will Taylor and Ott Eskola, as well as reserve and development drivers James Thompson and Abel Osterhagen. First of all, Will; your debut season in Formula Virtual last year went well, by all accounts. What do you think you did well last year and how can you replicate that this season, can you lead the team? Will Taylor: Cheers, yeah, I was definitely happy with how things went last year. Making the switch from eVirtual to FV was always going to be a bit strange, but I thought I adapted pretty well. I tried to focus on consistency and trying to pace myself against Allar, who was obviously one of the toughest teammates I could’ve possibly had in my first year here. I was generally happy with the gaps to Allar both in lap times and overall championship standings at the end of the year – despite missing Mexico. This season I’ll be stepping into the role of lead driver, as you say, so I need to maintain my consistent performances on track but focus on providing the team with concise feedback about the car and working with everyone to drive us all forwards over the course of the season and into the future. I know this guy next to me is going to push me as hard as any teammate has ever done in the past, I think we’ve got a great dynamic here. SP: Absolutely, speaking of your new teammate; Ott, how does it feel to finally be at the point of making your Formula Virtual debut? What are your personal goals for this year? Ott Eskola: Hi Scott. Yeah for sure it’s really nice. My goals for this year? To beat Will. Laughs with Taylor That is all for now, we see where we are in the test. SP: Short and sweet, but I can already tell this is going to be a teammate battle to watch in 2023. Okay, Abel! A face I’ve not seen in some time, how are you? What have you been up to and how does it feel to be back as an official reserve driver in Formula Virtual? Abel Osterhagen: Good to see you again Scott, it has been some time! I am well thank you, in good shape since the deal was done last year for me to join Phoenix. Since my time with Warrior all those years ago, I have mainly raced in Virtual Touring Cars – I raced with Phoenix actually. Then in recent years I was primarily competing in Virtual Rally Championship. But yes, it feels so good to be back in the FV circles, I’m here to help Phoenix in any way I can. SP: Fantastic stuff, it’s great to see you back Abel. So, James, what does this mean for you? Will your duties be reduced with Abel coming into the fold? James Thompson: Err, sort of I suppose? We’ll share the reserve driver role between the two of us, doing eight races each, then we’ll also share time in the simulator and developing the car. We did the same with Dommo recently so it’s nothing new, I think it works brilliantly for everyone really. SP: Sounds like a good system that works for everyone. Alright, finally, Alex; good to see you again after what feels like a long winter! What shape are the team in coming into this year? It feels unusually calm and coordinated! Alex Easton: It certainly has felt like a long winter, we’re all raring to go here. You’re right, it’s a strange feeling but Phoenix Motorsport is in a fantastic place at the moment. This is the second winter in a row where we’ve had the luxury of not having to worry about bailiffs, liquidation or suchlike, which is of course all down to the incredible backing we get from Downton, McLaren, Royal Blondes and Wilson Oils in particular, as well as our other fantastic sponsors of course. But, with that financial stability comes expectation. Following our mind-blowing season last year, finishing third behind two of Formula Virtual’s all time great teams, everyone’s eyes will be on us to continue that trajectory but I really do have to stress that those expectations are not necessarily shared by everyone on the inside at Phoenix. 2022 was an incredible year but we can’t ignore the fact that an exceptional set of circumstances allowed us to end up in the position we found ourselves in. That’s not to discredit the efforts of everyone involved at Phoenix, they know that, but we have to be realistic and we all know that we’re in for a titanic battle to hold onto that position. We expect a number of teams to make a big step this year whereas we’re probably at our glass ceiling, to be honest. But, as always, we’ll do our best with a smile on our faces and see where we end up. Pre-season testing next week is sure to be absolutely intriguing. SP: It certainly is going to be! Right, well, that brings us to the end of the launch event here for Phoenix’s PX6, time will tell whether it can live up to the bar set by the PX5. Thank you to everyone for tuning in today, we’ll see you in a few days’ time for pre-season testing!
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