As Formula Virtual arrives in Belgium for the series’ 100th V-Prix, Phoenix Motorsport have announced that, from 2019, they will be known as DS Automobiles Team Phoenix – part of their new-for-next-year deal with DS Automobiles to become an official DS Performance factory team. As has been previously mentioned by Arthur Lapierre, Head of Motorsport for DS Performance and Team Principal of DS Automobiles Team Mathershaw, the DS Phoenix team will be given equal status to DS Mathershaw. Alex Easton, founder and Team Principal of Phoenix, was available to comment on the announcement; “We’ve been waiting to announce this for ages now, there’s been so much going on behind the scenes as we prepare to transition to becoming a fully-fledged DS Performance backed team and there's plenty more to come. It gives me great pleasure to be able to confirm our official team name next season will be Ecotricity DS Automobiles Team Phoenix, which reflects our forthcoming title sponsorship deal with Ecotricity, a company that I personally admire. I very much look forward to finally beginning our partnership with DS Automobiles, as well as the whole Downton-DS family.” Lapierre was also available: “It is with great pleasure that DS Automobiles announce this deal alongside Phoenix Motorsport. Alongside my role at DS Mathershaw, my priority is ensuring the future competitiveness of DS Automobiles in Formula Virtual – this deal is a huge step in making sure that this is going to be the case. Unlike other manufacturers in the sport who simply supply customer engines, we at DS have a very different philosophy – the teams we partner with must enhance the reputation and cause of the brand while upholding our racing values. Phoenix are a wonderful team of racers, and I am very confident this is a partnership that will prove very fruitful for all involved – DS Performance, DS Mathershaw and DS Phoenix – with future cooperation that is yet to be revealed.” DS Automobiles Team Mathershaw Technical Director Robert Mathershaw expanded on the technical aspects of the deal: “As part of my role, I am also in charge of the entire engineering capability of the DS Performance motorsport activities. As such, I will be working very closely with Alex and the Phoenix team, as will key members of my team’s staff, to ensure both teams remain competitive for many years to come.” As of yet, there are still some unanswered questions regarding the full extent of this deal, though it is rumoured that cooperation between the two teams and the French manufacturer may well extend beyond a mere technical partnership, with both teams said to be "very keen, and fully committed" to promoting youth. Comments are closed.
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