Formula Virtual team Phoenix Motorsport have become the latest team to reveal their 2021 challenger – the PX4 – at the Oulton Park circuit today, in front of a small crowd of media representatives and fans. The Mancunian team also unveiled their new title sponsor following the sudden split from XXX Energy. The event began in a temporary structure providing cover from the mid-February Northern weather, with Alex Easton [Phoenix Motorsport Founder] and Terry McCarroll [Phoenix Motorsport Head of Sponsorship & PR] addressing the assembled media. Alex Easton: “Welcome everyone and thank you for coming out here today, it’s great to see so many familiar faces, I hope you’ve all helped yourself to warm drinks from the side there. 2020 was obviously a much more difficult year for Phoenix compared to 2018 & 2019 in terms of on track performance, although it made a nice change to not have some sort of financial meltdown that threatened the team; all thanks to the fantastic partnerships we’ve built with Lucas V-Prix, Wilson Oils, and of course Downton High Performance Engines. To explain a little more about what has gone on behind the scenes over the winter break, I’ll hand you over to Tezza.” Terry McCarroll: “Cheers Alex, hello everyone. So, I have to begin with the news that I think you’re all aware of by now; that the contract between Phoenix Motorsport and XXX Energy – which included the title sponsorship agreement – has been terminated. This was due to the company being, well, not exactly as we believed them to be with regards to the product. In all honesty, this was allowed to slip through the net as a result of us not conducting our due diligence, or fit and proper, tests properly and I take full responsibility for that. Phoenix Motorsport has relied on title sponsors in the previous two seasons to maintain the level of competition that has been sustained throughout its existence in Formula Virtual and, while we now have the security from our partners Wilson Oils, the story is still the same with the benefits of having a title sponsor. This leads us nicely onto the bit where we reveal our new title sponsor so, Ian, could we have the projector on please?” Technician struggles with setting the projector up before it finally works, greeted with a short applause from the small crowd. TM: “Alright brilliant. So, on the projector screen behind me you can see the logo of our new title sponsor; Royal Blondes. Royal Blondes CEO Jean-Claude Chazelas couldn’t make it over here today from France but we have a very short video from him up on the screen, I believe, if I press this it should play…” Jean-Claude Chazelas: “Bonjour, salut, hi. It is with great pleasure that I announce this new partnership of Royal Blondes and Phoenix Motorsport. Royal Blondes is a company that embraces the reputation we have as a little underdog over our rivals and we see that similarity at Phoenix Motorsport. The performances of this little team so far have caught the eye of Virtual Motorsport fans and I was one of the ones to sit down and notice them. I am very happy to start what we hope will be a very long partnership between the two of us.” TM: “There we go then, great to hear from Monsieur Chazelas there. As for the rest of our sponsorships; Wilson Oils of course remain as a big sponsor for the team as a part of our ongoing technical partnership with Lucas V-Prix, while Platinum Estate, Vibrant Boards, V Foods, T&T Welding, Flame, and TMF Advisory all stay on for another year, as well as our technical partners Downton, McLaren, Goodyear, STOP-Tech, EnviroMat, and Crown Logistics. So, I think all that is left now is for me to hand back over to Alex for the moment I’m sure you’re all here for.” AE: “Nice one Tezza, let’s get these covers off. JT, Dom, if you guys could do the honours please.” Reserve drivers James Thompson and Dominic Hanson pull the burgundy covers off, revealing the PX4. AE: “As you can see, she’s a bit different to the Phoenix look that you’ve all become accustomed to! The title sponsorship with Royal has of course inspired this new look Phoenix, but whilst we are all fully behind the idea of refreshing the teams look, we all knew it was imperative for the burgundy to remain a big part of the livery as it is undoubtedly sewn into Phoenix’s identity now. Here at Phoenix we’re all absolutely buzzing to begin our partnership with Royal and we’re confident that it’s the start of a long and successful journey together. However, we are under no illusions for 2021. The upcoming season promises to be our most challenging season to date in Formula Virtual; with such an unbelievably vast number of teams we expect to be making a big push towards the upper regions of the field this year. The competition really has never been stronger, with the usual goliaths up at the front and an impressively large array of teams right behind them, pushing to become best of the rest. I think, with the new rules coming in this season, it was always going to be hard to get right from the beginning so rather than gambling away our small amount of resources by going with a radical design as some teams have reportedly done; we have aired on the side of caution with a view to build on these foundations in the following months and years. Right, so once you’ve all finished taking your pictures and the like, there’s plenty of refreshments at the side for you to enjoy, then make your way over to the track in an hours’ time when JT will take the PX4 out for the very first time! Thank you to everyone for coming today, enjoy the rest of your day.”
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
|