Formula Virtual team Phoenix Motorsport have revealed why reserve driver James Thompson was unavailable for yesterday’s Japanese V-Prix, which subsequently led to the team’s test and development driver Dominic Hanson making his FV debut. The freak accident that Phoenix’s Thierry Xylander suffered during the winter break meant that he was not quite back in time for the first race and with James Thompson being Phoenix’s regular reserve driver – a position he has held throughout the entirety of the Mancunian team’s Formula Virtual life – he was expected to stand in for the injured Belgian, and so it seemed when he completed Friday practice. However, to the surprise of the watching world, it was Dominic Hanson who lined up alongside lead driver Sergio Alvarez on Saturday for the first qualifying session of the 2021 season; where he qualified 25th before enduring a tough race on Sunday but nonetheless brought the car home undamaged. This morning, the team released an official statement to shed some light on what happened; “Following the practice session on Friday, James [Thompson] took the decision to partake in festivities to celebrate his forthcoming 27th birthday, which fell on race day. Unfortunately, James ended the night in a compromised state and, upon returning to the hotel on Saturday morning, suffered a nasty head injury after an incident with a window resulted in a trip to the hospital to have stitches. The timing of this made it impossible for James to take any further part in the race weekend and so it was necessary to draft Dominic [Hanson] in at the very last minute.” Thompson could not be reached for comment but this latest incident is just the latest of its nature in the long list of misdemeanours that the infamous British driver has been involved in, which will inevitably draw questions about his – and Phoenix’s – professionalism and approach to the sport. With an immediate turnaround for the Malaysian V-Prix this coming weekend, Phoenix have confirmed that Thierry Xylander is now back to full fitness and will retake his position back alongside Alvarez.
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