Royal Phoenix Motorsport have today revealed their livery for the 2022 Formula Virtual World Championship, which will be piloted by multiple race winner Allar Kangur and eVirtual frontrunner Will Taylor. Phoenix enter their second season under their title sponsorship deal with Royal Blondes, after a slightly disappointing 2021 season in which the team struggled in their midfield battle with Ocelot and Ingram, eventually finishing ninth – for the second season in a row – in the Constructors’ Championship. Ahead of the 2022 campaign – which will begin at the Suzuka circuit in April, following on from pre-season testing at Jerez in March – Phoenix released images on their social media of their new car. The livery on the car looks to be very much the same as the previous year, but with the addition of some classic Phoenix fluo yellow. Phoenix Founder and Team Principal Alex Easton: “Last season was a difficult one for us, to be honest, although it was to be expected. We were very conservative with our approach to the new rules, instead of going with a radical design that could potentially be a costly failure. So, of course, we started the year with a very basic car, and it showed. The team did a great job over the course of the season, though, quickly learning exactly which direction we needed to go down to get ourselves up into that midfield pocket. We got our first ever pole position, thanks to Thierry, and came agonisingly close to our first ever podium, so the progress last season was actually quite remarkable. Onto the new car, Gary and his team have done a fantastic job from what I’ve seen. We don’t ever get too ahead of ourselves but, if I’m being honest, I’d be disappointed if we didn’t come away with a solid seventh to ninth placed finish again, come the end of the year. A big part of achieving that will obviously lie with the drivers; Allar is, without a doubt, the most prestigious driver to have ever sat in a Phoenix Motorsport car and we’re all so excited to see what he can do this season. Alongside him, it's going to be a very different experience for Will, coming over from eVirtual. He’s an experienced driver, though, so I’m sure he’ll get up to speed much quicker than we’ve seen with the likes of Thierry and even Sergio in the past. It’s an incredibly exciting line up for Phoenix and the new livery looks fantastic.” Phoenix Technical Director Gary Haythornthwaite: “The PX5 is the first Phoenix designed entirely without Christian’s [Sear] input, with myself leading the design team for the first time on this year’s car. Of course, Christian always did a fantastic job with the predecessors, so there’s a heck of a lot of pressure to live up to those high standards that have been set in the previous four years in Formula Virtual. I’m confident we’ve got a good package this year, though, a solid baseline which should have plenty of scope to develop heavily upon as time goes on.” Phoenix driver Allar Kangur: “This is a big change for me, coming from my years in race winning teams. But, 2022 is an exciting new challenge and I am relishing the upcoming fight. Porsche have made it possible for me to still be a Formula Virtual driver and so I am always grateful to have them behind me, I will prove to them again that I can fight for a position in their team.” Phoenix driver Will Taylor: “It’s great to finally be here. After all these years in other series like IndyVirtual and eVirtual, I’m finally here at a Formula Virtual team reveal. It feels fantastic. I really like the livery for this season’s car, I always had a soft spot for the Phoenix liveries in their early days and it’s nice to see that fluorescent yellow back. I can’t wait to get to pre-season testing next month.” With Phoenix’s fifth car now revealed, there are two key questions for the Mancunian team in 2022; How will their all new line up fare? It’s the first time since Phoenix entered Formula Virtual that one of their cars will not be driven by team icon Sergio Alvarez, after the Argentinian swapped his burgundy overalls for Lopez’s yellow this season. Allar Kangur is undoubtedly a top talent, and Will Taylor has consistently impressed in every other series, but will the pair have the tools at their disposal to compete in an intense midfield battle? Can Phoenix reclaim seventh? If the answer to the former question is yes, the next question is can Phoenix compete enough to reclaim the coveted seventh place finish in the Constructors’ Championship? Team Principal Alex Easton usually makes no secret that seventh is their usual aim, since achieving it in both 2018 and 2019, but ninth place has been the norm since then. It will be tough, though. The historically big teams – Downton, Porsche, Franklin, and FIRST – are unlikely to drop the ball much from their usual high standards, while the likes of Lucas, Ingram, Lopez, and Ocelot look set to continue growing in strength, making it look as though ninth place may well be the best Phoenix can hope for, again.
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