Chapter one of the Franklin memoirs, how did we get here?... Last year I announced my retirement from Formula Virtual, it was a tough year personally, and I felt the need to put more focus into my business, and that of course is still going to be the focus. Without a job, I need my business to be successful in order to live, and therefore everything else takes a backseat.
Towards the end of 2019, I was approached by Mathershaw Porsche in order to be their Head of Human Performance. This gave me the chance to take what I believe I do best and help people achieve their goals, both physically and mentally, without the added strain of worrying about performance targets, managing people, talking to sponsors, media days etc. Don’t get me wrong, I loved running Franklin for the majority, but it did become a little bitter towards the end. More than anyone else, I put pressure on myself to perform, I’m a perfectionist, I want to be the best and if I’m not, or if I’m not perceived that way, I struggle. But that’s not how things were when I first started. In 2013 it was the passion for competing and the enjoyment of that that kept me going for so long. I lost that along the way trying to cement a legacy. Not only that, but funds were running awfully low as well. Keeping a driver of Ruiz’ calibre is not cheap, and when frustrations build, things can go wrong. You may remember rumours of sponsors wanting to pull out even before I announced my retirement from the sport, and whilst that wasn’t a catalyst for it, it certainly didn’t aid in my decision. The rumours were true, and every sponsor jumped ship as if we were infected by the plague. In the end, Franklin’s success became its downfall. Whilst we were able to use what we had to fight to the end with Downton, which once again was hampered by reliability with twelve retirements across the season, it meant that even if we wanted to continue for 2020, it would be just a shadow of our former selves. So what does this all mean? It means we’re about to head into the first chapter, starting at the beginning. JFPT Franklin-Honda - 2020 - A new chapter - Franklin returns Surprised? So am I. This was never the intention, but it’s time to start a fresh, no car yet, no sponsors, a fraction of the size we used to be, no Ruiz but an almost finalised contract for a returning Italian heading up the team. 2020 is going to be our toughest year yet. The old Franklin was about putting people down to raise ourselves up. The new Franklin will aim to inspire and prove what’s possible for everybody.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
|