Phoenix Motorsport
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This article is about the team that competes outside of Formula Virtual. For the Formula Virtual constructor, please see Phoenix.
Phoenix Motorsport is a British racing team that previously competed in the FV2 Series and the FV3 Series before joining Formula Virtual as a constructor in 2018. The team currently competes in the 2024 Virtual Porsche Cup.
History
Origins
Phoenix Motorsport was founded in 2014 by Alex Easton; who is a motor racing enthusiast from Manchester, United Kingdom. Easton, along with lifetime friend Christian Sear, started the team with the goal of helping young British drivers get their chance to prove themselves in virtual motorsport.
FV2
In early 2015, Phoenix were accepted into the FV2 Series as the 12th team after a huge transformation of the series.
2015
The team confirmed they would be running English drivers Callum Brandon and Dominic Hanson for 2015.
Phoenix didn't get off to the best of starts, failing to score in he first two round. Brandon gave them their first points finish in Spain though. After struggling to 22nd in the feature race, but the sprint race was chaotic with just 12 finishers. Brandon held his nerve and finished 10th, picking up a point. Portugal went even better: Brandon took 12th in the feature and finished in fourth the next day, the team's highest finished. More spontaneous points came every now and then, with 6th for Brandon in Britain being one of the teams highlights of the season after a gusty drive. Phoenix's day of days came however in the German sprint race, when after 12th in the feature, Brandon kept 2nd at the start, and with some very firm defensive moves held on until the end, picking up the team's first podium. Brandon ended the season with 41 points, but Phoenix only placed 12th, as Hanson never picked up a point.
In late 2015 Phoenix applied to join the 2016 Formula Virtual grid as a 13th entry, but their application was unsuccessful as FIRST, one of many other teams to apply, was accepted onto the grid. Easton commented shortly after the news broke, congratulating FIRST and Team Principal Adam Blocker. He then went on to say that Phoenix Motorsport will continue to improve and possibly expand into other junior formulae, depending on certain circumstances.
2016
For 2016, Brandon was retained by the team and 2013 IJGPC champion Luke Stokey joined in place of Hanson, who took a year out of racing.
Once again Phoenix had a poor start, with just 3 points from the opening race making up their tally after 3 rounds. Stokey finally got off the mark in Germany with 8th in the feature race, and finished every race in the points over the next three rounds, a record for the team. Brandon meanwhile was struggling against a more competitive teammate, as a double points finish in Italy was the only time he took points apart from the first race. Just like last season, the team took one podium, this time in the USA sprint race with Stokey. Phoenix scored 5 points more then 2015, improving to 11th in the championship.
2017
Both Brandon and Stokey left Phoenix for IndyVirtual in 2017, with Stokey joined American Engineering and Brandon moving to Easton's Lancashire Racing Team. They were replaced by James Thompson who impressed in his rookie season in FV3 with the same team while Hanson returned after his year away.
Phoenix's final year in FV2 was a disappointment. Thompson picked up points in the first race, but like the years before, a points drought followed, expect this year it stretched from the sprint race in France to the sprint race in Sweden, spanning 8 and a half rounds. Thompson finally ended that streak in Canada where he finished seventh. Phoenix had one last cheer in the final race, where Thompson again delivered he goods to pick up 4th.
After three seasons, Phoenix finished their FV2 career having competed in 102 races, scored 106 points and took 2 podiums.
FV3
In 2016, Phoenix expanded to the FV3 series, replacing the departing Lapierre Formule as the 10th team
2016
Compared to FV2, Phoenix performed well in FV3. They started their first season with Theo Blackman, Thompson and Ryan Carter.
After a poor first round in France, Thompson and Blackman collected the team's first points with 4th and 9th in the feature race in Spain. Blackman then finished 3rd in the sprint race following a few superb overtakes. Britain was arguably the team's worst race however: Thompson took a sock pole and led from the start, but an engine failure after half the race ruined any chances of a win. Blackman started on pole for the sprint in the wet and was also leading, but with only a few laps left, his suspension failed and he crashed out. Thompson however managed to go from outside the top 20 to 8th. Germany saw Thompson take his first podium in the feature with second, while Blackman also took second in the sprint. The team regularly scored points, and Thompson took more podium in Belgium and Italy. Carter, who failed to score any points until Turkey, finally broke his duck with a win in the sprint. Thompson capped off the season with another win in the final race, holding off multiple drivers including championship contenders. Overall the team finished fourth with 180 points.
2017
For 2017, Thompson was promoted to FV2 and he was replaced by Jake Oaklay. Blackman and Carter remained with the team.
Blackman opened the season with a double points finish in France, while Carter did likewise in Spain, getting off to a better start then last year. Oaklay took his first points, podium and win in the German sprint race, after starting on pole. Blackman consistently impressed, with regular points finishes, failing to score in only one race he finished in the first 6 rounds. Oaklay took his second podium in Italy, and finished second in the final race, while Blackman was third, marking the team's first and only double podium in their final race. The team slipped down to 5th and scored only 135 points, though it was still a respectable result.
After two years in FV3 Phoenix competed in 36 races, won 3 races with another 8 podiums and collected 315 points.
Promotion to FV
In late 2017 FUN team principal Dick Diceman announced he would be leaving the Formula Virtual series, leaving one spot free. Phoenix applied and were accepted in on the 21st of November. Easton said “Before I say anything else, I want to express my sadness at seeing FUN FV Team depart the series. They’ve been a truly great team since the start and personally, I’ve always found them very easy to have a soft spot for. However, I cannot hide the fact that myself and the team were absolutely ecstatic when we were informed we’d be the newest addition to Formula Virtual! I won’t waffle on too much right now as I’ve got a heck of a lot of phone calls to make and people to see, but I’m sure you’ll hear plenty more from me in the very near future!” Phoenix Motorsport closed, with the name continuing in Easton's FV team.
Virtual 24 Hours
Phoenix Motorsport returned to virtual racing outside of Formula Virtual in 2020 for the Virtual 24 Hours. The team entered a Downton MCL001 Hybrid as the #42 car in the Prototype class with Dominic Hanson, Callum Brandon, and James Thompson at the wheel - the trio finished in 11th place.
The team entered the following year's 2021 Virtual 24 Hours with a Downton MCL001 Hybrid once again. This time, Callum Brandon and James Thompson were joined by Will Taylor in the Prototype Pro class, whilst the team entered the #41 McLaren 720S GT into the GT Daytona class driven by Dominic Hanson, Royal Blondes owner Jean-Claude Chazelas, and Alex Easton. The #42 car finished 11th overall again in the Prototype Pro class while the #41 car finished 4th in the GT Daytona class, 35th overall.
Virtual Porsche Cup
Phoenix Motorsport entered the Virtual Porsche Cup in the series' inaugural season, the 2024 Virtual Porsche Cup, with Jake Oakley, James Thompson, and Dominic Hanson driving for the team.
Mazda MX5 Challenge
Phoenix Motorsport entered the Mazda MX5 Challenge in the series' inaugural season, the 2024 Mazda MX5 Challenge, with Rhodri Llwyd and Emma Hirvonen driving for the team.
Sponsorship
Phoenix, being a small FV2 team, initially struggled to find sponsors. However, PG Tips were announced as the teams first big sponsor, quickly followed by local company Premier Foods. Founder and Team Principal Alex Easton was quoted as saying that "If Phoenix are ever to compete in the top tier of Formula Virtual, we would most likely need a title sponsor."
Racing Record
Complete FV2 Series results
Season | Chassis | Engine | Driver | No. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Pos. | Points | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fea | Spr | Fea | Spr | Fea | Spr | Fea | Spr | Fea | Spr | Fea | Spr | Fea | Spr | Fea | Spr | Fea | Spr | Fea | Spr | Fea | Spr | Fea | Spr | |||||||
2015 | Ford FV2/1 | Ford | RSA | SWE | ESP | POR | FRA | GBR | CAN | USA | GER | NED | BEL | ITA | 12th | 41 | ||||||||||||||
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21 | 18 | 14 | 17 | 16 | 22 | 10 | 10 | 4 | 12 | Ret | 6 | Ret | 12 | 6 | Ret | Ret | 12 | 2 | 14 | 10 | 17 | Ret | Ret | 14 | |||||
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22 | 16 | 17 | 13 | 14 | Ret | 14 | 14 | 11 | 19 | 16 | 17 | 13 | Ret | 22 | 17 | Ret | 20 | 14 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 13 | Ret | 20 | |||||
2016 | Ford FV2/1 | Ford | FRA | ESP | GBR | GER | NED | BEL | ITA | TUR | SWE | CAN | USA | MEX | 11th | 46 | ||||||||||||||
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17 | 10 | 11 | 19 | 17 | 19 | Ret | 22 | 18 | 16 | 17 | 15 | Ret | 9 | 6 | 18 | 17 | Ret | 16 | Ret | 20 | 17 | 17 | 19 | 17 | |||||
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18 | 19 | 16 | 16 | 19 | Ret | Ret | 9 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 21 | 21 | 7 | Ret | 16 | 13 | Ret | 21 | 13 | 3 | 20 | 21 | |||||
2017 | Ford FV2/1 | Ford | FRA | ESP | GER | AUT | GBR | BEL | ITA | NED | SWE | CAN | USA | MEX | 12th | 19 | ||||||||||||||
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17 | 17 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 21 | 21 | 20 | 14 | 15 | Ret | 16 | 20 | Ret | 25 | 16 | 17 | Ret | 20 | 19 | 22 | Ret | 18 | 15 | Ret | |||||
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18 | 8 | 11 | Ret | 19 | 16 | 11 | 17 | 12 | Ret | 18 | Ret | 17 | 21 | 20 | Ret | 16 | 15 | 17 | 7 | Ret | 16 | Ret | 13 | 4 |
Complete FV3 Series results
Season | Chassis | Engine | Driver | No. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Pos. | Points | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fea | Spr | Fea | Spr | Fea | Spr | Fea | Spr | Fea | Spr | Fea | Spr | Fea | Spr | Fea | Spr | Fea | Spr | |||||||
2016 | Ford FV3/1 | Ford | FRA | ESP | GBR | GER | NED | BEL | ITA | TUR | SWE | 4th | 180 | |||||||||||
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28 | Ret | 24 | 9 | 3 | 15 | Ret | 14 | 2 | 14 | 6 | 11 | Ret | 15 | 4 | 23 | 19 | 19 | Ret | |||||
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29 | Ret | 20 | 4 | Ret | Ret | 8 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 2 | Ret | 4 | Ret | 14 | 1 | |||||
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30 | 19 | 17 | Ret | 17 | 17 | 11 | Ret | 19 | 17 | 18 | Ret | 23 | 20 | 20 | 15 | 1 | 8 | 12 | |||||
2017 | Ford FV3/1 | Ford | FRA | ESP | GER | AUT | GBR | BEL | ITA | NED | SWE | 5th | 135 | |||||||||||
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10 | 8 | 7 | Ret | Ret | 6 | 8 | Ret | 21 | 10 | 4 | 7 | 6 | Ret | 25 | Ret | 20 | 8 | 3 | |||||
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11 | 20 | Ret | 12 | 9 | 18 | Ret | 19 | 18 | 19 | 15 | 23 | 18 | 7 | 13 | 10 | 4 | 21 | 18 | |||||
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12 | Ret | 18 | Ret | 20 | 15 | 1 | 9 | Ret | Ret | 18 | Ret | 21 | 3 | Ret | 6 | 8 | 15 | 2 |
Complete Virtual Porsche Cup results
Season | Car | Driver | No. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Pos. | Points | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | ||||||
2024 | Porsche 911 GT3 Cup | GBR | TUR | ITA | GER | USA | ARG | NED | FRA | 2nd | 309 | ||||||||||
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17 | 30 | 20 | 30 | 22 | 22 | 30 | 18 | 27 | 30 | 22 | 20 | 18 | 20 | 17 | 11 | 20 | ||||
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41 | 14 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 21 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 11 | ||||
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42 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 7 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 28 | 10 | 26 | 16 | 7 | 16 | 21 | 12 | 19 |
Complete Mazda MX5 Challenge results
Season | Car | Driver | No. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Pos. | Points | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | ||||||
2024 | Mazda MX5 | ITA | SNE | BRH | ESP | GER | DON | N/A* | 0* | ||||||||
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2 | ||||||||||||||||
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