Jeddah Corniche Circuit

SAUDI ARABIAN GRAND PRIX

Commentary: Cameras:

WATCH NOW
January 30, 2014

 

Phoenix Racing had a baptism of fire on their return to Superleague in 2013.
Slow to catch on to the new regulations, they suffered on the development side at the first race in Melbourne. We were bottom of the development pile by quite a margin!

However, the quickly got down to business and come the halfway point of the season had a car that was mid-field at least in term of performance. Come year end, a new team finished 9th in the Constructors ladder, no mean feat!

For 2014 the team come well prepared to take on the challenge of the Superleague. Our design team have come up with a really nice package with the PF1-06 chassis, matched this year with the customer Potentia PGE-01 engine - a Championship winning engine in 2013.

The Race Driver pairing remains the same in 2014:-

Kieran Ryan - GPVWC's most experience racer in the top tier class returns as eager as ever to do well. The car let him down last year, but his starts from the back of the grid all year long meant he was often mixing it with the mid-field teams from the get-go!

Boyd Bryson - a very underrated driver, a year of experience on the GP circuits will serve him well. 2014 could be Boyd's year in Superleague, so watch out for him in Melbourne.

And to add to the wealth of experience we have in Kieran, former GPVWC World Champion Mikko Jakonen joins the team for 2014 as Test/Reserve Driver. A driver with many victories to his name, Mikko is sure to add his input to the teams' development.

Behind the scenes there has also been a major coup in obtaining the services of a driver of outstanding quality who's role is to help the team develop set-ups during the year in order to achieve the maximum from the teams' 6th Superleague car, the Phoenix PF1-06. Said driver wishes to remain anonymous outside of the team - a small price to pay for what is sure to be a huge asset for us come Melbourne.

Phoenix F1 have the opportunity to shine in 2014. The customer engine will prove to be the best on track for the opening events, already there's been many a discussion on getting the car to be the best it can be come Melbourne, the teams home GP. Often the butt of many a commentary joke in 2013, our 2014 livery is turning out to be a real beauty. Designed by Boyd Bryson, with input from the team, it's nearing completion and we should have some release images in the not too distant future.

Phoenix F1. Underdogs? For sure. But can they mix it up with the best in the GPVWC in only the second year of their comeback? We'll just have to wait and see.