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Simona ran in the top six for all but six of the
90 laps in race 1 at Houston, finishing behind
winner Scott Dixon of Target Chip Ganassi Racing.
Danica Patrick (win at Twin Ring Motegi in 2008,
runner-up at Homestead-Miami Speedway and Texas
Motor Speedway in 2010) and Sarah Fisher (2000 at
Kentucky Speedway) are the only other females to
record an IndyCar Series podium finish. In race 2,
she started at 17th and finished in the top
10.
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Bio
Name: Simona de Silvestro
Pronunciation: Simona (Suh-Moan-Uh); De
Silvestro(Dee Sil-Veh-Stroh) Nationality: Swiss and
Italian
Date of Birth: 9/1/1988
Place of Birth: Thun, Switzerland
Hometown Geneva, Switzerland, Italy
Residence: Scottsdale, Arizona
Height: 5’7’’
Weight: 150lbs
Favorite Circuit: Road Atlanta, VIR
Favorite Driver: Michael Schumacher
Hobbies: Golf, Tennis, Wake Boarding, Music,
Karting, Fitness
Ambition: Champ Car or Formula One driver
Pronunciation: Simona (Suh-Moan-Uh) De
Silvestro(Dee Sil-Veh-Stroh)
When she was young, Simona de Silvestro’s
future looked to include anything but motorsports,
especially because racing had been banned in her
native Switzerland since 1955.
But de Silvestro exceled at every sport
she’s played growing up. She won her first ski
race when she was 3 years old, was a top regional
fencer and played championship youth tennis. So it
wasn’t a surprise that she took to racing
quickly, winning her first kart race.
"When I was a baby, my dad says I was quiet only
when I watched Formula 1 on TV," she said. "When I
was 4, he did a go-kart demonstration, but I
couldn't reach the pedals, so I cried the whole
day. By the time I was 9 or 10, I knew that racing
was what I wanted to do, and my whole life has been
about it. Driving open-wheel race cars has always
been my goal. I really never had anything else in
my head."
De Silvestro spent her early career honing her
racing skills in European karting and junior
formula series while racing under the Italian flag.
In 2006, she crossed the Atlantic Ocean to pursue
her open-wheel racing dreams.
From success in the Formula BMW USA championship
and the Atlantic Championship, de Silvestro joined
the IZOD IndyCar Series in 2010 and was runner-up
in Rookie of the Year standings.
Snippets - 2012 and
before
Simona started in the 24th spot and was involved in
an incident on the 69th lap, ending her day in the
24th spot at Milwaukee.
* * *
Simona qualified 21st at Baltimore but because
she, once again, got docked 10 spots on the grid
because of the quality and competitiveness of Lotus
engines, so she started in 25th (last place). She
finished 22nd after clipping the wall after the
bumpy chicane.. Good, old underpowered, gas
guzzling Lotus engines. 
* * *
Simona started in 22nd at Mid-Ohio and finished
23rd.
* * *
De Silvestro Qualifies 23 for Honda Indy 200 at
Mid-Ohio
* * *
Simona started in 25th at Edmonton and finished
23rd. The Lotus was the last car running.at the end
of the race.
* * *
De Silvestro qualified in the 21st place but was
moved back and started in last place (25th) because
they started with an up-dated Lotus engine. The
engine lasted 9 of 85 laps. Lotus obviously isn't
spending the time nor money on their IndyCar
program compared to all of their other racing
programs, especially their F1 program and Rallye
programs. Why does IndyCar continue to allow this
embarrasment go on?
* * *
De Silvestro Qualifies 21st at Honda Indy
Toronto but because of the rules on new engines,
she ends up starting in last place (25th). Nine
other drivers also received penalties prior to the
start of the race.
* * *
Simona gridded 22nd at Iowa of 25 drivers and
finished in the 14th spot - in a Lotus.
* * *
Simona gridded 23rd of 25 drivers but went out
on lap 62, ending up 24th.
* * *
An Early Night for Simona at Texas Motor
Speedway
* * *
Simona, driving the only Lotus in the field of
24 Hondas and Chevys, started 25th at Detroit and
worked her way up to 13th by the finish.
* * *
Lotus HVM Racing Exits Indy 500
Earlier Than Hoped
Simona gets screwed because of bad decisions
that IndyCar make keeping Lotus in the
"competition". PLEASE, IndyCar, allow the
remaining Lotus driver's to move to an engine
manufacturer who can give them a real chance to
race. Why penalize drivers and teams who trusted
IndyCar that they would have well prepared rides.
She got in 10 laps and finished 32, where she
started. http://bit.ly/KncwTq
* * *
Simona qualified 32nd for the 96th running of
the Indy 500.
* * *
Simona De Silvestro Announces Winner of Charity
Helmet Design Contest.
* * *
Simona started 21st again this week at San Paulo
and finished 20th.
* * *
Lotus HVM Racing Better at Barber. Simona
started 21st again this week at Barber and finished
20th.
* * *
Simona started 21st at St Pete and went out
early in the race, finishing 24th.
* * *
At the first IndyCar race of the season Simona
De Silvestro got stuck in traffic during
qualifying. Unable to get a clean lap, she will
start tomorrow's Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
on the outside of row 11.
* * *
Simona had a good two days of testing in the new
Lotus IndyCar at Sebring and heads for Barber
Motorsports Park looking for more progress before
the first race of the season March 25 at St.
Pete.
* * *
Lotus Shakedown & Testing a Success.
* * *
Simona de Silvestro finishes the IndyCar year
ranked 20th.
* * *
HVM Racing Kicks Off an Action-Packed Weekend in
Las Vegas
* * *
Simona de Silvestro was gridded 13th at Kentucky
and finished in 25th.
but holds onto the 20th slot in the standings with
one race to go.
* * *
Simona de Silvestro was gridded 13th at Kentucky
and finished in 25th.
Simona de Silvestro was gridded 26th at Indy
Japan and finished in 14th.
* * *
Simona de Silvestro was allowed back in the
country and gridded 10th at Baltimore. She led a
lap and finished in 12th.
* * *
Simona de Silvestro led Sunday's pre-race warmup
in Baltimore, but it was Tony Kanaan's brake
failure and big crash that made the headlines.
* * *
Issues with U.S. Customs and Border Protection
kept regular driver Simona de Silvestro in
Switzerland, and not in the Sonoma race.
* * *
Simona started 26th at New Hampshire and
finished in 16th.
* * *
Simona started 14th at Mid-Ohio and finished in
12th.
* * *
Simona gives teen the ride of a lifetime.
* * *
Simona gridded in 16th at Edmonton and went out
on lap 54 of 80 finishing in 24th.
* * *
Simona was the fastest woman in qualifying at
Toronto and started 17th. She finished in the top
10.
* * *
Simona did not start the race at Iowa.
* * *
Simona will start 26th in the Milwaukee 225
after crash on second warm-up lap of her qualifying
run. She finished 25th after 58 laps with handling
problems.
* * *
Race 1 Simona qualified 29th and finished 26th
at Texas, 3 laps behind. Race 2 she drew spot 22
and finished 27th, 3 laps behind. Just wondering
how much of this was the car and how much of it was
her hands.
* * *
Simona qualified as the top woman in this year's
Indy500 and did it with second degree burns on her
hands. She clipped the wall early in the race and
was forced out with handling problems.
* * *
De Silvestro's goal: 'Get back in car quickly'
* * *
Simona is gridded 18th of 27 cars for the Long
Beach Grand Prix.
* * *
Simona De Silvestro started 13th at Alabama. She
worked her way up to 7th. Someone spun in front of
her and she avoided hitting him but killed the
engine and dropped to 19th. She worked her way back
up to 9th by the 77th lap and held that position
where she finished. She is currently tied with
Scott Dixson for 4th in points after two races.
* * *
Simona De Silvestro started 17th and finished
fourth in St. Petersberg after having a number of
chance to pass Tony Kanaan for third. Tony was
using his Push to Pass and Simona wasn't. She ended
the race with 13 PTPs left.
* * *
Congrats to IndyCar Rookie of the year 2010
Simona De Silvestro for picking up a three-year
sponsorship with Entergy, the second-largest
owner/operator of nuclear energy plants.
* * *
Award-winning Simona de Silvestro back with HVM
for 2011 IndyCar Series.
* * *
In the final race of the 2010 IndyCar
series, Simona started 25th and ended 23rd. She
ecumulated enough points in her 17 races to finish
19th of 41 racers for the season.
* * *
Simona started 19th at Kentucky, had contacat on
lap 78 of a 200 lap race and finished 25.
* * *
Simona started 11th on the Sonoma grid, was
doing well again this week until EJ Viso
knocked her off the track from behind. By the end,
she had worked her way back up to 13th.
* * *
Simona gridded 10th at Mid-Ohio, and was in 8th
at the end of the first lap, holding that position
until lap 25 when she pitted, coming out in 7th
place. She held that spot until moving up one on
lap 44. She moved up to 4th during pit stops ,
dropped back to 7th, Raphael Matos passed her on
lap 75 dropping her to 8th where she finished. She
moved up to 18th over all in the standings.
* * *
Simona started 7th at Edmonton, and was in 6th
at the end of the first lap, holding that position
until lap 40 when Ryan Hunter-Ray passed her. I
believe she was bumped off the track by E.J. Viso
on lap 49 which dropped her to 19th. By lap 74 she
had worked her way back up to 12th then 11th on lap
81. On lap 88 it appears that she lost power and
that was it for the day placing her in 22nd at the
finish. She's currently 19th over all in the
standings.
* * *
De Silvestro starts season-high 7th at Edmonton.
* * *
Simona started 21st at Toronto and finished as
the top rookie in 9th place. She stands 19th
overall.
* * *
Simona De Silvestro suffered a minor burn on her
right hand when the No. 78 Team Stargate Worlds/HVM
Racing car made contact with the SAFER Barrier
exiting Turn 2 on Lap 99 at Texas. See scary
YouTube
* * *
Simona was gridded 14th at St. Pete, got up to
4th and was clipped by Graham Rahal, dropping her
back to 16th where she finished a lap down.
* * *
Simona is gridded 14th at St. Pete in front of
Danica Patrick (gridded 21st) and Milka Duno
(gridded 24th). The race was rain delayed and
rescheduled for Monday, March 29th at 10am EST.
* * *
Simona, who won four times and finished third in
the Atlantic series last season, will race a full
Izod IndyCar Series schedule in partnership between
HVM Racing and Team Stargate Worlds.
* * *
By finishing second at Lagua Seca, 21 year
old Simona would clinch the Atlantic She finished
3rd in the series.
* * *
Second-year driver Simona De Silvestro won the
Atlantic race on the streets of Long Beach, the day
after Danica Patrick became the first woman to win
a major open wheel race. Simona's best finish last
season was 7th. Her next race is Houston, April 27.
The Swiss racer is the only woman among the 22
entries.
One of Auto Week's "Five
of the fastest women you will ever
meet"
* *
*
Second-year driver Simona De Silvestro is once
again entered to drive the No. 34 entry for Newman
Wachs Racing in the Atlantic Series. The Swiss
racer is the only woman among the 22 entries.
* *
*
Simona was involved in a first lap accident in
her first Mazda MX-5 race - Round 8 (and final
round) at Miller Motorsports Park, Tooele, Utah.
She had been gridded 7th in the 30 car field.
* * *
Champ Car Atlantic standout and one of the top
female racers in the country Simona will complete
in Round 8 (and final round) of the Mazda MX-5 Cup
at Miller Motorsports Park, Tooele, Utah, Saturday,
September 15.
* * *
Simona started 17th at the San Jose Grand Prix
July 29th and finished 10th out of 25. She is
currently 18th in the standings. The final race of
the season is scheduled for August 11-12 at Road
America.
* * *
Simona finished 4th in Round 9 and 10 of Formula
BMW at the San Jose Grand Prix. July 29-30, 2006.
She holds 3rd over-all, one point behind Matt Lee.
Next up, the Grand Prix of Denver, August 11-13,
2006
* * *
Simona had two third-place finishes in support
of the US Grand Prix and is the first woman
ever on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway podium. She
is the most successful female driver in Formula BMW
worldwide as she stands fourth in the Championship
points after Round 8 out of more than 30
drivers.
News - 2013
KV Racing Technology Starts 3rd and 11th at the
2013 IZOD IndyCar Season Opener in St. Pete
News - Through 2012
Busy Week for Lotus HVM
Racing in Fontana
Lotus HVM Racing and driver Simona De Silvestro
have had a busy week since arriving here in Fontana
on Tuesday. The team had a good test on Wednesday
and was prepared for a good qualifying today with a
newly updated engine.
Tom Brown, team technical director, was pleased
with the Wednesday test. "It was a good test," he
said. "We ran 238 miles and made good progress
considering it was Simona's first time here. We
concentrated on race runs and have a great baseline
to work with."
The team received a new engine with the latest
updates from Lotus late last night. Due to a delay
in customs, the engine didn't arrive at the track
until very late requiring the team to stay past
2:00 am to complete the installation.
Sadly, that hard work was for naught. In this
morning's practice the engine experienced a failure
and will have to be replaced with a previously used
engine. The team was unable to install the second
engine in time for qualifying leaving De Silvestro
watching from the timing stand.
Keith Wiggins, team owner, was optimistic coming
into the day. "Well," he said, "it's the last race
of the season. We came here and tested in order to
get as many miles as we could. Simona and the team
had a good test session. We came here today with
high hopes having received another fresh engine,
the best to date for the weekend, last night. The
guys worked hard to put it in, but unfortunately it
had a failure today so we didn't get to qualify.
We'll go back to one of the other engines for
tonight's practice and tomorrows race. We would
have had a grid penalty anyway, so we'll still be
starting at the back. Our main focus is to have a
solid, long race in order to give Simona as much
experience on the oval in order to start getting
ready for next year."
Vincent Pereme, Motorsport Engine Manager for
Lotus Racing also commented on the situation. "We
brought a new spec engine for this race with all
the improvements we could bring, since we had the
chance to re-homologate the engine," he said.
"Unfortunately, after having fitted the engine in
the car yesterday evening, we only got to do a few
laps this morning. The engine had an issue, which
is still under investigation here at the track, and
back at the factory, to ensure that this will not
happen again during tomorrow's race. For now, there
is no obvious explanation for this failure and we
want to apologize to the HVM Racing team and Simona
for taking away her chance to fight her way forward
in the qualifying session. We will do everything
possible to fine-tune the engine on the car for
this evening's test session. And, after that, we
just all need to concentrate on tomorrow's
race."
Source: Press
release
Day Ends Early in
Baltimore for De Silvestro and Lotus HVM
Racing
The race started with the threat of rain; just the
way the Lotus HVM Racing team had hoped. On lap one
Simona De Silvestro, driver of the #78 Nuclear
Clean Air Energy car had contact and pitted for a
new nose. On lap six, she radioed that she had rain
on her visor. The team chose to continue racing on
the slick tires as the track was not completely wet
and gambled that the rain would hold off a bit
longer. On lap 19 a yellow-flag came out and De
Silvestro pitted for her rain tires. It was a good
call. Half the team's stayed on slick tires and
half, like De Silvestro, changed to rain tires.
Rain tires was the definitely the right choice as
the rain got heavier and the track slicker.
On lap 21 De Silvestro suffered some front-wing
damage, but the team decided to run with the
damaged wing as long as possible to not lose
position. On lap 22 the team called her in to rip
off the broken part of the wing and changed back to
red slick tires as the track had started to dry and
the rain looked to be moving out of the area. On
lap 24 she served a drive-through penalty for the
incident that caused the damage.
Even with her earlier issues, De Silvestro was
running 14th when she hit the wall ending her race.
"Well, I'm disappointed because I made a mistake,"
she said. "I hit the curb in the chicane and it
ended our day. Until then it was kind of a crazy
race. We made some positions; we don't know where
we would have finished. This time it's kind of my
fault. It's a shame because we were doing really
well. Now you just go to the next one I guess."
The incident happened coming out of the chicane.
De Silvestro hit the second curb a little bit too
hard and got airborne hitting the outside wall with
the left-hand side of the car.
Team manager, Shane Seneviratne was disappointed
as well considering how well De Silvestro has been
driving this season. "It's obviously
disappointing," he said. "Simona has driven great
all year. She made a mistake here that put her out
of the race. We had a couple of incidents earlier
on, but they were small ones. The team changed the
front wing out and we recovered from it. I'm
disappointed for all the sponsors that are here and
want to thank them for all their support. We'll do
our best at Fontana."
Keith Wiggins, team owner, had high hopes for a
good result since De Silvestro drives this track so
well. "As the race turned out we had a pretty good
opportunity," he said. "Like everyone else, we just
needed to stay out of trouble. We looked quite good
early. We had a solid strategy that was playing
out, but we weren't able to stay clean until the
end. It's just unfortunate that it ended that
way."
Technical director, Tom Brown, agrees that De
Silvestro had a good shot at a very strong finish.
"It was becoming an interesting race," he said.
"Multiple strategies were being played out among
the teams. We were looking very good. Sim was
pushing hard and got bit by the chicane around
mid-way. As always we pushed and worked hard all
weekend to keep maximizing what we had."
The team goes back to Indianapolis tomorrow
before heading back west for the season finale in
Fontana on Saturday, September 15th.
Source: Press
release
IZOD IndyCar Driver Simona De
Silvestro Celebrates Her Birthday in
Baltimore
Driver of the #78 Nuclear Clean Air Energy car,
Simona De Silvestro, celebrated her birthday today
at the Grand Prix of Baltimore. The 24-year-old
Swiss driver was quick this morning in the wet and
was hoping for a birthday present of rain for
qualifying.
De Silvestro was in the middle of her quickest
lap when Graham Rahal crashed bringing out a
red-flag and ending the team's hope for the
opportunity to move into the second round of
qualifying for the first time this season.
"We just didn't get a clear lap in," De
Silvestro said. "It's pretty frustrating because I
had a really good lap going when the red flag came
out. It would have been good enough to qualify in
the top 12 and good enough to get us into the next
round. But, that's racing and now we just have to
focus on the race tomorrow."
HVM Racing considers Baltimore their
home-away-from-home. The team held their 2012
season launch here at the Royal Sonesta Harbor
Court Hotel in February and is entertaining a large
contingent of sponsors from the area this weekend
including Entergy, AREVA, NEI, WTS, Rev 1 and the
Royal Sonesta Harbor Court Hotel.
Team owner, Keith Wiggins was disappointed with
qualifying, but feels the team still has a chance
for a good result tomorrow. "I hate to say it
again," he said, "but obviously we're really
disappointed this time because it's Baltimore. We
knew we could do a good job but for the sake of a
red flag. To have been able to record a
twelfth-place would have at least given us some
feel of pride with the handicap that we have. We
still have our 10-grid penalty for the engine, but
at least we would have felt better about it. But,
at the end of the day it won't change much where we
will end up on the grid. We still have the same job
to do tomorrow. We know we have a fast car and a
fast driver, so we need to just plan for a really
good strategy."
Shane Seneviratne, HVM Racing team manager, was
pragmatic about the qualifying session. "We had a
good car and a lot of potential," he said.
"Unfortunately the session was red-flagged with
Rahal's crash which caught us out. We were on a
good lap when that happened and if we'd have had
the opportunity to finish that lap we would have
qualified in the middle of the pack and even
advanced to the next session. It's unfortunate; I
think we have a good race car. We just need to look
forward to tomorrow. "
The Grand Prix of Baltimore airs live on NBC
Sports Network at 2:30 p.m. ET.
Source: Press
release
De Silvestro Gains 10
Positions to Finish 17th at the GoPro Indy GP of
Sonoma
The Swiss driver of the #78 Nuclear Clean Air
Energy car, Simona De Silvestro, drove a
mistake-free race moving up 10 spots from her
starting position of 27th to finish 17th in today's
GoPro Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma. The 85-lap race
was past the mid-way point before the first yellow
flag of the day.
While De Silvestro was happy with the result,
she would have liked to have done even better. "I
guess P-17 is okay," she said, "I think it was all
we could get. We're still getting passed like we're
standing still on the straightaways, but, I think
it was a good weekend. We kept our head in it
during the race and toward the end the yellows
starting coming out. That really helped us with our
fuel mileage. It was a good race."
The Lotus HVM Racing team did their part with
good pit stops and a race strategy that worked
perfectly. Team engineers were forced into a very
tight three-stop strategy due to the fact that we
get a significantly lower fuel mileage in
comparison to the other competitors.
Keith Wiggins, team owner, felt the team got the
most out of the car today. The team did a good
job," he said. "Simona drove a good solid race, so
we were able to make the best of it. Our windows
were tight on fuel, but we managed to keep it
within the three, so that was good. It was a good
result for the circumstances we had. We don't want
to get too excited about 17th, but I think it was
the best result we could get today with what we
had."
The team hosted guests from Entergy, GE Hitachi
and AREVA this weekend. Everyone had a great time
and was excited with the final race results.
Team manager, Shane Seneviratne, was pleased
with the team's work. "It was a good race," he
said. "Simona drove well. The crew did very
consistent pit work. There was a little bit of
racing toward the end. Simona got to do some
dicing, so I'm happy for the sponsors. We had a
good result."
After the long yellow for the Bourdais /
Newgarden crash, the field was separated so that
cars on the lead lap were together and those that
were one lap done were together allowing everyone a
chance to race for position with the cars around
them. De Silvestro was able to move past Ed
Carpenter who was a position ahead of her, but who
had not been running directly in front of her at
the time of the yellow.
Tom Brown, team technical director, liked the
league's decision. "She (De Silvestro) ran well,"
he said. "She maximized what was given to her. The
guys did good stops; we've been working hard on
that. We saw massive improvement this weekend. When
they all bunched up it gave us a chance to race and
we took it to them. I think we may have surprised
some people. It was a good race."
The team now head to Baltimore for the Grand
Prix of Baltimore presented by SRT which airs on
NBC Sports Network, Sunday, September 2 at 2:30 pm
ET.
Source: Press
release
De Silvestro Qualifies
25th for GoPro Indy GP of Sonoma
Lotus HVM Racing driver Simona De Silvestro was
hoping to have a good qualifying session today in
order to have a chance of putting the #78 Nuclear
Clean Air Energy car a little further up on the
starting grid for tomorrow's GoPro Indy Grand Prix
of Sonoma. Unfortunately, with the unapproved
engine change it appears that the team will start
last tomorrow.
Yesterday's practice was the first opportunity
Simona had to experience the changes on the newly
configured 2.385mile, 12 turn road course.
After that practice the Swiss driver was
optimistic. "It was a good first practice," she
said. "We haven't tested here so we're kind of
getting everything going. Even myself, being out of
the car for three weeks it feels a little bit
strange in the beginning, but I think in the end
we're okay. We're going to work on it tomorrow and
try to put the lap a little more together and we'll
see. I think we're in the mix, we're not super far
off compared to the other guys, so we just have to
keep picking at it a little bit and hopefully maybe
we can get in the top 20 or something like that.
That would be cool."
Today however was a different story. "Well, it's
really disappointing," De Silvestro said. "I don't
really know what to say. The changes we made are
good, so we'll just keep plugging away. I think we
have a good car for tomorrow. We'll continue to do
our best as a team and hopefully get a good
result."
Tom Brown, the team's technical director, was
disappointed as well with the qualifying result.
"Once again we got as much out of the car as we
could; as much out of Simona as we could," he said.
"It's a tough track, a challenging track. We enjoy
it here. I think it'll be an interesting race, but
qualifying... we always just have to accept what we
get in qualifying."
The team has a group of sponsors from Entergy
and GE Hitachi at the track this weekend, many of
whom are attending their first race. While they
would have loved seeing Simona have a better
qualifying, they're still enjoying the unique
experience the track has to offer.
Shane Seneviratne, the team's manager, is happy
to have the large contingent of guests to
entertain. "We're excited," he said. "We have a lot
of sponsors here at the race track this weekend. I
want to extend our gratitude for their continued
support and patience with us. We're doing our best;
looking forward to a good race. We'll be starting
in the back of the field with the engine penalty,
but it's a long race and anything could happen.
Hopefully we can put on a good show for our
sponsors that are here."
Source: Press
release
De Silvestro
Persevering, Looking For Positives
Simona de Silvestro and her HVM Racing team have
had a year to forget, but she continues to press on
despite being saddled with a down-on-power
(Editor's
addition: "gas-guzzling) engine.
One year ago, Swiss driver Simona de Silvestro
was denied entry to the USA for the Sonoma race by
customs agents, forcing her HVM Racing team to
draft in Simon Pagenaud at the last minute to pilot
the No. 78 Nuclear Clean Air Energy-sponsored
entry.
Based on how her 2012 season with Lotus power
has gone, being barred from the States would have
been a blessing in disguise, but for the talented
23-year-old, persevering through another
uncompetitive weekend has become a familiar and
frustrating routine.
"I think any season you go racing you want to be
the fastest out there," she told SPEED.com. "You
know, it almost seems like my IndyCar experiences
are going from good to worse right now.
"I think the toughest part is just looking where
other drivers are when you know you were kind of
beating them or you were exactly with them a year
ago."
Now in her third season with the respected HVM
operation, de Silvestro and team owner Keith
Wiggins had hoped their Lotus engines would offer
some semblance of competitiveness, but with the
manufacturer's late start on its engine, a general
lack of testing and minimal funding supplied to its
engine designers/builders at Engine Developments
Limited, the team--and de Silvestro's presence--has
been relegated to the tail end of the grid.
De Silvestro, who's earned the respect of
drivers and team principals alike, hopes to get her
career back on an upward swing as soon as
possible.
At a stage in her IndyCar development where de
Silvestro expected to be fighting for top 10s,
she's had to put her expectations on hold until the
team can switch to either Chevy or Honda power next
season.
"Now we're just in the back of the field, and
that's a little bit annoying..." she said with a
wry smile. "But maybe I can still learn things from
where we're at now and just keep working at it.
But, for sure, we want to show where we really
should be in the results--where this team
belongs."
With no realistic chance of running in the top
half of the field, de Silvestro continues to
receive a lot of support from the rest of the
IndyCar drivers who know what she and the team can
deliver.
"I think everybody feels pretty bad for me, put
it that way," she said. "I think in the last two
years I've earned the respect from everybody and
that's a really cool thing--a really cool
achievement for me.
"It's just frustrating that we can't be mixing
it up with them, but it just is what it is. I'm
lucky to be in an IndyCar when there’s so many
drivers who aren’t here. I'm going to take the
positive out of everything I can."
Source: Press
release
Lotus HVM Racing
Finishes 23rd at Mid-Ohio
Things were looking up for the Lotus HVM Racing
team this morning. The rain came and the driver of
the #78 Nuclear Clean Air Energy car made the most
of it. Swiss driver Simona De Silvestro posted the
fourth-fastest time (01:34.8087) on the wet surface
and looked good for today's race. Unfortunately for
her, not only did the track dry, it was a
completely green-flag race for the second race in a
row limiting strategy options for the team.
"It's a bit of the same story as the last race,"
team owner Keith Wiggins said. "Unfortunately it
went green the whole way so that meant that we were
pretty much forced into a full-fuel three-stop
strategy as opposed to the two-stop strategy of the
other manufacturers. That didn't really give us any
options to do a strategy, so we ended up with what
we had. Her first stint was pretty impressive. The
lap times she did were in the 68's when we were on
our own; the same as the leaders. But, there's not
much else you can do."
"It's really disappointing," De Silvestro said.
"We weren't able to use the strategy that we wanted
because there weren't any yellows. It doesn't
matter how hard I drive, without a yellow we can't
get anywhere. We have low fuel mileage and we're
down on power, so we're not competitive right now.
The team is doing their best, but we're just not in
a good situation."
Technical director Tom Brown was disappointed
with the lack of strategy options. "Just another
tough one with it going green all the way," he
said. "We tried to pull some strategy, but we
needed the yellows to pull it off. Strategy is one
of the few tools we have in the bag and we can't
use it. But, it is good to see green-flag racing
all the way. Hopefully one of these days we'll get
what we need."
(Editor's
Note: A Chevy or Honda engine? I
wish!)
Shane Seneviratne looked for the bright spot as
well. "The biggest positive - we finished the
race," he said. "We have to figure out the
situation here and try to sort out things to get
some power behind Simona. We need to try and make
something happen during the race. When the race
goes green to green we are just stuck in one
position and there is nothing we can do; there is
no strategy, nothing we could do to improve. We
were stuck in one spot. Glad at least
reliability-wise we finished the race."
The team has a couple of weeks back in Indy
before heading to Northern California for the GoPro
Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma on August 26th. The race
will air on NBC Sports Network at 4:30 p.m. ET.
Source: Press
release
De Silvestro Qualifies 23
for Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio
Lotus HVM Racing driver Simona De Silvestro was in
the first qualifying group today at the Honda Indy
200. De Silvestro had a one-day test at the
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course just prior to the
Toronto race. The team had hoped the data gathered
at the test would help with this weekend's
performance. While the track conditions were vastly
different, the team still had a good jump on their
setup for the weekend. Unfortunately, the
straightaway speed differential couldn't be
overcome for today's qualifying.
"Qualifying was the same as how it's been going,
which is not good because we're always starting in
the back," De Silvestro said. "But, I think we have
a strong race car. We worked really hard to make
that happen. We'll see what happens tomorrow in the
race. It's disappointing because everybody is
working so hard and we can't really do anything
right now."
Team sponsor AREVA and their guests were on hand
to lend support for the #78 Nuclear Clean Air
Energy car. Guests met Simona after qualifying and
offered their encouragement.
Team owner Keith Wiggins looked at the positive
side of the day. "We were fastest through one
sector and top five in two others of the track," he
said, "so we'll take that as a positive and focus
on the race. We have to take what we've got and do
the best we can with it."
Technical director Tom Brown focuses as well on
what the team has managed to accomplish. "Once
again we maximized what was within our control," he
said. "The car is good, we gapped well and Sim made
the best of what she had. It's tough given the
situation we are in but we always work to get the
best out of everything. Tomorrow the forecast calls
for a chance of rain. Let's hope it happens."
Regardless of the weather, the Lotus HVM Racing
team will do their best with any opportunities
given them. The team intends to use strategy and De
Silvestro's aggressive driving style to move up
through the field for a strong finish.
Be sure to tune in for tomorrow's Honda Indy 200
at Mid-Ohio at 1:00 p.m. ET on ABC.
Source: Press
release
Lotus IndyCar future
uncertain beyond 2012
AUTOSPORT magazine reports this week that
Lotus is likely to abandon its IndyCar engine
program at the end of the current IZOD IndyCar
Series season, despite being just one year into a
five-year supply contract it entered into at the
beginning of the series' new turbo formula.
The John Judd-built Lotus engine was a late
arrival to the IndyCar field last winter, and faced
further obstacles when the Malaysian-owned,
British-based sports car manufacturer was sold,
which resulted in a freeze on its accounts and
strained relations with Lotus' partner teams in
IndyCar.
By April, HVM Racing's entry, driven by Simona
de Silvestro, was Lotus' sole representative on the
IndyCar grid apart from Jean Alesi's quixotic
Indianapolis 500-only run. Both Lotus-powered cars
were quickly black-flagged on race day at Indy for
being unable to run at competitive pace, and de
Silvestro has regularly been at the back of the
field in subsequent races, despite an approved
update program that upgraded the Lotus V6 starting
at Toronto.
Lotus IndyCar project manager Olivier Picquenot
told AUTOSPORT that "we are still committed
to the end of the season," although he declined to
be speculate about the future beyond that. "Our new
owners [DRB-Hicom] will study every
department at the end of the year – in
motorsport, in production, and everything. It's
very difficult to say if they will be committed for
the next four years."
If Lotus does decide to end its program, it
would have to negotiate an exit from its contract
with IndyCar, whose CEO Randy Bernard said he has
had no such conversations with Lotus officials to
date. (Editor's
note: Why wait for Lotus to act? They've
pretty much proven their inablity to do
so. It's clear, Simona is very competitive
with a competitive car so it's not the driver nor
the team. My question: Why doesn't IndyCar put
the Lotus program to sleep NOW? It's an
embarrasment! Hopefully, Honda and Chevy would
welcome Simona to either of their stables and give
her a chance to really compete, as she has in
previous years. She deserves better!)
Picquenot said he expected that the final
decision on the IndyCar program will be based on
the level of progress Lotus is able to demonstrate
over the remainder of the season in closing the
performance gap to Chevrolet and Honda. He added,
however, that there are no plans to expand beyond
the current one-car program.
"There is no second car this year, for sure, he
said. "You need to have the commitments – find
a driver, find mechanics, and three or four races
before the end of the season is too late. We will
just concentrate on trying to serve HVM as best we
can."
Source: www.racer.com/report-lotus-indycar-future-uncertain-beyond-2023/article/251991
Caution-free Race
Highlights Challenges for Lotus HVM Racing
Race day at the Edmonton Indy dawned bright and
sunny with literally not a cloud in the sky.
Although Lotus HVM Racing driver Simona De
Silvestro qualified the #78 Nuclear Clean Air
Energy entry 23rd, she started 25th on the grid
after incurring a 10-spot penalty for an unapproved
engine change.
De Silvestro was fast all day in the corners and
ran very good lap times throughout the race, but
lacked the speed on the straightaways to make any
significant gains during the race. The Swiss driver
did pull off a nice pass of the #20 Fuzzy's Vodka
car on lap 17, but relinquished the spot a few laps
later when she came in for a green-flag pit stop.
She ultimately finished 23rd in the caution-free
race that lasted less than 1 hour 40 minutes and
saw only five lead changes.
The lack of yellow flags didn't work in the
team's favor. "It was kind of a weird day," De
Silvestro said, "no yellows so we couldn't really
get off strategy. We had to make one more stop than
most everybody else because our fuel consumption is
pretty bad. You know, it is what it is. We had a
strong race car, but we're just not fast enough
right now."
Keith Wiggins, team owner, agreed that the
green-flag racing hurt the team's chances. "It was
a good run for the team," he said. "Clearly our lap
times in the race were competitive, but
unfortunately the fuel mileage, the lack of top
speed and the fact that there wasn't a single
yellow in the race really hurt us. We had to do an
extra stop and that just makes it tough. She
(Simona) did a good race and the car was fast on
the corners, so we just have to keep working on the
other issues."
After suffering a mechanical failure in Toronto,
team manager Shane Seneviratne was pleased that the
team finished today's race. "It was good to finish
the race," he said. "We had decent pace but there's
still the same problem. We need to keep working on
our engine to try and close the gap and make the
races more interesting for us".
Lotus HVM Racing next goes to Lexington, Ohio
for the Honda Indy 200 Mid-Ohio on August 5. The
race will air on ABC at 1:00 p.m. ET
Source: Press
release
Rain Comes Too Late to Help
Lotus HVM Qualifying Effort
The rain came too late to help the Lotus HVM Racing
team with qualifying. The #78 Nuclear Clean Air
Energy car, while making progress, is still down on
power compared to the other cars in the field and
had hopes that the rain would prove the
equalizer.
Unfortunately for Swiss driver Simona De
Silvestro, her group's session was dry. "Well," she
said, "it's really disappointing. We were hoping
the rain would come a little earlier and help us
out. The car is really good, but we're still down
on power and that hurts here because of the long
straightaways. Rain would have been good. I think
we have a good car for the race. We'll just have to
wait and see what the weather does. Hopefully we'll
have a good finish."
The team qualified 23rd, but will likely start
at the back of the field since they will incur a
ten-spot penalty for an unapproved engine change
prior to the start of the event. Lotus provided the
team with a new updated engine, which members of
the crew installed on Wednesday.
Team owner, Keith Wiggins, is hopeful that the
new engine will lessen the gap to the other teams.
"We continue to struggle, but we're still working
on improvements. We're not giving up on it. We're
still making small progress, but obviously the
others are as well. I think the gap is less, but we
still need more."
With three long straights on the 2.224-mile
track and only a 10 percent chance of rain
tomorrow, it looks like the team will have to focus
on strategy and maximizing the setup on the car as
the under-powered engine will continue to be an
issue.
Tom Brown, the team's technical director, isn't
counting on help from the weather. "We're working
hard to maximize and get everything we can out of
the car," he said. "The guys timed the qualifying
to perfection. We had a good run, but three long
straights here make it hard with some of the issues
we have; top-line speed and whatever. We actually
could do well. We ran well and gave it the best we
could."
The Edmonton Indy airs tomorrow, Sunday, July 22
on NBC Sports at 2:45 p.m. ET.
Source: Press
release
Lotus IndyCar upgrade a
small step in the right direction
When the Izod IndyCar Series gave Lotus the OK to
upgrade its engine, the HVM Racing team and driver
Simona De Silvestro had a glimmer of hope.
But in Toronto on the weekend of July 7, the
first race with the improvements, De Silvestro
faded early with an engine failure. It was like
rubbing salt in an old wound.
“The first analysis on the data seems to
show that the engine failure was not related to the
new engine spec. It might be an unfortunate
reliability issue, which has never happened
before,” said Vincent Pereme, motorsport
engine manager for Lotus Racing.
The 23-year-old Swiss-born driver, already
starting the race with a 10-place grid penalty for
the engine upgrade, radioed her crew on lap eight.
“The engine's not pulling,” she said.
“I have no power.”
“I'm pretty disappointed,” said De
Silvestro after the race. “Something happened
with the engine. We were hoping for a good finish,
trying to stay out of trouble. It's hard to say
right now; we just did a couple of laps. We'll have
to see what happened and go to Edmonton [for
the July 22 race] and try to do
better.”
To confuse matters further, De Silvestro never
got to feel the thrill of the upgrade because of
IndyCar's re-implementation of push-to-pass. Engine
power was reduced from 1.55 bar to 1.5 bar when
running without the push to pass. When a driver
activates push to pass, an engine's output reverts
to the original maximum horsepower. It's a relative
horsepower increase not an incremental one because
the manufacturers all agreed to keep the top
horsepower unchanged, according to Pereme.
Before the race, De Silvestro had been
cautiously optimistic. “It's hard to see how
much horsepower we gained because now we're running
at 1.5 instead of 1.55,” she said.
“That's why Simona didn't feel that much
increase in power,” Pereme told Autoweek. On
the other hand, “there is more torque,”
he said. “She can feel it in drivability. Even
some old customers [who no longer run Lotus
engines] noticed it [on the
track].”
However, De Silvestro remained realistic and
honest.
“We're still a long ways away,” she
said. “We're still 13 mph slower [on
straightaways] compared to the fastest
[cars] and 7 mph slower than the slowest
Honda or Chevy. There's a still a lot of work. I
think we made an improvement. The engine is
definitely better than what we had. Hopefully we
can come up with something new every
weekend.”
Tom Brown, HVM's technical director, was also
optimistic before the race. He told Autoweek,
“We feel more power in the middle of the range
and less lag. That gets her a better throttle
response. A good gain. We hope to get another
upgrade for Edmonton.”
The next round of engine upgrades and, the team
hopes, a solution to the Toronto engine problem
should be ready by then. And with that upgrade, De
Silvestro will lose 10 spots on the grid again.
She laughed off the prospect.
“I'd rather have the penalties and have the
improvements than just running around . . . and
just kind of being stuck there.”
Source: www.autoweek.com/article/20120713/INDYCAR/120719923
De Silvestro Out Early
With a Mechanical Issue
It wasn't an easy day for the Lotus HVM Racing #78
Nuclear Clean Air Energy car at today's Honda Indy
Toronto. A day that dawned bright and sunny and
full of hope, quickly took a turn for the worse
when De Silvestro hit a tire that was knocked into
the racing line by Sebastian Bourdais. De Silvestro
hit the wall hard and sustained considerable damage
to the car.
The team worked frantically, managing to repair
the car just as the grid was being set. De
Silvestro started 25th after being assessed a
10-spot penalty for the unapproved engine change
that brought her a bit more power this weekend. On
lap 8 she reported an issue with power and was
brought into the pit on lap 9. The team tried to
work on the car in the pit, but eventually took the
car back to the garage to try more repairs. They
were unable to complete the necessary repairs in
time to rejoin the race.
"I'm pretty disappointed," De Silvestro said.
"Something happened with the engine. We were hoping
for a good finish, trying to stay out of trouble.
It's hard to say right now, we just did a couple of
laps. We'll have to see what happened and go to
Edmonton and try to do better."
Team owner, Keith Wiggins was equally displeased
with the early exit. "It's just very
disappointing," he said. "After the incident this
morning in which we sustained a lot of damage, the
guys did a fantastic job to put it (the car) all
back together and have it ready. Then to have an
engine issue is bitterly disappointing and we have
to do something about it."
Tom Brown, technical director for Lotus HVM
Racing summed up the weekend. "It was a tough
weekend," he said. "We had a little bit of help
with the engine that got us headed somewhat in the
right direction, but we obviously need quite a bit
more. The guys worked real hard and never gave up.
I'm very proud of them. We had an unfortunate
incident this morning where we hit a tire on track
and now it looks like we've got an engine issue
that's put us out of the race. I guess we'll look
forward to Edmonton."
The team next travels to Edmonton, AB on July
22nd. The race will air on NBC Sports Network at
2:45 p.m. (ET).
Source: Press
release
De Silvestro Qualifies
21st at Honda Indy Toronto
With top-10 finishes in her previous two starts at
this track, a new updated engine, and strong
practice sessions all weekend, Lotus HVM Racing
driver Simona De Silvestro was poised for a strong
qualifying session at the Honda Indy Toronto.
Unfortunately, qualifying didn't go as well as she
and the team had hoped.
On a mostly wet track, De Silvestro had the #78
Nuclear Clean Air Energy car in the top-12 for the
majority of this morning's practice before
encountering some braking issues on the final two
laps resulting in an 18th place finish in the
session. With her pace on par with the rest of the
field on the 1.75-mile street course, thanks in
part to the new engine updates, De Silvestro was
poised for potentially her best qualifying of the
season.
A couple of factors contributed to the
disappointing session. The first factor - black
tires were used for all practice sessions and car
setup, while red tires were used for qualifying.
The difference in how the car handled was slight,
but noticeable.
"I'm pretty disappointed," De Silvestro said.
"We have a pretty strong race car; it just didn't
come to us on reds. I don't know, we'll see what
we've got tomorrow. We have a good race-pace, so
hopefully we can go do some good things
tomorrow."
The second factor was traffic. "We didn't get a
clear lap which is on us," Keith Wiggins, team
owner, said. "We need to make sure we don't get
held up. We've made improvements. There've been
improvements to the engine and we've made progress.
Unfortunately, it wasn't reflected in qualifying. I
just don't think we got the best out of the car for
this session."
Team Manager Shane Seneviratne felt the result
could have been better. "It was a disappointing
qualifying session," he said. "We ran well all
weekend. We had good practice sessions, but we just
didn't put it together for the qualifying group. We
have a good race car, so we're looking forward to
the race."
The team faces a 10-spot penalty for an
unapproved engine change. The starting grid will be
announced after tomorrow's warm-up session. The
85-lap Honda Indy Toronto airs live on ABC
tomorrow, Sunday, July 8 at 12:30 p.m. (ET).
Source: Press
release
De Silvestro's car
running the first of engine updates
Simona de Silvestro has taken the
glass-is-half-full approach to the season in
regards to the first-year Lotus engine platform at
HVM Racing. Really, what else can the third-year
IZOD IndyCar Series driver do?
The 2.2-liter, twin-turbocharged V6 engine
designed and produced by Engine Developments Ltd.
in England for Lotus has been down on power through
the first half of the season, which has decidedly
impacted the results of de Silvestro’s No. 78
Nuclear Clean Air Energy car.
“On one side, I’m lucky to be part of
an engine development. Not many drivers get to do
that, so it’s a good learning process and
I’ve learned a lot this year,” de
Silvestro said. “I’m going to take pretty
much every possibility out of it to learn from it,
and that is going to make me better in the
future.
“As a race car driver, you want to be
winning races and running up front, so every race
weekend you try to do the best you can. That’s
what racing is all about. You can’t always
have the best equipment out there, and you just
have to shine with what you have right
now.”
For the Honda Indy Toronto, the team received
its first engine update, pursuant to INDYCAR engine
technical regulations. At mid-season and again at
the end of the year, manufacturers whose engines
are statistically more than 2½ percent
deficient in power may, at the discretion of
INDYCAR, make improvements to components to be
homologated. Alterations are intended to put the
engine within the 2½ percent window, and they
will be introduced on only new engines being sent
to the track.
Subsequent modifications are scheduled to be
incorporated for the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma
(Aug. 26-28) and the Grand Prix of Baltimore (Sept.
2-4).
The No. 78 car will receive a 10-grid spot
penalty for the 85-lap Honda Indy Toronto on the
1.75-mile, 11-turn Exhibition Place circuit for the
team changing out the engine before it reached its
mileage limit defined in Rule 15.5.1.
Because the team fitted its sixth engine of the
season for the Toronto race (the engine service
agreement is five), in violation of Rule 15.1.4, it
will receive a 10-grid spot penalty at the Edmonton
Indy in two weeks.
"It’s kind of hard to say what everybody
else did, but I think we improved the car," said de
Silvestro, who was 20th quick overall through two
practice sessions (.8685 of a second behind
front-runner Dario Franchitti). "We made some big
progress so I’m pretty happy about that.
We’ll have to see in qualifying. That’s
when we’ll know where we’re at.
“Lotus has worked really hard the last
month to get the updates (and) we just need to keep
focusing on what we are doing. It’s been
frustrating so far this season because we had a
strong race car at Detroit and again at Iowa, but
with less power it was so hard for us to pass. We
seem to be able to keep a good pace, but when
it’s time to pass we don’t have the speed
to do it.”
The updated engine wasn’t quite ready to
install in the No. 78 car for a July 2 test at
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course as planned, so de
Silvestro worked on a new shifting strategy.
“We will bring in as much performance as we
can, with reduced fuel consumption which is as
important, and which means that we will accept the
10-spot grid penalty for any upgrade," Lotus
director of motorsports Claudio Berro said.
Source: www.indycar.com/News/2012/07-July/7-6-De-Silvestro-gets-new-lease
De Silvestro Pushes Hard
for 14th Place Finish at Iowa Corn Indy 250
Iowa's long draught came to an end today as a
severe thunderstorm hit the Iowa Speedway around
5:45 p.m., pushing back the start of the Iowa Corn
Indy 250 to around 9:45 p.m. today. The rain and
the late start didn't put a damper on the hopes of
the #78 Nuclear Clean Air Energy Lotus HVM Racing
team. The team has struggled on ovals this season
and was eager to get their first oval finish of the
season. Not only did they finish, they had their
second-best finish of the season.
The race saw some attrition, starting with a
blown engine by pole-sitter, Dario Franchitti on
the warm up lap. Cars continued to struggle
throughout the evening, but Lotus HVM Racing driver
Simona De Silvestro pushed hard, drove a consistent
race and stayed out of trouble.
De Silvestro was happy with the final result.
"I'm pretty happy with 14th", she said, "that's our
second best finish this year, and it was on an
oval. I think there was a lot of survival going on
out there, but I think we had a really strong race
car. It was really comfortable out there so I could
stay in the tow of other people. A big thanks to
the team, they kept working really hard every time.
Even when we know it's going to be a tough weekend
we always hope for the best. I think today we had a
pretty good result at the end. Hopefully we'll get
some improvements for the road courses and start
sneaking into the top-ten. "
Team owner Keith Wiggins was pleased with the
outcome as well. "I think we should be quite
happy," he said. "Bottom line is she did a great
race. She got some more confidence and practice on
the oval. Obviously we were down on power so she
suffered a bit in traffic, but with the momentum
when she was up to speed and we were doing the same
lap times as most of the field, which is really
good. I'm happy for the team and with the car setup
and happy for Simona. We've just got to get a few
more horses."
Shane Seneviratne, team manager, is already
looking ahead. "I'm glad we finished the race," he
said. "Simona did a great job. Everything held up.
Hats off to the crew on the pit stops. We're
looking forward to Toronto."
The team heads back to Indianapolis tomorrow
looking forward to next weekend at home. The team
travels next to Toronto for the Honda Indy Toronto
on July 8th at 1:00 p.m. ET. The race will air on
ABC.
Source: E-Mail
De Silvestro to Start
22nd at Iowa Corn Indy 250
Iowa Speedway saw a change in the qualification
format tonight with IZOD IndyCar drivers
participating in a three heat race format rather
than the traditional single-car qualification
process. The new format benefited Lotus HVM driver
Simona de Silvestro as her pass of Simon Pagenaud
netted her two spots on the starting grid instead
of just one.
It was a bit confusing, but in the end worked
out well for the #78 Nuclear Clean Air Energy car.
Here's a breakdown of how it worked... Teams were
split into three groups based on their performance
in today's second practice session. Race one
consisted of the cars that finished the practice
session in an even-numbered spot starting with the
10th-quickest practice time. Race two consisted of
the cars that finished the practice session in an
odd-numbered spot starting with the 9th-quickest
practice time. The third and final race consisted
of the top-eight finishers in the practice session.
The third race determined the starting position of
the first eight starters with the cars in race one
filling the even-numbered spots from 10th down and
the cars in race two filling the odd-numbered spots
from 9th down.
By finishing one spot ahead of Pagenaud, De
Silvestro made the jump to 23rd on the grid with
the slowest car from the group one qualifiers,
Takuma Sato, starting 24th. E.J. Viso had an
unauthorized engine change and incurred a 10-spot
penalty which moved him back behind Sato, moving
both De Silvestro and Sato up one spot to 22nd and
23rd respectively.
Team owner Keith Wiggins spoke about the new
format. "Well, it was an interesting format," he
said. "Let's hope that the fans appreciated it. For
us, we picked up a couple of spots so we'll take
that and obviously focus on the main race
tomorrow."
De Silvestro was pleased with the results.
"Today was a big learning curve," she said. "We've
never been here with this car; we didn't test here,
so we just threw some things at it this morning and
it was alright; we worked through it. We learned a
lot in the first session, improved it in the second
session and I think even in the third session we
went a bit quicker, so those are really good
things. If we keep progressing like this it really
shows that we're a pretty strong team and can
improve every session out there."
Shane Seneviratne, team manager, agreed with
Wiggins about the heat race qualifying.
"Interesting format," he said. "I think it worked
out better for us. We gained a couple of positions
so it looks like we'll be starting 23rd. Simona did
a good job. She gave us a good indication for the
race. We just need to take advantage of it and set
up a good race car.
What does De Silvestro think about the team's
chances tomorrow? "I think we have a good car," she
said. "We're hoping that tomorrow some people will
fall off a little bit like in Milwaukee and that's
going to play in our favor. You know if we have a
solid car for a full stint, so we'll see. We're
just working at it, progressing. I don't think
we'll be able to make real passes at real speed,
but if people are going to struggle that's where
our chance is going to come. We're really going to
be ready when that chance comes."
The Iowa Corn Indy 250 airs tomorrow night under
the lights on NBC Sports at 10:00 p.m. Eastern,
9:00 p.m. local time.
Source: E-mail
Brush with the Wall Ends
Milwaukee IndyFest for Lotus HVM Racing
After a lengthy rain delay, the Milwaukee IndyFest
started well for Simona De Silvestro and the Lotus
HVM Racing team. The #78 Nuclear Clean Air Energy
car started 23rd on the grid and had some
over-steer issues early on. De Silvestro made some
adjustments in the car and settled into a good race
pace.
De Silvestro was running 22nd when she entered
the pits on lap 59. The team made tire and wing
adjustments before re-entering the track. Just 8
laps later De Silvestro got into the marbles and
brushed the wall in turn 3. De Silvestro was taken
to the infield care center where she was examined
and released.
As she left the care center she had this to say,
"I just made a mistake. TK (Tony Kanaan) passed me
and Oriol (Servia) tried to tuck behind him, and I
just got in the marbles. It's just unfortunate.
Sometimes you make mistakes; that's what
happens."
The team was hopeful that the damage was minor
and could be repaired, but unfortunately once the
car was returned to the garage it was determined
that there wasn't enough time to make repairs and
return to the race.
De Silvestro felt bad for the team. "It's pretty
unfortunate," she said. "I made a bit of a mistake
and ended up in the marbles and put an end to our
day. It's a shame because I think we had a pretty
good race car. I want to thank the team. I'm really
sorry to have put them in this situation. It would
have been nice to have finished the race and learn.
But, I guess I learned a lot because I made a
mistake that I'm not going to do again next
time."
With the changes De Silvestro and the team made,
the car was running at a strong pace for what
looked to be a good finish. While not happy with
the end result, Team Owner Keith Wiggins was happy
with the pace. "That was a shame," he said,
"because once we settled in the pace was actually
quite respectable compared to certainly the middle
of the pack and even some of the front runners. It
looked like going into our second stint that we'd
have a decent result. It's always hard when you've
got lots of traffic around you."
Shane Seneviratne, team manager, was equally
happy with the way the race was going before the
contact in turn 3. "It looked like it was going to
turn out to be a good race," he said. "Simona had
good pace. Her car was a little over-steering in
the beginning, but she made some adjustments in the
car giving her a good car. At the first pit stop we
made a few more adjustments. She was running a good
pace, but unfortunately we got caught out when
Kanaan went by us; we got into the grey and she
brushed the wall."
The team now heads to Newton, Iowa for the Iowa
Corn Indy 250 next Saturday, June 23. The race will
air on NBC Sports Network at 10:00 p.m. Eastern
Time.
Source: Press release
De Silvestro to Start
23rd at Milwaukee IndyFest
IZOD IndyCar driver Simona De Silvestro challenged
the back of the field today at the Milwaukee Mile
during qualification for tomorrow's Milwaukee
IndyFest. The Swiss pilot of the #78 Nuclear Clean
Air Energy car was less than a five-tenths of a
second behind Charlie Kimball who qualified 21st
and even closer to Oriol Servia's and Ed
Carpenter's qualifying times.
The team has struggled all season with
horsepower issues and is extremely excited to be
gaining ground on the other engine manufacturers.
HVM Racing is the lone remaining team running the
Lotus engine and has been at a disadvantage early
on due to the manufacturer's late arrival to the
series. De Silvestro and the team have managed to
keep competitive on road and street courses, but
have had difficulties staying competitive on
ovals.
De Silvestro was pleased with today's result.
"I'm pretty happy to have out-qualified someone,"
she said. "I think we have a really good race car.
We worked a lot and I think it's pretty impressive
because we didn't come here and test. So I'm happy
about that. We're just working on a good basic for
tomorrow. Maybe we can get off-strategy a little
bit so we can move forward and then I think we can
run there. I don't think we'll be able to pass
anyone, but I think we can definitely run with
people and stay with people, so that's the
important thing."
Today's performance offers De Silvestro, the
team, the manufacturer and the sponsors a glimpse
of a more competitive second half of the
season.
Tom Brown, Lotus HVM Racing's technical director
was proud of the effort given by the entire team.
"I'm very, very impressed with Sim and the guys for
putting this car together the way they did and
engineering it," he said. "No testing, just turning
up and spending an hour, hour and a half, and
putting it as close as we did to some of these guys
ahead of us. Given our situation, where we are,
we're doing a heck of a job."
Team Manager Shane Seneviratne summed up the
day. "We had a really good car," he said. "Our lap
times are very close. With the deficiency we have
with the horsepower I think the team is quite
pleased to be competitive."
Tomorrow's Milwaukee IndyFest airs on ABC with
coverage starting at noon Eastern.
Source: Press release
An Early Night for Simona
at Texas Motor Speedway
After strong practice and qualifying runs, Lotus
HVM Racing suffers another setback at the Firestone
550 at Texas Motor Speedway. The team came to Texas
full of hopes with an updated exhaust system that
offered a promise of more speed and
competitiveness. Unfortunately, due to a sudden
fuel pressure issue, the #78 Nuclear Clean Air
Energy car was unable to start the race.
De Silvestro was not happy to be sidelined
without turning a single lap. "We have one update
finally and then something like this happens, which
is annoying" she said. "But that's kind of how the
whole season has been going with our program. The
guys are working their butts off and we're trying
to make things happen, but we just don't have the
pieces all put together right now."
The team, which has struggled all season, was
hoping that the pieces were going to start falling
into place beginning with the updates brought for
this race. Unfortunately, things did not turn out
that way.
Keith Wiggins, team owner, was not pleased. "I'd
say that disappointing is an understatement," he
said; "devastating is more accurate. I don't think
we've ever not started a race before. But, we had a
problem with the engine; we couldn't get fuel
pressure, so we just have to lick our wounds and
move on."
Team manager, Shane Seneviratne was equally
unhappy with the day's turn of events. "I feel bad
for the team," he said. "We had a fuel pressure
problem that took us out of the race. We didn't
even get to do a single lap. We were running well
in practice and qualifying; we were closing the
gap. Now we just have to look forward to
Milwaukee."
Lotus HVM Racing and the IZOD IndyCar Series
next head to the legendary Milwaukee Mile for a
second consecutive Saturday race. The Milwaukee
IndyFest airs on ABC, Saturday, June 16 at 1:00
p.m. Eastern.
Photos from the weekend can be found at:
www.flickr.com/photos/75530607@N07/sets/72157630028542459/
Source: Press release
Best Finish of the Season
for Lotus HVM Racing
Starting at the back of the field, due to an engine
change penalty, the Lotus HVM #78 Nuclear Clean Air
Energy car and driver Simona De Silvestro had their
work cut out for them at today's Detroit Chevrolet
Belle Isle Grand Prix.
After struggling with engine issues for the
first five races of the season, today's finish of
13th was a welcome outcome for the team. De
Silvestro drove a strong consistent race, finishing
12 spots higher than her starting position.
"I think we can be pretty happy because we
finished the race," De Silvestro said, "and the
guys worked really hard the whole weekend to get
the car turned around. We had a really strong race
car; we just have to work on the engine side. It's
still not where we want it to be. I hope we'll get
some updates for the next couple of races. I think
if we were where the other engines are we'd be
running in the top 10 easily and maybe even going
for top fives. That's the frustrating part of it,
but we're going to keep working hard at it."
Strategy and good driving were the keys to the
team's great finish. The team engineers called for
an early pit stop on lap 11 setting the stage for
De Silvestro's race forward. De Silvestro ran as
high as 11th and was running 13th when the team
completed their second pit stop of the day on lap
37.
De Silvestro was running 16th when the race was
red flagged on lap 45 due to issues with the track.
After a lengthy delay, the race resumed around 6:45
p.m. On-track incidents brought out a couple of
yellow flags in the final 15 laps giving De
Silvestro the opportunity to move back up to 13th
before the race was called on lap 60.
Team owner, Keith Wiggins was pleased with the
team's performance. "It was hard work for a 13th
place finish," he said, "but on the good side, the
crew did a really good job on the strategy even
though we had less fuel consumption than the other
guys. Simona drove a really great intelligent race.
The reliability was better so that's a step forward
and if we can get a bit more horsepower then we'll
be looking good."
Shane Seneviratne, team manager was excited
about the final result. "Finally we got a good race
under our belt," he said. "Simona did a great job,
the crew did a great job and we had a really good
car. Lotus has stepped up a little bit, so thanks
to everyone involved. We're looking forward to
moving this program forward."
Lotus HVM Racing heads to Texas next weekend to
tackle the second oval and first night race of the
season. The race will air on NBC Sports Network
Saturday, June 9 at 8:00 p.m. ET.
Source: Press
release
Lotus HVM Racing Exits
Indy 500 Earlier Than Hoped
Lotus HVM Racing and the #78 Nuclear Clean Air
Energy IZOD IndyCar went into today's Indianapolis
500 hoping to run a trouble-free, consistent pace
while staying within the league mandated 105
percent of the fastest car on track with a goal of
finishing the race. Unfortunately, the race pace
was somewhat faster than anticipated and driver
Simona De Silvestro found herself being
black-flagged early in the day.
"I'm pretty disappointed to get black-flagged
after only a few laps," the Swiss driver said. "We
were trying to keep up pace, but unfortunately
right now we don't have the pace, so now we have to
work hard to get to the pace that we need. It's a
disappointment because the team worked so hard all
month and when you can't fight for anything it's
really, really tough. So, we just have to kind of
be patient with it and we have to work even harder
to mask a little bit the lack of speed we have
right now."
The team had over 500 guests for the month, with
over 150 of them here today to watch De Silvestro
and the team compete. De Silvestro met with guests
from Entergy, AREVA, Rev1, TDS, NEI, Enercon and
WTS this morning explaining race strategy, signing
autographs and posing for photos. While
disappointed that the day ended so early, everyone
was excited to have had the opportunity to
experience the excitement of the day.
Team owner Keith Wiggins had hopes for a longer
outing as well. "I expected us to get up to speed a
little bit better in the beginning and we didn't so
we fell outside their rule," he said. "On the other
hand I suspect it was more planned than we knew. We
hadn't even been lapped and we weren't in anyone's
way. They made a decision and that was that."
"It was disappointing in many ways," Tom Brown,
Lotus HVM Racing technical director said. "The car
was clearly good. We knew it was good. We knew
Simona was on her game. We have issues which we
have to resolve and those issues will have to be
resolved pretty quickly to get us back and be
competitive where we should be."
With the early exit, the team must now look
forward to next week's Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle
Grand Prix.
"Obviously very disappointing; we were hoping to
race for a bit longer," said team manager Shane
Seneviratne. "All we can do now is look forward to
Detroit. We all know where we stand with our power
situation so if we could get a good result out of
Detroit that will highlight how good the team is
and how good Simona is. We're looking forward to
putting the car in the middle of the pack in
Detroit."
The Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix airs
on ABC June 3, 2012 at 3:30 p.m. ET.
Source: Press
release
AREVA Adds Support to
Nuclear Clean Air Energy IndyCar Campaign
Lotus HVM Racing welcomes nuclear energy giant
AREVA as a sponsor of the #78 Nuclear Clean Air
Energy IndyCar. AREVA - ranked first in the global
nuclear energy industry - supported last year's
inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix and is pleased to
extend their participation with the program as it
continues to successfully communicate 'Nuclear
Clean Air Energy'.
AREVA joins Entergy as supporters on the #78
Nuclear Clean Air Energy IndyCar race team driven
by Swiss driver Simona De Silvestro for the Indy500
as well as the remainder of the 2012 season.
"AREVA, the global leader in clean energy
production, is once again pleased to partner with
the Nuclear Clean Air Energy team. By joining with
Simona and the team, we have another channel to
deliver the message of nuclear energy as a safe,
clean and reliable form of electricity production,"
stated Mike Rencheck, chief operating officer,
AREVA, Inc.
De Silvestro is a great supporter of nuclear and
clean energy. "I'm super excited to have AREVA on
board with us on the Nuclear Clean Air Energy car,"
she said. "It's good to have a partnership with
AREVA. I'm really proud to be driving on behalf of
nuclear energy. It's nice that all of these
companies in the nuclear business are coming
together to get the message out about Nuclear Clean
Air Energy."
John Herron, Entergy Nuclear CEO, said, "We're
pleased AREVA joins us as a valued partner in our
Nuclear Clean Air Energy national education
initiative as we team up with Simona and the Lotus
HVM racing team to broaden the reach of our nuclear
science message and educate people in the United
States about the safe and clean benefits of nuclear
power."
AREVA and their guests will be on-hand at the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 27, 2012
to watch the 96th running of the world's most
prestigious auto race. The Indy 500 will air on ABC
beginning at 11:00 a.m. ET.
Source: Press
Release
Lotus HVM Racing Announces
Nuclear Energy Institute Sponsorship
Lotus HVM Racing and the Nuclear Clean Air Energy
sponsor group are announcing today that the Nuclear
Energy Institute has joined the educational
campaign that utilizes IZOD IndyCar driver Simona
De Silvestro effective immediately.
"The nuclear industry and IndyCar racing have
much in common as they deal with highly
sophisticated technologies for which safety is the
highest priority. There is a natural synergy to
both industries that lends itself to our
partnership to promote awareness of the benefits of
nuclear industry," said Scott Peterson, NEI senior
vice president of communications.
"Both industries understand that it takes a team
approach with each member checking and rechecking
operating systems of the nuclear plant and an Indy
car to make sure they're working at peak efficiency
and reliability. Neither industry rests upon its
laurels and is constantly looking to raise the bar
on safety to ensure the maximum protection for
those working in these fields and the public."
NEI kicks off its support at the Nuclear Energy
Assembly, the annual nuclear industry conference
and nuclear supplier expo, in Charlotte. This
year's conference will feature the #78 Nuclear
Clean Air Energy IndyCar and the campaign it
supports.
"I'm very excited to have NEI on board with the
Nuclear Clean Air Energy campaign," said Simona De
Silvestro. "It's great to have all of these
partners in the nuclear industry joining our
program. I'm really happy to be part of the Nuclear
Clean Air Energy campaign and to be able to bring
education about nuclear to people. I'm proud to
have been chosen to represent the industry with my
#78 IZOD IndyCar."
John Herron, chief executive officer of Entergy
Nuclear, is pleased to have NEI join the campaign.
"Our partnership with NEI and the Lotus HVM racing
team with driver Simona De Silvestro gives us an
opportunity to educate people in this country that
nuclear power is critical to provide the safe,
clean, affordable and dependable baseload
electricity for our country's increasing energy
needs," he said. "I'm pleased that NEI is joining
us in this exciting Nuclear Clean Air Energy
outreach campaign."
De Silvestro will next drive the #78 Nuclear
Clean Air Energy IndyCar at the Indianapolis Motor
Speedway on Sunday, May 27. To watch the 96th
running of the Indy 500, the world's most
prestigious auto race, tune into ABC beginning at
11 a.m. ET.
Source: Press
Release
Simona qualified 32nd for
the 96th running of the Indy 500
Lotus HVM Racing's Simona De Silvestro qualified
the #78 Nuclear Clean Air Energy car today for this
year's 96th running of the Indianapolis 500. De
Silvestro was first in line when qualifying began
at noon today thanks to the lucky draw of Twitter
contest winner Jeff Wiedemann. Wiedemann was the
second contest winner in two days to make an
excellent qualifying draw for the team. Friday's
draw saw Domingo Riego pick the third spot in line
for the team.
The team didn't make an attempt in yesterday's
first round of qualifying, but today De Silvestro
drove a very strong and consistent four laps (all
within two-tenths of each other). Average speed for
the qualifying run was 214.393, which places her in
32nd position on the starting grid for next
Sunday's 500-mile race.
(Editor's note: In
IndyCar's rush to open up the series to more
manufacturers, they clearly got ahead of themselves
certifying Lotus. Not only are parts a difficulty,
the engines just aren't competitive - note - two
driver's were allowed to switch to Chevy's leaving
only two Lotus entries in the field of 33 - both
qualifying at the back of the pack, 12 mph for one,
16 mph back for the other. I really feel sorry for
Simona de Silvestro and Formula 1 racer Jean Alesi.
IndyCar was considering allowing those two drivers
to race with a boost just to keep the race safe.
The plan was rejected, as well it should
be.)
De Silvestro is thrilled to be in the field of
33. "I'm really happy that we qualified. It was a
good day for us. We found a bit of speed in the car
and that's a good thing. I think I have a lot of
work on my side finding how to best maneuver in
traffic. My team's been working really hard and I'm
glad I was able to come through for them. I've had
a lot of support from everybody; from my team and
from all the Nuclear Clean Air Energy sponsors. I'm
just happy to be in the 500."
Shane Seneviratne, Lotus HVM Team Manager, was
pleased with today's outcome. "It's been a bit of a
struggle," he said, "but we made it into the field.
I have to say Simona and the team made the best of
the situation we were presented with and everyone
worked really hard to get the car qualified. They
deserve it. I also have to thank Lotus for their
continued efforts. I'm looking forward to the
race."
Tom Brown, the team's Technical Director, is
proud of the team's efforts. "I have to thank this
crew for sticking it out this week. It has been one
of the toughest weeks we've ever had. The car
itself has been really good and the guys didn't
give up on anything. They came in every day and
gave 110% and I'm proud of them. Really proud of
them."
Keith Wiggins, Lotus HVM Team Owner, was honest
in his assessment of the team's situation. "To be
honest," he said, "we're happy to be in and under
the circumstances we're grateful that there's only
33 cars. Right now we've got some work to do. We've
just got to focus on the race and make sure that
next year we come back with much improved
power."
Sponsors and their guests will be on-hand at the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 27, 2012
to cheer Simona and the team on. The 2012 Indy 500
will air on ABC beginning at 11:00 a.m. ET.
Source: Press
release
Simona De Silvestro
Announces Winner of Charity Helmet Design
Contest
Twelve year-old Jason R. Steenberger II of
Greenwood, IN and patient of the Burn Unit at
Riley's Hospital for Children, was announced as
winner of Simona De Silvestro's helmet design
contest during Tuesday's Indy 500 Party. The helmet
will be worn by De Silvestro, driver of Lotus HVM's
#78 Nuclear Clean Energy Car, and later auctioned
with all proceeds being donated to Riley Hospital's
burn unit.
Steenberger's rendering was chosen from a number
of imaginative drawings submitted by patients of
the burn unit. The helmet, to be painted by Austin
Polen of Polen Designs Inc. of Goodland, Indiana,
uses Steenberger's winning creation as the main
concept for his design. The helmet will make its
on-track debut during Carb Day practice on May 25,
2012.
"I'm really excited to be doing this contest for
the children's burn unit at Riley Hospital," Simona
said. "I'd like to thank Bell for donating a helmet
to the cause and also thank Austin for donating his
time and creativity to the project. I feel that
it's very important for me, as a burn survivor, to
help these kids in any way I can. I'm really lucky
to be able to use the resources that I have as a
driver in the IZOD IndyCar Series to give back to
the kids who've suffered burns like I did during a
practice session at last year's Indy 500. It just
makes me happy that I'm able help."
Contest winner, Jason Steenberger II was
thrilled to have his design chosen by Simona. "I'm
just so excited that my simple design was chosen. I
never win anything like this and to have it picked
is just so great. I also want to thank my dad for
his help," the 12-year-old said.
Jason's dad, Jason R. Steenberger, is also
excited about his son's winning design. "I am just
so proud of Jason," he said. "He is very proud to
have his design chosen. He and all the kids at
Riley did a great job designing this helmet. I want
to thank Simona and all the other drivers for their
support of the children at Riley. From Jason,
myself, and our entire family, we want to thank
Simona for everything and wish her the best of luck
in this year's Indianapolis 500."
De Silvestro's helmet design contest is the
latest in a continuing effort by the driver to
bring awareness and support for the important work
being done by Riley Children's Hospital, the
Children's Burn Foundation and other charities
supporting child victims of burn tragedies around
the nation. IZOD IndyCar Series community, sponsors
and fans who choose to make a donation to the
Children's Burn Foundation will have the chance to
sign a banner that will be presented to the
organization at the season finale in Fontana.
To make a donation online or find more
information on the Children's Burn Foundation visit
their website at: www.childburn.org
Source: Press
release
IZOD IndyCar Driver Simona
De Silvestro Hosts Burn Survivor at Toyota Grand
Prix of Long Beach
Simona De Silvestro and the Lotus HVM Racing team's
return to Long Beach heralded the beginning of a
new relationship with The Children's Burn
Foundation of Sherman Oaks. Having scored her first
Atlantic Championship Series win here, the Toyota
Grand Prix of Long Beach is already a special place
for the Swiss Driver and now even more so.
"I'm pretty excited to be back in Long Beach.
It's a pretty fun place and has a lot of history to
it. I won my first Atlantic race there, so that's
pretty special. I'm really excited to have the
Children's Burn Foundation with me at the race
track this weekend. It's going to be fun for the
kids to come out."
Having received 3rd degree burns on her hands as
a result of her crash during practice last year at
the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Simona understands
the physical and mental trauma associated with burn
injuries. She has chosen to become an advocate for
the Children's Burn Foundation, supporting their
work with child burn survivors across the globe.
Simona's goal is to raise awareness and assist in
fundraising efforts through the use of her
celebrity. She will serve as a role model for the
children, demonstrating that it is possible to be
successful after a burn
Simona hosted burn survivor Cydney and her
family this afternoon at the team's transporter,
showing her and her little brother around the car
and explaining to them how her steering wheel
works. Simona and Cydney shared the stories of
their accidents with each other and spoke about how
they've overcome their injuries. Simona presented
Cydney with a couple of gifts and the two posed for
photos.
De Silvestro presented the Children's Burn
Foundation with a signed endplate that they will
auction on their site and used this opportunity to
announce a fundraising effort she is implementing
for the foundation. The IndyCar community, sponsors
and fans that choose to make a donation to the
Children's Burn Foundation will have the chance to
sign a banner that will be presented to the
organization at the season finale in Fontana.
The Children's Burn Foundation is a nonprofit
organization dedicated to providing support
services for child burn survivors, ages 0-18 and
their families, as well as burn prevention and fire
safety education to thousands of children and
caregivers in Southern California, nationally, and
internationally. Their mission is to prevent the
pain and trauma of burn injuries to children, and
to heal and give children who have suffered severe
burns the opportunity to reach their full
potential, physically, psychologically and
socially.
To make a donation online or find more
information on the Children's Burn Foundation visit
their website at: www.childburn.org
Source: Press
release
Child Burn Survivors to
Meet IZOD IndyCar Driver Simona De Silvestro at
Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
What: IZOD IndyCar driver Simona De
Silvestro hosts special meet and greet with burn
survivors from the Children's Burn Foundation
Where: Long Beach Grand Prix IZOD IndyCar
Paddock HVM Team Transporter
When: Friday April 13, 2012 12:45 p.m.
PT
Why: Having received 3rd degree burns on
her hands as a result of her crash during practice
last year at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway,
Simona understands the physical and mental trauma
associated with this injury. She has chosen to
become an advocate for the Children's Burn
Foundation, supporting their work with child burn
survivors across the globe. Simona's goal is to
raise awareness and assist in fundraising efforts
through the use of her celebrity.
Who: IZOD IndyCar Driver Simona De
Silvestro and The Children's Burn Foundation. The
Children's Burn Foundation is a nonprofit
organization dedicated to providing support
services for child burn survivors, ages 0-18 and
their families, as well as burn prevention and fire
safety education to thousands of children and
caregivers in Southern California, nationally, and
internationally. Their mission is to prevent the
pain and trauma of burn injuries to children, and
to heal and give children who have suffered severe
burns the opportunity to reach their full
potential, physically, psychologically and
socially. You can find out more information
regarding the Children's Burn Foundation at their
website: www.childburn.org.
For more information contact Trish Donovan from
Lotus HVM Racing at 317-525-8653 or Carol Horvitz
of The Children's Burn Foundation at
323-252-1144.
Source: Press
release
Sir Speedy Monrovia
Partners with Lotus HVM Racing
IndyCar teams are built on speed, technology and a
solid reliance on business relationships. These
principles go hand-in-hand with businesses across
the globe, making the IZOD IndyCar Series a perfect
partner and the reason why many large companies
invest their marketing and sponsorship budgets in
the series.
Small businesses also see the value of IndyCar
and today Sir Speedy-Monrovia is proud to announce
that it will be partnering with Lotus HVM Racing
and Simona De Silvestro for the remainder of the
2012 IZOD IndyCar season. De Silvestro drives the
Lotus powered No. 78 Nuclear Clean Air Energy car,
which will be racing next Sunday, April 15, on the
streets of Long Beach.
The Sir Speedy partnership pairs the locally
owned franchise, which is nestled against the San
Gabriel Mountains in the city of Monrovia,
California, with Lotus HVM Racing and its
third-year driver Simona De Silvestro. Sir
Speedy-Monrovia becomes the team's Official
Provider of Printing and Marketing Services. All of
the team's printing, signage and marketing needs
will be provided as part of this year's
program.
"We are delighted to be able to partner with
Lotus HVM Racing and Simona. Simona is a great
ambassador for our company as we share the same
qualities: speed, expertise in technology, teamwork
and a persistent commitment to winning," states
David Martinez, Sir Speedy Sales Manager.
Lotus HVM Racing owner Keith Wiggins welcomes
the new partnership. "We are very happy to welcome
Sir Speedy to our group of partners," he said. "
Their support, with product and services of
quality, reflects our own image and gives us
another tool that we can utilize to enhance our
brand and perception."
On Wednesday, April 11th, Simona will be
appearing at the Sir Speedy store located at 411
West Maple Ave in Monrovia, CA from 6:00 p.m. -
8:00 p.m. as part of the store's Open House. The
public is welcome to attend the event and meet
Simona as she signs autographs and meets her fans
in preparation for the upcoming 2012 Toyota Grand
Prix of Long Beach.
Source: Press
release
Difficult Day in Brazil
for Lotus HVM Racing
Lotus HVM Racing had an early exit from today's
Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle.
The #78 Nuclear Clean Air Energy car was running
well, having climbed to 16th place before driver
Simona De Silvestro reported an issue with sixth
gear. De Silvestro pitted and it was determined
that she would be able to continue the race,
provided she didn't attempt to use sixth gear.
Unfortunately, only ten laps later, the car stalled
on track and could not be restarted, thus ending
the day for De Silvestro.
"It was difficult for sure," she said. "I think
we ran pretty good in practice this morning and we
were looking forward to having a good race. The
guys on the team have been doing a great job and
working really hard. I feel bad for them that we
couldn't finish the race. Now we just have to go
back and work hard to get everything working right
for Indy."
With high hopes for a strong finish, team
manager Shane Seneviratne was equally disappointed
with the results. "It was a disappointing weekend.
I feel bad for the crew and Simona, they worked
real hard. Now we have to look forward to the Indy
500. We're going to prepare hard, it's a lot of
work ahead. We'll try to do our best for Simona and
our sponsors."
Echoing the sentiment was team owner, Keith
Wiggins. "We're bitterly disappointed," he said.
"We're just continuing to have engine control
issues that result in failures and that's very,
very disappointing. That's about all we can say,
disappointing."
The team flies back to Indianapolis tonight and
will be back at work preparing for the 2012
Indianapolis 500 as soon as the equipment arrives
from Brazil. Lotus HVM racing will begin practicing
at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 12,
2012.
Source: E-Mail
Lotus
HVM Racing Ready for Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy
300
Lotus HVM Racing and the #78 Nuclear Clean Air
Energy car arrived in Sao Paulo, Brazil yesterday
morning. Driver Simona De Silvestro has
historically done well on this circuit and looks to
use that knowledge to score her season best finish
of the season. Having led laps here in her first
race in 2010 as well as setting the fastest lap of
the race in 2011, De Silvestro considers the
2.6-mile temporary street course as one of her
favorite stops of the IZOD IndyCar season.
"I'm excited to be in Brazil this weekend", De
Silvestro said. "I really enjoy the track. I think
it suits my driving style a lot and since it's
supposed to rain that should be good for us too.
The team has been working really hard and I think
we have a chance for a good result. It should be
fun."
De Silvestro isn't the only one happy to be back
in Brazil. "I'm definitely happy to be back in
Brazil," said team owner Keith Wiggins. "It's one
of my favorite places. We've had some good
performances here and Simona certainly has had the
pace here for the last couple of years. We're
looking forward to being able to deliver that into
a decent result as we continue to work on our
project with our partners at Lotus."
Technical Director Tom Brown thinks De Silvestro
has a good shot at a strong finish this weekend.
"She drove a great race at Long Beach," he said.
"We take that momentum, that excitement we had and
even though we had an issue at the end and couldn't
finish, she was quick where she needed to be quick.
We had no practice and only 3 or 4 laps in
qualifying but come to the race and she was right
on it. We'll take that enthusiasm and drive into
this race. She loves this place, so it'll be
good."
Be sure to tune in when the 75-lap Itaipava Sao
Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle airs live
Sunday, April 29 at 11:00 a.m. ET on NBC Sports
Network with qualifying coverage airing Saturday,
April 28 at 6:00 p.m. on NBC Sports Network.
Source: Press release
Lotus HVM Racing Has
Difficult Weekend at Toyota Grand Prix of Long
Beach
After the solid run at Barber, the Lotus HVM Racing
team was confident that they would continue to
improve at this weekend's Toyota Grand Prix of Long
Beach. Unfortunately, that's not how it played
out.
With a crash in practice on Friday morning and a
wash-out of afternoon practice, driver Simona De
Silvestro only recorded a handful of laps in the
#78 Nuclear Clean Air Energy car Friday. Things
didn't improve on Saturday. A water pump issue kept
the Swiss driver off track during morning practice
and she was only able to finish three laps in
qualifying before a different issue sidelined
her.
Frustrated, but hopeful the team was still
optimistic that they could put together a strong
car for the race. It looked like they were right
all the way up until lap 74 of the 85 lap race. The
car was running well, De Silvestro was driving hard
and the crew teamed up for three great pit stops,
but, with only 11 laps to go the engine failed.
"I'm really disappointed," De Silvestro said.
"It wasn't a fun weekend at all. We had issues in
practice and qualifying and only ran like six laps
total going into the race, so we were excited to be
running such a great race. We had good pit stops
and only 11 laps to go when we lost the engine, so
it's really frustrating."
De Silvestro and her crew impressed guests from
sponsors AREVA, Holtec and Entergy that were in
attendance this weekend. She had moved up in track
position and was poised to have a top 12 finish at
the track where she scored her first Atlantic
Championship series win.
"A very frustrating weekend considering we did
three laps in the dry," said team owner Keith
Wiggins. "We didn't really get any running in
because of various issues, so to have the place we
had in the race is a credit to the crew, we did
good stops and had a really good strategy going.
Clearly we had a 10th or 11th place. To get so far
and then for the engine to give up with 11 laps to
go is extremely disappointing because we really
needed the points and she was driving a fantastic
race. It was more frustrating because it looked
like it was all going to come together in the end,
but we'll have to move on."
Wiggins is echoed by team manager Shane
Seneviratne. "It's was a pretty tough weekend from
the start, but we recovered from it. We were having
a great race and Simona did a good job driving. The
crew did some awesome pit stops. It was unfortunate
that we lost our motor. We just have to look
forward to Brazil now."
The team heads back to Indy tonight to prepare
for their next race in Sao Paulo, Brazil were De
Silvestro has led laps before. The race will air
NBC Sports on April 29, 2012.
Source: Press release
Lotus HVM Racing Better at
Barber
Timing and scoring doesn't give you the true story
of the highs and lows Lotus HVM Racing experienced
at today's Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama. With a
disappointing 21st place start, driver Simona De
Silvestro was aggressive from the start.
After losing a spot early, De Silvestro settled
in and drove a strong race, making several passes
on track to gain positions. At one point the Swiss
driver had climbed up to 17th place.
"I'm pretty happy we finished the race. I think
it's good for the team," De Silvestro said. "We had
a pretty solid car actually. Tire run was really
good; tires didn't fall off too much. The good
thing is that we finished and we can go to Long
Beach with what we learned from this. We had a
couple of boo-boos and a bad timed yellow, which
didn't help us, but I think we had a solid car and
drove pretty well. We really just have to take the
positive out of this weekend and go even better
next weekend."
While those errors in the pushing the fuel
window and then a yellow caution cost her, she
never gave up. She pushed hard and passed Tony
Kanaan with less than 10 laps to go for position.
She was still gaining on the cars in front of her
when the checkered flag dropped and would likely
have moved past a couple of other cars if she'd
only had a few more laps.
Team owner Keith Wiggins was disappointed with
the final outcome feeling that the team missed a
chance to finish well. "It's good to get to the
end," he said, "but it's a bit disappointing not to
do as well as what we could have. We didn't take
advantage of what we had and the yellow went
against us: we just missed some opportunities."
One of those missed opportunities was late in
the race when the team pitted just prior to a
yellow flag. Had they been able to stay out another
lap, the day would have ended better.
Unfortunately, De Silvestro was low on fuel and
actually ran out just as she was entering pit lane
for her third stop. Luckily, she made it to her pit
box limiting her losses.
Team Manager Shane Seneviratne wants the team to
learn from their mistakes and build on the progress
made here at Barber. "First I'd like to
congratulate Team Penske and Will Power for a great
job," he said. "The IndyCar series has done a great
job with the new car my hat's off to them. As a
team I think we made some progress. We finished the
race. I'd like to thank Lotus for the progress.
We're just going to keep building from here on. I
think we'll have a much better result in Long
Beach."
While it wasn't the result hoped for, the team's
guests from AREVA enjoyed their weekend at the
track. Making progress throughout the weekend, the
team expects to continue moving forward in two
weeks when the IZOD IndyCar Series hits the streets
of Long Beach.
Source: Press release via
eMail
Lotus HVM Racing
Disappointed At St. Pete
With high hopes going into today's Honda Grand Prix
of St. Petersburg, the Nuclear Clean Air Energy
Lotus HVM Racing #78 team suffered a setback when
the car stalled on track early in the race. Unable
to restart the car in pit lane, the team pushed the
car to the garage, working frantically to fix the
issue and get driver Simona De Silvestro back into
the race. Unfortunately, they weren't able to get
back out prior to the cut off of 15 laps to go.
After working so hard to get ready for the race,
the disappointment was intense throughout the team,
but especially for De Silvestro whose excitement
level was high going into today's race. "I'm pretty
disappointed with not finishing the race," she
said. "We improved the car for the race and we were
doing ok lap times. We just have to keep working
hard for the next race and I think we'll get
there."
Team Manger Shane Seneviratne, while
dissatisfied with the result, looked at the
positives the weekend offered the team and
addressed the issue that ended their day early.
"We've learned a lot," he said. "We haven't had
much testing, so this whole race weekend was an
opportunity to learn about the engine package. We
made it through all the sessions without any
problems. Unfortunately, we had an issue in the
race that resulted in a loss of fuel and oil
pressure. Now we just have to focus on the next
race and try to do our best at Barber."
Echoing Seneviratne was Team Owner Keith Wiggins
who said, "Obviously the main focus was to be
reliable and build from there, so it's
disappointing that we weren't able to finish the
race. On a good note saw some other Lotus cars make
some good progress. We have to build on that and
keep working hard for the next race."
The team hosted guests from Nuclear Clean Air
Energy sponsors Entergy, Areva, Holtec, WTS and Rev
1, as well as a large group from the Tampa Bay
Buccaneers. Guests packed the stands behind the
team's pit box cheering boisterously for De
Silvestro and continued to enjoy the excitement of
the race even after the Nuclear Clean Air Energy
car was retired.
Source: eMail
Lotus HVM Racing Looking
Forward
After a great practice Friday afternoon, the team
experienced a bit of a setback today when the
Nuclear Clean Air Energy Lotus HVM Racing #78
driver Simona De Silvestro got stuck in traffic
during qualifying. Unable to get a clean lap, De
Silvestro will start tomorrow's Honda Grand Prix of
St. Petersburg on the outside of row 11.
Clearly disappointed, De Silvestro said, "I
think qualifying could have gone a little bit
better. We struggled a bit with traffic, so we'll
have a long race tomorrow starting from the back.
But we'll keep fighting to go forward."
De Silvestro was the fastest of the Lotus engine
teams in yesterday's practice and the team had high
hopes for a good qualifying run and a good starting
position on tomorrow's grid.
Team Manager Shane Seneviratne is still
optimistic about tomorrow's race. "We didn't have
the best qualifying session with the traffic, but I
think we have a decent car to race with tomorrow.
The team's done a great job. The engine side of
things is picking up progress. We're looking
forward to having a good race tomorrow.
While the team isn't starting as close to the
front as they'd like, Team Owner Keith Wiggins
summarized the situation nicely. "It's a work in
progress. We didn't get the best out of the car in
qualifying. We're still working with the car and
engine and we didn't get our fastest lap. There are
a number of areas where we just have to work and
improve."
Source: email
de Silvestro roars into
Baltimore
Simona de Silvestro gave downtown
workers/shoppers/residents a snippet of what will
be a new sound on Baltimore streets on Labor Day
weekend as she lit up Light Street in the Nuclear
Clean Air Energy car.
The Lotus HVM Racing driver and crew also did a
pit stop demonstration after unveiling the green,
white and yellow livery of the No. 78 car in front
of the InterContinental Harbor Court Baltimore, a
team partner that played host to the event.
De Silvestro drove to 12th on the challenging
circuit in the inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix and
is looking forward to returning.
"The stands were full every day, the fans were
great," she said. "And it was so cool, with the
race course in the middle of the city, to leave
your hotel at night to go to dinner and be actually
walking on the race course. The whole experience
here was a fun thing. I'm so glad we're back."
Source: indycar.com/news/show/55-izod-indycar-series/51177-notes-de-silvestro-roars-into-baltimore/
Lotus Shakedown & Testing
a Success.
Lotus HVM Racing, the Lotus test team and Swiss
driver Simona De Silvestro completed a successful
shakedown of the new 2012 Lotus-powered Dallara
DW12 on Thursday, before beginning more in-depth
testing of the 2.2 liter, twin-turbo V6 engine on
Friday at Palm Beach International Raceway in West
Palm Beach, FL.
After two full days of testing over the weekend
and turning 300+ incident free miles in West Palm
Beach, the Lotus team packed up and moved to
Sebring for additional testing on Monday and
Tuesday. 870 miles were run over the combined
sessions.
Driver Simona De Silvestro was extremely happy
with her time in the new car. "I think it was
really a good four days," she said. "We ran a lot
of miles. We did a lot of laps. I've never spent so
much time in a race car. We started tweaking on the
race car just to see what it liked. It was a really
positive test and to be part of the first laps on
the Lotus engine... I learned so many things right
there. These guys have been really open and showed
me everything and we worked really well together
which was really cool. I can't wait to get back in
the car again."
De Silvestro isn't the only HVM Racing member
that was happy with the results of the testing.
"We're very satisfied with the way everything
went," said team manager Vince Kremer. "I feel like
we made good solid strides. Simona put some solid
laps in and the engine ran flawlessly. We exceeded
what our original parameters were and we're looking
forward to the next test in a few days. I can't
emphasize enough how well the collaboration with
the three teams and the engine supplier went."
Lotus IndyCar Manager Olivier Picquenot was
equally pleased with the initial testing. "This was
the most successful test I have ever participated
in," he said. "We achieved more than I expected.
The quality of the engine is perfect. We're very
pleased from a technical aspect on behalf of Lotus
and Judd. I would like to thank Simona for her
fantastic job during the 4 days. She was smiling
all the time and was very good at giving feedback
to the engineers to progress in our development.
Hopefully the rest of the tests will be as
successful."
As the first driver of the three team
collaborative group (HVM Racing, Dreyer &
Reinbold Racing and Bryan Herta Autosport) working
with Lotus to develop the new engine, Simona will
have her next opportunity to drive the car again in
February. Lotus test drivers Alex Tagliani and
Oriol Servia will share driving responsibilities
with Simona in the scheduled tests in February and
March. Simona will be present to join her engineers
and team members at the upcoming tests in Homestead
and again in Sebring.
Source: eMail PR release
from Lotus
De Silvestro's season
review
If someone would’ve told me at the beginning
of the 2011 season, as I was fighting for that
podium spot with Tony Kanaan on the streets of St.
Petersburg, how the rest of this season would
unfold, I wouldn’t have believed them.
We really kicked it off in style this year. My
Nuclear Clean Air Energy car was new and fast, and
I was coming off a great rookie season. We raced
strong at St. Pete and I had a career-best,
fourth-place finish. I felt great about the
direction my sophomore season was headed in.
Quick stats
Top 10s: 3
Top 5s: 1
Run at finish: 11
Best start: 13th (3 times)
Best finish: 4th (St. Pete)
After a second top-10 finish at Barber, we had a
somewhat disappointing race at Long Beach, but I
remember that it made me even more excited to go to
Brazil. The race on the streets of Sao Paulo is one
of my favorites. Maybe it’s because I lead
laps there during my very first race in the IZOD
IndyCar Series. Maybe it’s because I love
driving in the rain. Whatever the reason, I
couldn’t wait to get out there.
My excitement faded quickly after an early
incident put me nine laps down. The rain ended
everyone’s day early, but when I got back on
track Monday morning, I ran the fastest lap of the
race and was proud to take home that trophy. It
wasn’t for a podium finish, but something I
could take pride in nonetheless.
After Brazil, it was on to Indy! I was the
reigning champion of the Indy 500 Rookie of the
Year honors and I wanted to make this year even
more special. I try not to relive what happened too
much in my head, so let’s just say that the
massive crash was something I hope never happens to
me again. I’ll admit that I considered walking
away from racing. The support I got from my family,
team and sponsors was incredible – they told
me that it was my decision. Ultimately, it came
down to the fact that this is what I believe I was
born to do. I’m a racecar driver and I
don’t want to do anything else. So even though
I was terrified, I got into that car and made that
qualifying run… three times.
We didn’t have a great race at Indy, but I
feel blessed to just be part of the experience.
I’m one of only 33 people who can say they
raced in the 100th anniversary of the Indy 500.
That’s pretty special.
From that point on, it was me and my trusty
sidekick, Pork Chop. We didn’t have the best
start together – after Texas, the crash in
qualifying at Milwaukee lead to a concussion. For
the first time in my career, I didn’t feel
physically able to drive and as a driver, it’s
hard to admit that. I wanted to be tough and push
through it, but I knew that wouldn’t be the
right decision and could have consequences later
on.
Not being medically cleared to drive at Iowa was
tough, but I understand. In the long term, it was
the best thing for everyone involved that I got
back to being 100 percent. The whole experience was
trying and I couldn’t wait to return to the
road/street courses.
My excitement must’ve shown on the streets
of Toronto and we brought home another top-10
finish. The next few races seemed to fly by –
Edmonton, Mid-Ohio, New Hampshire – and then I
thought I’d take a few days to go home and
visit my family in Switzerland.
The plan was to fly back in time for the Sonoma
race. Everything worked according to plan until I
landed in Washington-Dulles and wasn’t allowed
to enter the country! With all the proper paperwork
and without being given a reason, I was sent back
home to watch my team compete from halfway around
the world. I was thankful that Simon Pagenaud was
willing to step in and help us out. Although it was
tough not being there, he did a great job.
My birthday is September 1st and as luck would
have it, that happened to be the day I was granted
access back into the U.S. I flew in just in time to
enjoy the Baltimore race weekend. It was definitely
one of my favorites this year. We had awesome
hospitality from our partners (and friends) at the
InterContinental Harbor Court Hotel and it felt
like my “home” race because all of the
folks from Entergy Nuclear and AREVA came out to
cheer me on. I was leading for a brief time during
that race and I really felt like I was back.
The trip to Japan was fun, as always. It
probably won’t surprise anyone that I was glad
we were driving the road course. The fans are
awesome and I hope we go back there someday.
I went into the Kentucky race weekend with a
simple goal of continuing to improve my confidence
on the ovals. At the end of the second practice
session, I was actually having a great time out
there, and managed to put together a solid
qualifying run. It made me realize how cool it is
to drive for a diverse series. It allows drivers of
different backgrounds to showcase the skills they
already have and improve on the ones they need
to.
Finally, it was off to Vegas for the IZOD
IndyCar season finale. What started as a great
celebration ended in a tragedy that none of us
could’ve ever expected. We got to put on a
great event Thursday night on the strip, followed
by some fun appearances, all of which lead up to
what was supposed to be an exciting finale to the
2011 season. As we got strapped into our cars, we
wanted to put on a show for the fans.
In the aftermath of the Lap 11 accident, all of
us – drivers, teams, officials and fans –
have been looking for answers and mourning in our
own separate ways. First and foremost, my thoughts
and prayers are with Susie and the boys. Secondly,
IndyCar has made it clear that safety is paramount
and they’re working to answer our questions.
As drivers, we understand that there’s risk
involved with our sport. We have to be strong and
involved in making it even safer.
As always, I want to say thanks to my team for a
great season. I also want to express my sincere
appreciation for my fans. During a very tough
season, you continued to cheer me on and your
support gave me strength. I look forward to a new
start in 2012, a leveled playing field with the new
car and another chance to connect with all of you.
Have a fun and safe off-season. See you in St.
Pete.
Source: indycar.com/news/show/55-izod-indycar-series/50944-de-silvestroand-39-s-season-review/
HVM Racing Kicks Off an
Action-Packed Weekend in Las Vegas
Simona De Silvestro and her HVM Racing team have
arrived in Las Vegas for the IZOD IndyCar Series
World Championships. With any luck, the season
finale will be the culmination of what has been a
high-profile season for the team.
De Silvestro and the rest of the stars of the
IZOD IndyCar Series arrived in Vegas on Wednesday
to kick-off an entire weekend of events. Some of
the highlights include concerts, parties, charity
blackjack tournaments and unforgettable moments,
like Thursday night's closing of the famed Las
Vegas Boulevard for a few parade laps.
Fans were invited to experience the fun at the
racetrack as well. On Thursday and Friday, the cars
were on track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway,
preparing for Sunday's race. The first two practice
sessions went well for HVM Racing, with De
Silvestro finishing P3 on Thursday and running over
222 miles per hour both days. Even though they did
not have a good qualifying run and will start 30th,
De Silvestro is looking forward to an exciting
season finale.
"I'm a little disappointed with the qualifying
run, but I think the Nuclear Clean Air Energy car
is really good in traffic," said the Swiss driver.
"We have some work ahead of us as we try to advance
positions but we've done it before and I'm
confident in what we can do. The track is pretty
fun - it should definitely be a good show for the
fans to end the season."
The IZOD IndyCar World Championship at Las Vegas
will take place on Sunday afternoon at Las Vegas
Motor Speedway. Pre-race activities will begin at
12 p.m. local time and the telecast of the 200-lap
competition will be broadcast on ABC.
Simona’s Las Vegas
Hide-and-Tweet
As Simona prepares for the IZOD IndyCar season
finale race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, she
decided to check out the area and get familiar with
the attractions. She has four pairs of race
tickets/paddock passes to give away to the people
with the highest number of correct guesses as to
which attractions she's visiting.
You can either tweet your answers to twitter.com/HVMracing
or enter your guesses below as a comment. Entries
will be accepted until 12 a.m. ET. and winners will
be announced via twitter tomorrow (Wednesday,
October 5).Good luck! (Editor's note: This
email wasn't distributed until almost 3pm ET,
Tuesday, October 4.) Here are Simona's clues:
- "I’m about to enter the famous Las
Vegas strip. This attraction was created in 1959
and cost only $4,000 to build and install."
- "I’m watching more than a thousand
spigots of water dance to music ranging from
Pavarotti to Sinatra."
- "I’m attending a show that features an
international cast of acrobats, swimmers, divers
& characters performing in, on and above
water."
- "I’m in downtown Vegas, checking out a
free nightly show of more than 12.5 million
lights and 550,000 watts of sound."
- "I’m listening to an eclectic mix of
live music at this legendary location that
features a capacity of approximately 1,800
people."
- "I’m enjoying a South Beach ambiance!
This location that offers 2 saltwater pools, 8
individual pools, cabanas & VIP
bungalows."
- "Let the good times roll! I’m riding
the attraction that lifts you 203 feet and drops
you 144 feet."
- "I’m excited to do some laps here with
Pork Chop and the other drivers of the IZOD
IndyCar Series on Thursday, October 13."
- "I’m attending this
critically-acclaimed show, known to put the
entire audience in a state of
'bluephoria.'"
- "I’m staring up at one of the Vegas
attractions. At 1,149 feet, it stands twice the
height of any other building in the city."
Day Ends Early for HVM Racing
at Kentucky Speedway
Simona De Silvestro and her HVM Racing crew had a
positive outlook going into Sunday’s race at
the Kentucky Speedway. Unfortunately, a series of
issues ended the day early.
Throughout the race weekend, the Nuclear Clean
Air Energy team worked hard to improve the car with
each practice session. De Silvestro knew she was
dialed in when she went out to qualify on Saturday
afternoon, and put the car in P13 to start the
race.
The first half of the Kentucky Indy 300 was
fairly uneventful for De Silvestro and most of the
field. The team planned to pit around lap 140, but
brought the car in a few laps early due to a lack
of fuel pressure. On restarting the car, as De
Silvestro left the pits, with an overheated clutch,
the car grabbed and turned her into the inside pit
lane wall. After repairs, she was able to go back
out for an additional few laps before the burnt
clutch ended the team’s day early, putting
them in P25.
“It’s obviously not the way I wanted
to end this race,” said De Silvestro. “I
feel like we had a solid run going. I was making
passes and improving my confidence. It’s just
unfortunate and I hope everyone in pit lane is
okay. I’m proud of my Nuclear Clean Air Energy
team for working so hard to give me a good car.
We’ll keep trying and hope to bring home a
good result at the season finale in
Vegas.”
In two weeks, the stars and cars of the IZOD
IndyCar Series will finish the 2011 season with
grand fashion in Las Vegas. IndyCar has planned a
plethora of activities and events for fans, leading
up to Sunday’s race. The IZOD IndyCar World
Championships at Las Vegas will take place on
Sunday, October 16 at 3 p.m. ET. The telecast will
air live on ABC.
Simona Finishes 14th at
Twin Ring Motegi
Simona De Silvestro persevered to a
fourteenth-place finish during the final IZOD
IndyCar race at Twin Ring Motegi.
Starting from the back of the grid, De Silvestro
was able to advance to P21 after only 15 laps. She
and her HVM Racing team did some large changes
throughout the weekend to find speed on the very
low grip and tricky circuit. They accomplished
their goal on Sunday afternoon, finding speed,
putting together some solid laps and gaining
positions.
De Silvestro was running in P17 at lap 50. An
incident on lap 57 allowed her to advance to P16
and another with two laps to go in the race moved
her up to P15. A penalty issued to another driver
during the last few laps of the race gave her one
more position, putting the No. 78 Nuclear Clean Air
Energy car in P14 to finish the final road course
of the 2011 season.
“I think overall we can be happy with how
the race went,” said De Silvestro. “Where
we started was kind of tough, but the car was
definitely better in the race. It was difficult to
pass out there, but we made it happen a few times.
I’m proud of the Nuclear Clean Air Energy team
for the work they put in this weekend as we tried a
variety of changes. Now we’ll look forward to
finishing the season strong in Kentucky and
Vegas."
Simona Completes a
Competitive Run on the Streets of Baltimore
Simona De Silvestro put on quite a show for the
IZOD IndyCar fans, her sponsors and the city of
Baltimore during Sunday's inaugural running of the
Baltimore Grand Prix.
After a week away from the car - due to travel
complications with the United States Customs &
Border Patrol - De Silvestro was eager to get back
into the cockpit and prove that she wants to finish
the season strong.
During Saturday's qualifying session, the Swiss
driver was able to advance to the second round and
put the car in P12 on the starting grid. Due to
several incidents that occurred in morning warmup
on Sunday, her starting position moved up to
P10.
After a fairly calm start to the 75-lap race, an
early pit stop for two other drivers put De
Silvestro in P8. She quickly passed Mike Conway to
advance to P7.
Around the mid-way point of the race, De
Silvestro was able to avoid contact during a
massive pile-up in the hairpin. She charged
forward, advancing positions, leading a lap at one
point before the team, and the other top four cars,
had to pit for fuel.
Unfortunately, fuel strategy was the name of the
game. Because of the mid-race pileup and
excessively long yellow-flag laps, the mid-pack
teams were able to conserve just enough fuel to
finish the race. De Silvestro, despite a
perfectly-executed race, finished in P12.
"Honestly, I'm a bit disappointed in where we
finished," said De Silvestro, "but the Nuclear
Clean Air Energy car was really good. We were able
to make positions every time we tried, like on the
restarts. We were going forward and I really
enjoyed myself. The track is a lot of fun - it's
really busy, especially on red tires. It's such a
physical track, but I like it. Plus, the support
from my sponsors this weekend was amazing. I hope
they had as much fun as I did!"
De Silvestro and her team first visited the city
of Baltimore in February, where they announced a
three-year partnership with Entergy Nuclear to
promote the Nuclear Clean Air Energy campaign.
Since then, AREVA, the global leader in nuclear
energy, has also come on board as an associate
sponsor. De Silvestro was happy to be able to
entertain her sponsors on what she's referred to as
what feels like her "home track."
In two weeks, the IZOD IndyCar Series heads to
the other side of the world to compete in Motegi,
Japan. The Indy Japan 300 will take place on
Sunday, September 18 at 1 p.m. local time. The race
will be aired live on Versus TV in the United
States on Saturday, September 17 at 11:30 p.m. EDT.
Motegi marks the 15th race on the IZOD IndyCar
schedule, leaving only Kentucky before the World
Championship in Las Vegas on Sunday, October
16.
De Silvestro Leads
Crash-Filled Morning Warmup
Simona de Silvestro led Sunday's pre-race warmup in
Baltimore, but it was Tony Kanaan's brake failure
and big crash that made the headlines.
The 30-minute session delivered just four laps
of action as the result of two crashes, with
Kanaan's harrowing Turn 1 crash bringing out the
first red flag.
“The brake pedal went to the floor," Kanaan
told SPEED's Robin Miller. "I wasn’t sure who
was ahead of me, but he was going to slow me
down."
With no brakes at the end of the 170 mph front
stright, Kanaan relied on one of his best friends,
Team Penske's Helio Castroneves, to slow his
GEICO-sponsored car before stiking the
barriers.
Turning left as the corner approached, Kanaan
intentionally steered his car into the side of
Castroneves, launching the KV Racing car high into
the air and scrubbing off speed.
"I did a track walk last night and saw that on
the right side in Turn 1, there's some tires in
front of a cement wall on the right, and on the
left, there's an opening and then some tires--no
cement wall. So I steered left... It probably saved
my life."
After the crash, Kanaan was concerned
Castroneves would be upset, and explained his
rationale.
"I told him, 'hey brother, sorry, I had to use
you to slow me down,' and he understood."
Castroneves was thankful his former Firestone
Indy Lights teammates was unhurt.
"Fortunately, I'm OK and Tony is OK," he said.
"He hit my [car] from the back and was
flying over me, which was really concerning because
I saw him fly over me and hit the wall in a very
awkward position, so I was concerned, but when I
saw him get out of the car and he was very alert, I
was glad he was OK. Absolutely everything will be
fine for the race. We're going with the spare car
because we don't have time to fix the primary
car."
KV Racing co-owner Jimmy Vasser told SPEED.com
the team is currently evaluating whether Kanaan's
car can be repaired in time for the race, or if the
backup car will be pressed into service.
The second crash--also in Turn 1--involved three
cars, with Panther Racing's JR Hildebrand slipping
down the inside of the corner while Dreyer &
Reinbold's Ana Beatriz was turning in. Hildebrand's
car was pinched into the right side wall, Beatriz
rode over Hildebrand's left front tire with her
right rear, sending her airborne and into the
corner exit tire barrier.
Dale Coyne Racing's James Jakes was following
immediately behind, and nerfed into the back of
Hildebrand's car, blocking the track.
A red flag ensued, bring an end to the
session.
Rank, Driver, Gap, Best Lap
1 Simona de Silvestro 0.0000 1:24.0676
2 Danica Patrick 1.0387 1:25.1063
3 Tony Kanaan 1.0443 1:25.1119
4 Dario Franchitti 1.2861 1:25.3537
5 Will Power 1.3688 1:25.4364
6 Mike Conway 1.7025 1:25.7701
7 Marco Andretti 1.9304 1:25.9980
8 Scott Dixon 2.3317 1:26.3993
9 James Hinchcliffe 2.3663 1:26.4339
10 James Jakes 2.7672 1:26.8348
11 Sebastien Bourdais 3.0284 1:27.0960
12 Alex Tagliani 3.2661 1:27.3337
13 Helio Castroneves 3.3039 1:27.3715
14 Ryan Briscoe 3.5162 1:27.5838
15 Ana Beatriz 3.7740 1:27.8416
16 Martin Plowman 4.0903 1:28.1579
17 EJ Viso 4.5042 1:28.5718
18 JR Hildebrand 4.7208 1:28.7884
19 Vitor Meira 5.6097 1:29.6773
20 Ryan Hunter-Reay 5.7942 1:29.8618
21 Oriol Servia 8.0614 1:32.1290
22 Sebastian Saavedra 8.7185 1:32.7861
23 Ed Carpenter 9.1761 1:33.2437
24 Charlie Kimball 9.4843 1:33.5519
25 Giorgio Pantano 10.3414 1:34.4090
26 Tomas Scheckter 15.0248 1:39.0924
27 Takuma Sato 37.3681 2:01.4357
28 Graham Rahal
Source: auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/indycar-de-silvestro-leads-crash-filled-morning-warmup/
De Silvestro Happy To Be
In Baltimore
After being turned away by customs before last
weekend's Sonoma IndyCar race, Simona de Silvestro
is thankful to be back in her car at Baltimore.
As a world traveler, IZOD IndyCar Series
sophomore Simona de Silvestro had one of the more
interesting adventures of her young life between
the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma last weekend and the
inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix, which kicked off
today.
Turned away by a customs agent after landing in
the USA last Thursday, de Silvestro was sent back
to her native Switzerland before making a second,
successful attempt to re-enter the country for the
Baltimore street race.
As a wise-beyond-her-years 23-year-old, de
Silvestro had a good laugh about the experience
that also added to her frequent flyer miles.
"You can't get mad," she told SPEED.com. "The
[customs agent] asked why I spent so little
time in Switzerland and then thought I should go
enjoy some time at home..." she said with a
smile.
With her customs problems resolved, de Silvestro
says she'll get back to the task at hand--driving
the Nuclear Clean Air Energy Indy car.
"It's good it's behind me," she continued. "It
was hard not to be in the HVM Racing car at Sonoma,
but everybody at the team and our sponsors were so
supportive and understanding."
Plenty of de Silvestro's American fans have
already apologized for the ridiculous problem she
encountered last week, and although she's moved on
from the incident, there was one aspect of the
ordeal she'll carry around for a while.
"I got the big red [Entry Denied] stamp
in my passport...," she said laughing, "I didn't
have that one before..."
Source: auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/indycar-de-silvestro-happy-to-be-in-baltimore/
Simona Accomplishes Goals
at New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Going into the race weekend at New Hampshire Motor
Speedway, Simona De Silvestro and her HVM Racing
team had two goals in mind: race smart and race
safe. After a rough stretch of racing on the ovals
following a massive crash at the Indianapolis Motor
Speedway, the team knew that regaining De
Silvestro’s confidence would be paramount.
De Silvestro completed all four practice
sessions of the weekend without incident and was
ready for Sunday’s 225-lap race. From the
start, the MoveThatBlock.com Indy225 was chaotic.
Incidents on the start and restart moved De
Silvestro up several positions. Approximately 75
laps into the race, the yellow flag came out as
rain sprinkled the track. The Nuclear Clean Air
Energy team pushed forward, trying to keep pace and
drive a smart race.
As several other cars had contact or mechanical
issues, De Silvestro gained a few more positions.
With only a few laps to go, the yellow flag flew
again, due to rain. Most of the teams expected to
finish the race under yellow, but officials decided
to restart, causing some of the field’s
leaders to crash. The restart was aborted, with
results decided on running order from when the
yellow flag dropped. De Silvestro finished P16, a
finish that she looked at as a small victory.
“It was a pretty crazy day out there, but
I’m really happy just to get that monkey off
my back because now I know I can do it,” says
De Silvestro. “I think the Nuclear Clean Air
Energy car was pretty quick. The team has given me
a good car – it’s really comfortable to
drive and I didn’t have to do too much inside,
so that was really helping me because I could just
work on my momentum. We started to figure
everything out towards the end. I’m really
happy with that. Now we’re going to go back to
road courses after a good oval so I think
confidence will be pretty good. Then I can go to
Kentucky and really build on that. I think
we’ll have a really good end of the
season.”
From east coast to west, De Silvestro and the
other drivers of the IZOD IndyCar Series will
compete at Infineon Raceway. From the rolling hills
of Sonoma, California, the Indy Grand Prix of
Sonoma will take place on Sunday, August 14 at 4
p.m. EDT and will be aired live on VERSUS TV.
The Sky’s the Limit for
Simona at New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Simona De Silvestro has seen adversity and risen to
the challenge. She and her team at HVM Racing
arrived at New Hampshire Motor Speedway this week
with two goals in mind: be smart and be safe.
The Swiss driver’s sophomore season
hasn’t been without challenges, including a
massive crash during practice at the Indianapolis
Motor Speedway and another during qualifying at The
Milwaukee Mile. The incidents affected De Silvestro
both physically and emotionally. Since June,
she’s been working hard to overcome her issues
and regain her position as one of IndyCar’s
rising stars.
De Silvestro has made a strong comeback,
completing some solid runs on the various road
courses on the IZOD IndyCar schedule. With a
background in road course racing, the comeback came
naturally. However, returning to an oval for the
first time since the incidents has been a
challenge. One that De Silvestro is determined to
conquer, one step at a time.
“I think we’re making
improvements,” says De Silvestro, “but
honestly, I think it’s really about my
confidence. It’s going to be a tough weekend
and a busy race tomorrow, but the important thing
is to finish and for me to get comfortable because
that’s the only way we’re going to get
better. I think that if you take too big of a risk
and something happens, you just take ten steps back
and that’s really not what I want to do. I
really want to look forward, so that’s the
goal.”
De Silvestro will start Sunday’s
MoveThatBlock.com Indy 225 in P24. The 12th stop on
the IZOD IndyCar schedule will be broadcast live on
ABC. Pre-race coverage will start at 2:45 p.m. ET
with the green flag dropping at approximately 4
p.m.
Simona Executes Solid
Run at Mid-Ohio
On Sunday afternoon, Simona De Silvestro persevered
at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course to add another
solid run to her sophomore-season record. Despite a
rough start and an early pit stop incident, she was
able to focus forward and cross the finish line in
P12.
As the Honda Indy 200 began, De Silvestro’s
No. 78 Nuclear Clean Air Energy car got sandwiched
between J.R. Hildebrand and Tony Kanaan. She
didn’t sustain any damage, but incident caused
her to lose two positions. Later, on lap 21, De
Silvestro clipped the front right tire that was
sitting in Marco Andretti’s pit box (directly
behind HVM’s) as both drivers came in for a
stop. De Silvestro moved back to P22, but was able
to make up the positions throughout the remainder
of the race.
“Overall, I think we did okay today,”
said De Silvestro. “At the start, we kind of
got checked up and lost a couple of positions, but
the car felt good and we gained them back. I think
we had a good pace by ourselves, but in traffic, it
wasn’t easy to make passes and I think other
drivers struggled with that too.”
Now, she’s looking toward the rest of the
season and setting new goals.
“I think we just need to improve our
qualifying attempts. Last year at Mid-Ohio, we
started further up front and were able to stay
there, so I think if I can work with the Nuclear
Clean Air Energy crew to focus on qualifying, we
can do that again. That will really help
us.”
The stars and cars of the IZOD IndyCar Series
head to Loudon, New Hampshire next weekend for the
MoveThatBlock.com Indy 225. The 13th race of the
season will take place at the New Hampshire Motor
Speedway, where the series hasn’t raced since
1998. Fans can catch all the action at the track on
Sunday, August 14 at 3:30 p.m. EDT or on the
telecast, airing live on ABC.
Improvements Continue as
HVM Racing Looks Toward Race Day at
Mid-Ohio
Each track session at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car
Course is bringing new improvements for Simona De
Silvestro and her HVM Racing team.
After the first session on Friday afternoon, the
Nuclear Clean Air Energy team posted a P11. An
encouraging result, given that traffic prevented
her from giving it all she could with the car.
“At the end there, on new tires, we
didn’t really get a clean lap,” she said,
“but I think we were able to use the things we
learned at the test last week. I’m happy with
how things are evolving here.”
The second session on Saturday morning gave the
team even more time to make improvements heading
into qualifying. De Silvestro had a great
qualifying run with a time of 1:08.42112, putting
her P7 in her group by less than a tenth of a
second. She’ll start Sunday’s race in
P14.
“It’s kind of frustrating, but I think
we’ll have a strong car for the race.
It’s kind of tough to pass here –
we’ll aim for making some passes at the start
and go from there. We’ve been starting from
this position several times this season and managed
to come out with a good result, so we’re going
to work a little bit more for tomorrow and see what
we’ve got.”
The Honda Indy 200 will take place on Sunday at
2:45 p.m. ET, with pre-race activities beginning at
2 p.m. The 85-lap race is the 12th on the IZOD
IndyCar Series schedule and will be aired on
VERSUS.
Bad Luck Ruins
Simona’s Top Ten Run at Edmonton
Simona De Silvestro was on her way to her fourth
top-ten finish of the season when a mechanical
problem stopped her on lap 55 of Sunday
afternoon’s Edmonton Indy.
De Silvestro and her Nuclear Clean Air Energy
crew had a rough start to the Edmonton Indy race
weekend. IndyCar track activity was cancelled on
Friday, after a continuous rain fell over the
Edmonton City Centre Airport circuit.
Saturday’s schedule was rearranged to
include additional track time, however De Silvestro
and her team spent both sessions trying to find
enough speed. That afternoon, the team made good
progress and De Silvestro delivered a solid
qualifying attempt, running in the top six for most
of the session. The time fell just short with only
a couple minutes left, leaving her to start P16 in
Sunday’s race.
After several incidents during the early laps of
the Edmonton Indy, De Silvestro was running P18.
She continued to move up through the field and,
after a great pit stop on lap 38, was running P12.
A drive-through penalty for Hunter-Reay moved her
up to P11. Eleven laps later, she came out of the
team’s second pit stop in P10. Unfortunately,
the car suffered a suspected clutch failure,
bringing HVM’s day to an end on lap 55.
“It’s definitely disappointing,”
said De Silvestro. “The team worked so hard
this weekend to improve the Nuclear Clean Air
Energy car every time we went out on track. After
our top-ten finish in Toronto, I thought we were
headed toward a repeat, but that just wasn’t
our luck today. So we’ll hope to do it in
Mid-Ohio.”
In two weeks, the IZOD IndyCar Series heads to
the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, OH.
The Honda Indy 200, airing on Versus, will take
place on Sunday, August 7 at 2 p.m. EDT.
Simona Finds Speed for
Edmonton Indy Qualifying
Simona de Silvestro and her HVM Racing team had a
rough start to the Edmonton Indy race weekend.
However, on Saturday afternoon, De Silvestro showed
that she wouldn’t be deterred, hitting the
track with a notable qualifying effort.
The Nuclear Clean Air Energy crew, along with
the other teams in the IZOD IndyCar Series paddock,
was ready to go for the first practice on Friday
morning. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other
plans. A continuous, and sometimes intense, rain
fell all day on the Edmonton City Centre Airport
circuit, cancelling all track activity for the day.
HVM Racing had the added challenge of being near
the main drain in the paddock. As the downpours
continued, the rainwater flowed downhill and pooled
in the center of the covered setup area. The team
was able to manage the situation, which cleared up
by Saturday’s scheduled track time.
An additional practice session was added on
Saturday morning to make up for lost time on
Friday. De Silvestro and her team struggled in both
sessions, aiming to make the proper adjustments in
time for the afternoon qualifying session.
De Silvestro made a solid qualifying attempt,
running in the top six for most of the session. The
time fell just short with only a couple minutes
left, leaving her to start P16 in Sunday’s
race.
“It’s tough when you struggle in
practice,” said De Silvestro. “We had
some trouble this morning, but the Nuclear team has
made some improvements since them. I think we were
better on reds and it felt like the car just came
alive much more in this session. We have to improve
even more for tomorrow, though. The race is going
to be a challenge, but I really like the track and
I’m having a lot of fun out there.”
The Edmonton Indy will take place Sunday, July
24 at the Edmonton City Centre Airport and airing
on Versus. Pre-race activities will begin at noon
with the 90-lap race starting at 12:45 p.m.
MDT.
Simona Earns a Top-Ten
Finish on the Streets of Toronto
After 85 laps of chaos during the Honda Indy
Toronto on Sunday afternoon, Simona De Silvestro
crossed the finish line with a tenth-place finish
and a sense of accomplishment.
Not only did the result mark her third top-ten
finish of the 2011 season, it also accomplished the
comeback she was hoping for after a month and a
half of unfortunate luck.
De Silvestro started P17 on the temporary street
circuit and quickly advanced her way forward, at
one point running as high as P4. The race included
numerous cautions, but De Silvestro was able to
avoid incidents, save fuel and make advances.
“Overall, I think the race went really
well,” she said. “It felt great to be
back in the Nuclear Clean Air Energy car and I had
a lot of fun out there. We’re definitely going
to build on this result as we move forward. My team
did an awesome job and I’m grateful to them,
and my sponsors, for sticking with me over the past
couple months. Now it’s time to look forward
to the rest of the season.”
In two weeks, the IZOD IndyCar Series travels to
Edmonton City Centre Airport in Alberta, Canada for
the Edmonton Indy. The race will air on Sunday,
July 24 at 2 p.m. ET on Versus TV.
Simona Ready to Make Her
Return in the Honda Indy Toronto
After a tough month and a half, Simona De Silvestro
is back in the cockpit of the No. 78 Nuclear Clean
Air Energy car for the Honda Indy Toronto this
weekend.
De Silvestro and the HVM crew arrived in Toronto
with a focus on putting the past behind them and
aiming for the success they saw at the beginning of
the 2011 season. The team made steady improvements
with each practice session of the weekend, which
saw the entire field separated by less than one
second, leading up to Saturday afternoon’s
qualifying attempt.
The run was solid, however just not enough to
advance into the second round of qualifying. De
Silvestro will start P17 for Sunday’s
race.
“In our qualifying attempt, we gambled a
little bit with the tires but it was just something
to try,” she said. “There are a couple of
things we have to change on the Nuclear Clean Air
Energy car, but it felt pretty strong. That’s
going to be a good thing for the race tomorrow. It
will be about being consistent and not making
mistakes. If we can do that, we’ll have a good
finish.”
De Silvestro joins the rest of the IZOD IndyCar
field on Sunday for the Honda Indy Toronto, an
85-lap race on the temporary street circuit in
downtown Toronto. The pre-race festivities will
begin on Versus TV at 2 p.m. ET.
Simona Not Cleared to Drive
at Iowa Speedway
After a week of ups and downs following an accident
at The Milwaukee Mile last weekend, Simona de
Silvestro met with medical staff on Friday morning
at Iowa Speedway and was not cleared to drive in
the Iowa Corn Indy 250.
Last Saturday, de Silvestro’s car made
contact with the SAFER barrier on the exit of turn
four, in addition to the inside wall of the track.
De Silvestro was sent to Froedert hospital, where
she was later released.
What followed was a series of medical
evaluations throughout the week. The following is a
statement from INDYCAR regarding those
check-ups:
“Upon evaluation Sunday morning at
Milwaukee, Simona had no physical signs of a
concussion after the neurological exam and
didn’t report any post-concussion symptoms to
the INDYCAR medical team so she was cleared to
drive. After taking 11 laps in the car, Simona
returned to the care center reporting
post-concussion symptoms. Physical and emotional
stress can bring out post-concussion symptoms.
To be cleared to drive after a concussion, a
driver must pass the IMPACT Test and INDYCAR
Medical evaluation. Simona passed the IMPACT Test
on Wednesday but was still exhibiting
post-concussion symptoms when evaluated by INDYCAR
Medical on Friday at Iowa so she has not been
cleared to drive. She will be re-evaluated at
Toronto.”
For additional information regarding this
statement, please contact Amy Konrath, Director of
Public Relations for INDYCAR.
HVM Racing and the Nuclear Clean Air Energy team
has made the decision to pack up and go back to
Indianapolis, where they will prepare for the next
race on the IZOD IndyCar Series schedule. The Honda
Indy Toronto (airing on Versus) will take place on
Sunday, July 10 at 2 p.m. ET.
Ride of a lifetime for Ohio
teen
A J. Digby is like any other active, popular
13-year old. He participates in sports, enjoys
activities with his family and loves to travel.
But in two ways this lad from Otsego, Ohio, is
different than most teenagers. A.J. was born with
Fibular hemimelia -- a rare condition in which
neither of his legs has a fibula. To get around
comfortably, he wears prosthetic legs.
A.J. enjoys running track and field and playing
football at Otsego Junior High. He also has a
passion for IndyCars and the Indianapolis 500. A.J.
and his family have attend the '500' seven times.
He pores over stats and watches races. And while
Tony Kanaan is his favorite driver, A. J.’s
top-five list dramatically changed Aug. 4.
“Mom said we were going downtown (Toledo)
to see the Indy two-seater and I was totally
excited,” A.J. said with a smile. “Mom
kept telling me a little more about the day and I
finally realized that I was getting a ride in the
car.”
The IZOD IndyCar Series and the staff of the
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course arranged the ride for
A.J. as part of the promotion for this weekend's
Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio. Toledo Mayor Mike Bell
and his staff arranged for streets to be closed and
for a police escort so HVM Racing driver Simona de
Silvestro could give A.J. an experience he would
never forget.
“Before meeting Simona she was my
fifth-favorite driver," said A.J. as he climbed
into the street-legal two-seater. Grinning from the
passenger’s seat before they hit the city
streets and the fast stretch of Greenbelt Parkway,
A.J. proclaimed “she’s now No. 3 on my
list.”
The mayor waved the green flag to start the trip
as his mother (Robin), father (Gordon), sister
Ashlyn (11 years old and a Will Power fan) and
brother Keggan (10 years old and a Dario Franchitti
fan) watched.
“I had never driven the IndyCar two-seater
before and I really wanted to get it right the
first time out for A.J.,” de Silvestro said.
“He was so happy just sitting in the car. I
could only imagine how happy he would be if I got
it up to 100 mph or so with the police
escort.”
She didn't disappoint. After the 10-minute
adventure, they returned with A.J. pumping his
fist.
“I have to say, this is the best day of my
life and you know what? Simona is now bumped up to
No. 2 on my favorite driver list,” he
said.
De Silvestro presented A.J. and his family with
tickets to the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio before
dining at Tony Packo’s Cafe at the Park.
“A.J. really is a great kid and loves
racing. I just wonder what I have to do to get to
No. 1 on his list?" de Silvestro said. "You know,
if I make it to the podium this weekend, I’d
love to have him join me, if that helps."
Source: www.indycar.com/news/show/55-izod-indycar-series/44446-ride-of-a-lifetime-for-ohio-teen
De Silvestro's goal: 'Get
back in car quickly'
Simona de Silvestro laughed that she had to rely on
her mother to lace her multi-color sneakers this
morning.
Simona De Silvestro Talks about Her Crash
YouTube
Pippa Mann
The HVM Racing driver, who was involved in a
fiery crash 25 minutes into the practice session
May 19 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, is
hoping to be cleared by INDYCAR medical director
Dr. Michael Olinger to participate in Pole Day
qualifications May 21.
She was not cleared to drive in the six-hour
practice session May 20. INDYCAR rules allow a
substitute driver to qualify the No. 78 Nuclear
Clean Air Energy car, but a switch necessitates
starting at the rear of the 33-car field.
De Silvestro was treated at Methodist Hospital
for second-degree burns on the back of her right
hand and superficial burns on her left hand and
fingertips.
“It is my goal to get back in the car as
quickly as I can,” she said as the crew
continued preparations of the backup car in the HVM
Racing garage. “For any race car driver
it’s important to get right back in the car.
If you step out of it, you’ll always think
about it and think whether it was the right
decision. I think when I go out there again
I’ll enjoy it. It will be (INDYCAR’s
medical team’s) decision and also mine because
it’s pretty shocking.”
Gripping the steering wheel and using the paddle
shifters will be difficult.
“I can move my hands, but it is pretty
tight because it pulls the skin,” she said.
“It will hurt a lot. Luckily, on an oval
it’s not as physical as a road
course.”
De Silvestro was on her seventh lap of the
session when sparks were seen trailing the No. 78
Nuclear Clean Air Energy car for HVM Racing
entering Turn 3 of the 2.5-mile oval. The car made
contact with the SAFER Barrier between Turns 3 and
4, spun and rode the wall backward before making
secondary contact with the SAFER Barrier and lower
portion of the catch fence in Turn 4. The car slid
down the track on its top, with flames surrounding
it. The Holmatro Safety Team was on the scene
within seconds to douse the flames and assist the
22-year-old driver from Switzerland.
“Something broke on the rear suspension and
when that happens you’re just a
passenger,” she said. “You can’t
really do anything about it, especially when
you’re going about 220 mph. I hit the wall and
it took forever to land it seemed, and then it
started getting pretty hot out there (because of
flames). It was pretty shocking actually,
especially to be on fire. It’s kind of weird
because the fuel is splashing on you and you
don’t really know what to do. A lot of things
go through your head, but you want to get out of
the car as quickly as possible.
“I was pretty shocked, but I can say
I’m lucky to be here. It just shows how safe
the car is. I don’t think a crash like that in
any other car I would be standing here.”
De Silvestro, the 2010 Chase Rookie of the Year
for the Indy 500, walked without assistance from
the Holmatro Safety Team to Command One for the
trip to the IU Health Infield Care Center.
“I don’t think I was a good patient in
the infield medical center because I was in a lot
of pain and I was screaming for water to cool my
hands down,” she said. “They took good
care of me and they we went to the hospital, where
they said it was second degree burns. We took the
bandages off (this morning) and they were really
blistered.”
De Silvestro also suffered minor burns in a
backstretch crash last June at Texas Motor
Speedway.
“Those were small blisters on the palms of
my hand and these look like something out of a
horror movie,” she said. “It looks bad
and feels bad.”
Source: indycar.com/news/show/55-izod-indycar-series/42938-de-silvestroand-39-s-goal-and-39-get-back-in-car-quicklyand-39
De
Silvestro released from
hospital
IZOD IndyCar Series driver Simona de Silvestro, who
was involved in a crash 25 minutes into the
practice session at the Indianapolis Motor
Speedway, was released from Methodist Hospital in
Indianapolis after being treated for second-degree
burns on the back of her right hand and superficial
burns on her left hand.
She will meet with the INDYCAR medical staff May
20 to evaluate her driving status.
"Thank you for all the well wishes. Trying to
get rid of the Mickey Mouse gloves as soon as
possible," she wrote on her Twitter account.
De Silvestro, the 2010 Chase Rookie of the Year
for the Indy 500, walked without assistance from
the Holmatro Safety Team to Command One for the
trip to the infield care center.
She was on her seventh lap of the session when
sparks were seen trailing the No. 78 Nuclear Clean
Air Energy car for HVM Racing entering Turn 3 of
the 2.5-mile oval. The car made contact with the
SAFER Barrier between Turns 3 and 4, spun and rode
the wall backward before making secondary contact
with the SAFER Barrier and lower portion of the
catch fence in Turn 4. The car slid down the track
on its top, with flames surrounding it. The
Holmatro Safety Team was on the scene within
seconds to douse the flames and assist the
22-year-old driver from Switzerland.
HVM Racing owner Keith Wiggins said the chassis
isn't repairable -- "... it's going in the trash"
-- and the team began preparing the backup that de
Silvestro drove for 13 laps on Opening Day (May
14).
"That was our special car for here, which takes
a lot of effort," Wiggins added. "We've got to get
that sorted out, and obviously, she's got to get
her confidence back up as well."
Track activity resumed at 1:03 p.m. after track
crews repaired the catch fence.
De Silvestro, who recorded a career-best finish
of fourth in the season-opening Honda Grand Prix of
St. Petersburg, is 11th in the championship
standings entering the 100th anniversary
Indianapolis 500.
Source: indycar.com/news/show/55-izod-indycar-series/42914-de-silvestro-released-from-hospital/
IndyCar's Simona de
Silvestro serious about racing and it shows
Look for Simona de Silvestro to strut her stuff at
the beach Sunday.
That's Long Beach, Calif., where de Silvestro
should again prove she's the real deal in the IZOD
IndyCar Series.
This season, de Silvestro, who is with HVM
Racing, has not only held her own against fellow
female racer Danica Patrick, she has gone
wheel-to-wheel with series veterans Tony Kanaan and
Helio Castroneves.
Kanaan, perhaps the toughest driver in IndyCar,
wiped his brow in St. Petersburg, Fla., and praised
de Silvestro for her pluck after her car just about
gnawed off the rear end of his Dallara/Honda during
the race.
The 22-year-old from Switzerland finished fourth
on the streets at St. Pete and ninth on the road
course at Barber Motorsports Park (Ala.). In
contrast, Patrick, who drives for Andretti
Autosport, was 12th at St. Petersburg and 17th at
Barber -- and she has many more years of experience
in the series.
Granted, Patrick -- 16th in the points standings
-- is more comfortable on ovals and is expected to
pick up the speed at the Indianapolis Motor
Speedway in May, but de Silvestro has been nothing
short of amazing. She's fifth in series points.
Last year at a media day during Indy 500 race
week, de Silvestro sat alone at a table while
reporters and TV crews swamped Castroneves,
Patrick, Dario Franchitti and Kanaan. It was a ripe
opportunity for me to chat with her.
What I discovered was a racer -- pure and
simple. She was extremely polite, understated and
deeply motivated.
In her first start in that Indy 500, de
Silvestro placed 14th and was named rookie of the
year.
In 2009, she recorded four poles and four wins
in the hotly contested Atlantic Series, which she
entered in 2007 after competing earlier in the
Formula Renault Italy (2005) and Formula BMW USA
(2006) series.
And a top-10 finish in Sunday's Toyota Grand
Prix of Long Beach would give de Silvestro a solid
performance on a demanding circuit.
My bet is she gets the drop on the Go Daddy Girl
at the very least.
Source: www.freep.com/article/20110415/SPORTS16/104150442/0/7daysarchives/Mike-Brudenell-Simona-de-Silvestro-serious-about-racing-shows?odyssey=mod_sectionstories
Award-winning Simona de
Silvestro back with HVM
Walking off the Championship Celebration stage Oct.
3 with the Tony Renna Rising Star Award, Simona de
Silvestro felt a sense of accomplishment for the
2010 season and determination to improve in her
second year.
The 22-year-old Swiss driver finished 19th in
the IZOD IndyCar Series standings (second in Rookie
of the Year chase) with two top-10 finishes and a
suitcase full of experience. She’ll return
with HVM Racing for the 2011 season.
“I’m really thankful to Firestone for
giving me this award,” said de Silvestro, who
also was voted the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the
Year after advancing eight positions to finish
14th. “It shows that we really worked hard
this year with HVM Racing. It’s just great to
be part of a team like that because they really
believed in me and they let me be who I am.
“The series is just great and I’m
looking forward to being back next year.”
De Silvestro, an Atlantics graduate, opened eyes
in the mid-March opener on the streets of Sao
Paulo, Brazil, by qualifying 11th. Though top-10
results were difficult to come by in the first half
of the season on road/street circuits and ovals she
had not competed on, the No. 78 car consistently
was running in the top 10 at some point of races.
She posted a high finish of eighth at Mid-Ohio and
a best starting position of seventh at
Edmonton.
“We had a lot of ups and downs, but there
were a lot of really good ups I believe,” she
said. “We were running up front with the big
guys at a couple of races, and going into the
season I didn’t expect that at all because we
might be the smallest team out there.
“This year I learned a lot on the ovals and
also the road courses. There are so many things
like doing pit stops and how a race is unfolding.
Coming from Atlantics where the races are much
shorter and coming to IndyCar where the races are
much longer and everything is bigger, you have to
manage tires and manage yourself not to get tired.
It will help me next year to be stronger.”
HVM Racing owner Keith Wiggins didn’t want
the efforts of 2010 to go by the wayside, and the
team now seeks to improve its financial foundation
for the 17-race 2011 season.
“When we started this season we could not
have anticipated the challenges we would face, both
financially and on track, with incidents and
equipment damage,” Wiggins said.
“However, we could not also have anticipated
the development of Simona in such a short period.
The team and driver showed what is possible
“Now it is time to put 2010 behind us and
do the job properly in 2011. This team knows how to
win and we are focused on getting the right package
together to move forward.”
De Silvestro starts
season-high 7th at Edmonton.
Simona de Silvestro acknowledged the cheers and
applause of the pit lane grandstand throng on her
way to the Team Stargate Worlds/HVM Racing
transporter following the second round of
qualifications.
"It wasn't bad," she said.
Indeed.The IZOD IndyCar Series rookie from
Switzerland will start a season-high seventh in the
Honda Indy Edmonton, and just missed qualifying for
the Firestone Fast Six on the 1.973-mile, 14-turn
City Centre Airport circuit. Her previous best
qualifying effort was 11th in the season opener in
Brazil.
De Silvestro posted a quick lap of 1 minute,
1.5437 seconds in the No. 78 car. E.J. Viso had a
lap of 1:01.4393 in the No. 8 PDVSA KV Racing
Technology car to advance to his first Firestone
Fast Six.
"Starting seventh with some of the big guys in
front of us is something pretty special," said de
Silvestro, who advanced 12 positions to finish a
season-high ninth last week in the Honda Indy
Toronto. "We put two sets of reds (Firestone
alternate tires) on in the first session. I think
if we would have had a fresh set of reds in the
second session we would have been a bit
quicker.
"But the whole team at HVM can be really happy.
They've worked really hard all weekend, and now we
just have to try to move forward and I think it
could be a good race for us. If we can duplicate
what we did in Toronto -- moving forward in the
race -- I think with this starting position it's
going to be good."
Source: indycar.com/news/show/55-izod-indycar-series/38764-de-silvestro-starts-season-high-7th-notes/
Seventh heaven for
rookie
Switzerland's de Silvestro has her best qualifying
result of season to start in top 10.
Simona de Silvestro may not be able to draw on
much experience just yet but Saturday she did
something Justin Wilson couldn't do, something Ryan
Hunter-Reay couldn't do, and something Paul Tracy
couldn't do either.
She pulled in right behind the fastest six for
today's Honda Indy Edmonton and will go out seventh
when the 25-car field takes to the track at the
City Centre Airport.
Her finish in Saturday's round was her best
qualifying result this season.
"We can be really happy with this. You always
expect to do well, but it's really tough out there.
Some of these people have been driving these cars
for over 10 years," De Silvestro said after she
made the walk from the pits to the paddock, signing
autographs all along the way.
"I like her. She's way nicer than Danica
Patrick," said one fan before the Swiss Miss handed
him an autographed picture she had retrieved from
her trailer.
With so much focus on Patrick, who was 21st, and
Milka Duono -- who, based on her slow practice
times, was parked by the Indy Racing League on
Saturday -- De Silvestro has just been going about
her business since arriving in Edmonton.
What followed was a head-turning afternoon. She
was first in the second qualifying group, then went
out for the fast-six segment and finished behind
the likes of pole-sitter Will Power, his Team
Penske teammate Helio Castroneves, and third-place
finisher Scott Dixon.
Dixon drives for Target Chip Ganassi racing,
another of the IRL's big boys.
De Silvestro, a rookie in the IndyCar Series, is
a one-woman, one-car team.
"She's done a great job, no doubt about it,"
said Dario Franchitti, the defending Indy 500
champ. "She definitely hustles the car. I think the
guys, with limited resources, are doing a good job
of giving her good cars at times. Very impressed
all around."
"I totally agree," said Dixon. "She's done a
hell of a job on her first season in a field like
this ... the competition's extremely tough."
De Silvestro's best result was her ninth-place
finish in Toronto last weekend.
"We've had a strong car all weekend. It's just
that in practice we could never put a lap together
because there were always yellows," the engaging
21-year-old said while the HVM Racing crew
fine-tuned her No. 78 car.
"In qualifying, we were really strong. I think
we made a mistake of putting two sets of red tires
on in that first session. If we would have had
fresh tires in the second session, I think we could
have got into the top six.
"But we can be happy with what we have. The big
teams are in front of us and we're right there. I'm
really happy about that. It's going to be a long
race, a really hard race. It's really physical
here, so starting more up front is going to help
us."
De Silvestro previously raced in Edmonton in an
Atlantic Series car, so she's seen the course
before. She didn't have a great view, though,
having put her car into the wall at the same turn
in two separate races.
Now in an Indy car, with its increased
horsepower, even more care is needed.
"Everything comes at you much faster, so you're
really on edge out there," she said. "But I think
I've really learned a lot in the last couple of
years and finally, the pieces are coming together.
This track is really cool. It's such a fast
track.
"You're almost out of breath after three laps.
It's really physical, but it is a lot of fun."
Source: www.edmontonjournal.com/sports/Seventh+heaven+rookie/3320634/story.html
deSilvestro at
Texas
Simona De Silvestro suffered a minor burn on her
right hand when the No. 78 Team Stargate Worlds/HVM
Racing car made contact with the SAFER Barrier
exiting Turn 2 on Lap 99.
“The car was pretty loose for a couple of
laps,” said De Silvestro, who was competing in
her third oval race. “It was pretty hard
coming out of Turn 2. I was able to catch it a
couple of times but this time it got away from me
and I hit the wall. The car caught on fire and it
wasn’t really extinguishing. I feel bad for
the guys because the car was pretty good, just a
little loose. Now I know what a loose car
is.”
Source: indycar.com/news/show/55-izod-indycar-series/37946-briscoe-holds-off-patrick-for-texas-win/
Simona De Silvestro talks
about being a Rookie
“The Danica question happens pretty
often,” IZOD IndyCar Series rookie Simona De
Silvestro admitted. “I always get the same
question asking me to compare myself and Danica, or
how I think she’s doing. It think it happens
at least once in every interview.”
It’s hard enough for a rookie IndyCar
driver to earn the respect of their fellow drivers,
and sometimes it’s even harder to earn that
respect from the media. And when it seems like the
first question asked always revolves around one of
your competitors, the struggle to carve out your
own headlines becomes an even greater task.
In the case of Switzerland’s De Silvestro,
she’s merely the latest female driver to
receive “The Danica Question.” IndyCar
team owner/driver Sarah Fisher – a driver
whose IndyCar career started six years prior to
Patrick’s arrival – has always answered
questions regarding the GoDaddy Girl with respect
and class.
Venezuela’s Milka Duno has taken a
different approach since her IndyCar arrival in
2007 with the SAMAX Motorsports team. From the well
publicized dust up with Patrick at Mid-Ohio in
2008, to her deeply rooted dislike for the most
popular female driver on the tour, Duno usually
refuses to mention her rival’s name when asked
to comment.
But with Duno’s 15 Minutes coming to a
close, now it’s De Silvestro’s turn in
the crosshairs. While the dedicated IndyCar media
tends to treat her as an individual, that
hasn’t always the case from reporters on
temporary assignment.
I listened in during the Long Beach Grand Prix
weekend as one local reporter phoned his editor to
ask about what interviews would be needed for the
following day, and the conversation that followed
was all too predictable.
“I didn’t see where Danica ended up
today, but one of the guys here said this rookie
girl De Silvestro is supposed to be fast. I’ll
see if I can get Danica tomorrow and then I’ll
do another story on the rookie. I don’t know
if she’s hot like Danica, but I’ll see if
she and Danica are friends and what she thinks
about her.”
De Silvestro has taken a page from the Sarah
Fisher School of handling “The Danica
Question,” graciously answering the repetitive
inquiry with no hint of frustration. That’s
not to say she doesn’t get frustrated, but
learning to keep those feeling private has been an
ongoing aspect of her rookie education.
Even if being asked about Danica has grown
tiresome after just five rounds of the 2010
championship, De Silvestro understands why so many
feel the need to compare and contrast the two.
“I think it’s normal because Danica,
for us female drivers, is the benchmark, she is the
one who has been the most noticed and who has been
doing pretty well in the last few years. So on one
side, for sure, it’s been annoying because
there are 25 other drivers out there that I’m
trying to beat, but at the end of the day, I think
that it’s normal and it’s understandable
that people are going to ask that
question.”
De Silvestro knows that there is only one way to
slow the comparisons to Danica, if not reverse
their roles altogether.
“I think if I keep working really hard and
if I get the results I know I am capable of, I
think that I’m going to be more considered as
just a race car driver and, maybe a little less for
being a female. It will be different if I start
winning a lot of races, that’s for sure. I
don’t know if it’s going to change, but I
hope it’s going to change. I’m a race car
driver first and then all of the other stuff comes
after it. I think it’s going to take a while
but I’m going to keep working on it and try to
be up at the front and then maybe it’ll
change. Maybe the other drivers will be asked to
comment about me, instead.”
If you look beyond gender and their disparate
levels of notoriety, De Silvestro has been
differentiating herself from Patrick since the
opening IndyCar round in Brazil, where she briefly
led and has since gone on to impress almost
everyone with her pace on the road courses. After a
cautious start at her first oval race at Kansas,
she executed her game plan and finished all 200
laps without incident, gaining valuable experience
heading into the Indy 500.
It would be unrealistic to expect De Silvestro
and her small HVM Racing team to challenge a
heavily sponsored and fully equipped team like
Patrick’s at the Speedway, but that
doesn’t mean she’s given up on any chance
of doing well. Fans have been drawn to De
Silvestro’s no nonsense approach to the sport,
as well as her penchant for out running more
established drivers.
For those who value speed over celebrity, De
Silvestro has become an instant favorite, and it
has shown in the length of her autograph lines this
year. Adjusting to all of the attention that has
come her way since Brazil has taken some getting
used to, but once the Indy 500 gets into full
swing, she’ll be met by bigger crowds than
she’s ever faced.
De Silvestro says she’s ready to
accommodate whatever small following she’s
amassed and to answer “The Danica
Question” by the dozens. She knows it will
take time for her on-track performances to slow the
frequency of comparisons that are made between she
and Danica, but there is one area De Silvestro
hopes to counter immediately: Merchandizing.
“I look forward to it. We are here to
entertain the fans, so if any of them are kind
enough to want to follow my career, I am very
fortunate. I think there was a pretty good response
at Long Beach. I’ve never had such a big crowd
waiting in front of my tent, so that was pretty
nice. I’m told the IndyCar fans at Indy are
ten times more, so that will be kind of crazy. As
for the merchandise, we’re starting on that
right now so I think that’s why a lot of
people are wearing Danica shirts still! But
we’ll try to change that! I hope a lot of
people are going to notice what I’m doing on
the track and like what I do and then, maybe they
will buy my shirts instead.”
I love it — De Silvestro wants to beat
Patrick on and off the track and isn’t afraid
to say so. I think achieving the latter might prove
to be more difficult than she expects, but how
about the former? It might take a few years, but if
De Silvestro keeps progressing at her present rate,
it won’t be long before Danica gets tired of
answering “The Simona Question.”
Source: Female Racing
News
Team Stargate Worlds and HVM
Racing combine efforts to challenge IndyCar Series
with Simona De Silvestro
In a collaborative effort with HVM Racing, Team
Stargate Worlds will enter the 2010 IZOD IndyCar
Series with driver Simona De Silvestro. Known as
Team Stargate Worlds/HVM Racing, the team will
carry primary sponsorship from Stargate Resistance
and associate sponsorship from Bernard Richards
Manufacture (BRM), FireSky, Cheyenne Mountain
Games, and Cardinal Technologies. De Silvestro and
the # 78 entry will also lead the Do Not Text
“N” Drive campaign which is designed to
increase public awareness about the dangers of
texting while driving.
Both groups partnered up and spent the offseason
testing De Silvestro in both an Indy car and an
Indy Lights car and by all measurements the tests
were successful and more importantly, a glimpse of
the promising possibilities. De Silvestro, who
enters her 6th year in North American open-wheel
racing stunned the open-wheel world in 2009 by
winning 4 races in dominant fashion, earning 4 pole
positions, and gathering an extraordinary 9 podium
finishes in the 2009 Atlantic Championship season.
She would go on to finish third in the series. Her
success was not only impressive but it was also
record breaking. De Silvestro was the first woman
is series history to have earned the most wins,
pole positions, and led the most laps in a single
season. “Racing in the IndyCar series,
alongside the class of competition that I will be
racing with is a true honor. I am very grateful for
this opportunity and for the type of team that I
will have alongside me. I am equally grateful for
the support that I have from my sponsors, family,
friends and fans. I am very eager for my debut in
the 2010 IZOD IndyCar season,” states the
young 21 year old from Thun, Switzerland.
For Team Stargate Worlds, who also enters its
6th year of competition in North American
open-wheel competition, this marks an substantial
expansion of its operations. Led by team principals
Shane Seneviratne and Imran Safiulla, the
California based team looks forward to its new
partnership with HVM Racing. “This is yet
another significant step in Simona's career. We
have had a very fortunate few years that have led
us here and I could not imagine being able to form
this new relationship with a better person than
Keith. I am greatly appreciative of every single
person and every company that has helped make this
possible and look forward to a successful
2010,” states Safiulla.
For HVM Racing having De Silvestro as its driver
is exciting and full of possibilities. “From
the first day of the first test, we knew she could
drive,” said Keith Wiggins, HVM Racing team
principal and owner. “The longer we worked
with her, the more she impressed us. I think she
has a great future in this series. She made a lot
of history in the Atlantic Championship and we
expect her to make some waves in IndyCar now that
she’s here.” The team will now turn its
attention on its first race of the 2010 IZOD
IndyCar Series season opener, the Saõ Paulo
Indy 300, taking place in the streets of Saõ
Paulo, Brazil on March 13 and 14.
Source: www.usracetronics.com/news/read/team-stargate-worldshvm-racing-izod-indycar-series-team-announcement
Simona and Team
Impress Once Again at Open Test
The 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series testing season got off
to a positive start when Team Stargate Worlds/HVM
Racing concluded a two-day Open Test at Barber
Motorsports Park in Huntsville, Ala., with driver
Simona De Silvestro. The test marks the third time
in which Team Stargate Worlds and HVM Racing have
partnered up with De Silvestro in the cockpit and
once again the recipe proved fruitful.
While frigid Alabama temperatures may have
greeted the team on the first day, it wasn't going
to deter the task at hand. De Silvestro was able to
run some valuable learning laps, and by the end of
the day had completed 48 successful laps with a
best time of 01:12.8124 coming at Lap 36.
On Day 2 De Silvestro roared back on track and
soon began carving her way around the 2.38-mile
permanent road course. The experience and
confidence gained during her previous day served
her well and her speeds kept her amongst the more
seasoned series veterans throughout the session. By
the end of the day, De Silvestro had concluded 58
laps with a top speed of 01:11.335 which put her
16th on the timesheets.
This test was only De Silvestro’s second
time in an IndyCar in her career with her first
being in December at Sebring International Raceway
under similar frigid conditions. By all measures,
De Silvestro and her team accomplished the goals of
the two-day event and continued to build on what
was already a solid partnership between Team
Stargate Worlds and HVM Racing. The team continues
to put together the final details of its 2010
racing plans with announcements expected before the
season opener in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on March
14.
Simona De Silvestro – Driver, No. 78
Stargate Resistance – “I had a little bit
of a rough start in the beginning, but it was the
first time I had been in an IndyCar on a fast track
and it is something still very new to me. However,
at the end of the day, the team and I gained a lot
of knowledge and we accomplished our goals and in
that respect I think we managed to have a very
successful test. We used the opportunity to try
some new things and I believe collectively as a
group we are heading the right way. Overall I am so
happy with everything and the team has helped me
learn quite a lot and I look forward to learning
more this season.”
Imran Safiulla - Team Stargate Worlds Principal
– “On behalf of Shane (Shane Seneviratne)
and I, the test did not start the way we would have
liked and the poor weather conditions were the
primary factor. However, it’s always about the
recovery and Simona and the team did just that. We
got some good laps in and she started to get
comfortable. We do have a learning curve as a
single-entry rookie, but we are very encouraged
with what we have so far.”
Keith Wiggins – HVM Team Owner - “It
was another good test for Simona and another
demonstration of her talent and what lies ahead.
With her approach and our support she will continue
to improve and be a serious IndyCar contender.
About HVM Racing: HVM is based in Indianapolis,
Indiana. In its nine years of competition, the team
has earned six wins, two pole positions, and an
additional 16 podiums. The team finished fourth and
third, respectively, in the Champ Car championship
standings in 2006 and 2007, and earned drivers
Mario Dominguez and Robert Doornbos Rookie of the
Year honors in 2002 and 2007, respectively. Since
joining the IRL Championship in 2008, the team has
earned nine top-10 finishes with drivers E.J. Viso
and Robert Doornbos.
Source: www.usracetronics.com/news/read/simona-de-silvestro-impresses-at-2023-izod-indycar-open-test
Team Stargate Worlds
Driver De Silvestro to Test HVM Racing
IndyCar
Team Stargate Worlds and HVM Racing will test Swiss
driver Simona De Silvestro, a four-time winner in
the 2009 Atlantic Championship, at Sebring (Fla.)
International Raceway on December 8 and 9. The test
will be a combined effort with Team Stargate
Worlds, the group that De Silvestro finished third
with in this year’s Atlantic standings.
“Simona has been impressive in Atlantics
and could certainly have a future in IndyCar,”
said Keith Wiggins, HVM Racing team principal and
owner. “This trip to Sebring is going to be
sort of a litmus test to see if there’s
potential for future collaboration with her and
Team Stargate Worlds.”
HVM Racing will enter its third season in the
IndyCar Series in 2010. The team returns Robert
Doornbos to the No. 33 HVM Racing car and is also
exploring options for its second car.
Team Stargate Worlds entered the 2009 Atlantic
Championship season in partnership with US
RaceTronics with one of the world's most talented
female race car drivers Simona De Silvestro and
Hollywood star turned serious professional racer
Frankie Muniz. For more information about Team
Stargate Worlds please visit www.usracetronics.com
.
The Team Stargate Worlds Twitter page can be found
at twitter.com/TeamSGW
while the team’s Facebook page can be found at
www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=70120788804
HVM is based in Indianapolis, Indiana. In its
nine years of competition, the team has earned six
wins, two pole positions, and an additional 16
podiums. The team finished fourth and third,
respectively, in the Champ Car championship
standings in 2006 and 2007, and earned drivers
Mario Dominguez and Robert Doornbos Rookie of the
Year honors in 2002 and 2007, respectively. Since
joining the IRL Championship in 2008, the team has
earned nine top-10 finishes with drivers E.J. Viso
and Robert Doornbos.
Source: www.atlantic-championship.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=113:simona-sebring-hvm-test&catid=12:team-news&Itemid=24
De Silvestro impresses
HVM Racing
HVM Racing and Team Stargate Worlds wrapped up a
successful test Dec. 9 with Simona de Silvestro
behind the wheel. The 21-year-old Swiss driver
completed 147 laps over two days at Sebring (Fla.)
International Raceway.
"She was very impressive," team owner Keith
Wiggins said. "From the first laps, she showed she
was capable of driving the car fast and she
progressed rapidly. She was fast, consistent and
gave good driver feedback. In fact, by the second
half of the first day, we were so comfortable that
we began working on development of our 2010 program
using her feedback.
"By day two, I think everyone forgot she wasn't
a seasoned professional. Everyone enjoyed working
with her."
De Silvestro finished third in the 2009 Atlantic
Championship, winning four races for Team Stargate
Worlds.
"It was a dream come true to step into the
cockpit of the Stargate: Resistance IndyCar," de
Silvestro said. "I got comfortable right away and
soon came up to speed, and overall thought the test
was excellent."
HVM will return Robert Doornbos to the No. 33
HVM Racing car in 2010 and is exploring options for
its second car. Team Stargate Worlds' test with HVM
Racing coincided with the launch of the Stargate:
ResistanceWeb site stargateresistance.com/
,
which was displayed on the car.
Stargate: Resistance is an online third-person
shooter game being developed based on the popular
Stargate sci-fi television franchise. Team Stargate
Worlds principals Shane Seneviratne and Imran
Safiulla were pleased with the test as well: "These
were two very important days for us and our
commercial partners. We want to thank Keith and the
entire HVM organization for making us feel right at
home. Simona got comfortable in the car over the
last few days and it has been very exciting to get
a glimpse of what may lie ahead. We would like to
thank the IndyCar Series for making this test
possible."
"fiocco rosa" della
serie
Dopo l'italo-svizzera Simona
De Silvestro, accordatasi con Cram, fa il suo
ingresso nella F.Renault 2000 Italia un'altro
driver del gentil sesso. Si chiama Laura Polidori,
16 anni di Aprilia (Roma), che dopo la classica
gavetta nel Karting nazionale viene lanciata nella
categoria regina di Renault Sport
Italia.
La Polidori, in azione
ieri sul circuito romano di Vallelunga,
parteciperà al campionato con un team tutto
suo da cui ne ha ripreso anche le iniziali: LP
Competition. Il team (dai colori giallo-neri)
sarà gestito da Mario Iacoangeli, già
presente in F.Junior Monza con Andrea
Belleggia.
Nella foto, Laura Polidori
immortalata a Vallelunga nell'abitacolo della sua
Tatuus.
|
Racing
Background:
Simona raced Formula BMW and had two
third-place finishes in support of the US
Grand Prix and is the first woman ever on
the Indianapolis Motor Speedway podium.
She is the most successful female driver
in Formula BMW worldwide. In 2009, she
ended the season in 3rd place.
2009 - De Silvestro joined Team
Stargate Worlds for the 2009 season and
had a solid start to the year with a
fifth-place performance after starting
eighth in the Sebring season opener…
In her second Atlantic visit to
Utah’s Miller Motorsports Park, De
Silvestro had a history-making weekend.
She started the weekend by joining Danica
Patrick as the only women in series
history to qualify on the pole. She led
every lap in the race en route to the
second Atlantic victory of her career, and
stands alongside Katherine Legge as the
only women to win races in series
history… De Silvestro had an
outstanding weekend in the doubleheader at
New Jersey Motorsports Park. In the first
race of the weekend (Round 3 of the
season), De Silvestro started and finished
second. She started from the pole position
in the second race and led every lap en
route to her second victory of the season.
The triumph moved her to the top of the
championship standings… De Silvestro
kept her hot streak going in Round 5 at
Lime Rock, taking the pole position in
rainy conditions during qualifying and
leading every lap in the race en route to
her second consecutive victory and third
of the season. The win enabled her to
extend her lead in the championship
standings to 17 points (89-72) over John
Edwards and Jonathan Summerton. De
Silvestro became the winningest woman
driver in Atlantic history with her third
victory of the season and the fourth of
her career at Lime Rock Park. That ended
at Laguna Seca and she ended up third in
the series.
2008 - De Silvestro came out of
the box quickly in her second season of
Atlantic competition, becoming the second
woman in series history to win a race when
she took the season-opener after starting
second at Long Beach in her debut with
Newman Wachs Racing. She earned a total of
four top-five results and eight top-10
finishes en route to eighth in the final
championship standings.
2007 - As a rookie in the
Atlantic Championship, De Silvestro earned
two top-10 results and scored championship
points in nine of 12 races en route to
19th in the point standings with Walker
Racing.
2006: Completed her first season
in the Formula BMW USA championship
collecting a victory at Lime Rock, six
podiums and eleven top-10 finishes en
route to a fourth-place finish in the
overall point standings. Scored two
third-place finishes at the U.S. Grand
Prix and made history by becoming the
first woman to ever earn a podium result
at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
2005: Finished 21st in the
Formula Renault 2000 Championship in
Italy.
2004: Raced in the French
Formula A Championship and finished 15th
overall.
2003: Earned a second-place
finish in the Trofeo Industria Parma,
finished fifth in Wintercup Lonato and was
third in Primavera Lonato.
2002: Finished seventh in the
Swiss Championship, 13th in Kart-Cup
Monaco and second in the Bridgestone-Cup
Switzerland.
2001: various karting races
2000: 1st in Western Switzerland
Championship
1999: 3rd in Western Switzerland
Championship, 13th in Swiss
Championship
1998: 4th in Western Switzerland
Championship
Career
Highlights
- Signed with Newman Wachs Racing
(Paul Newman and Eddie Eachs) for part
of the 2008 Atlantic Championship
season.
- Simona became just the second woman
to win in the 34-year history of the
Atlantic Champsionip winning the 2008
season opener at Long Beach. It was her
first win and came the same weekend
that Danica Patrick had her first
Indycar win in Japan.
- Signed with Walker Racing in
November 2006 to compete as a rookie in
the Atlantic Championship
- Collected one win, six podiums and
eleven top-ten finishes in 2006, her
rookie season in the Formula BMW USA
series
- Became the first woman to ever earn
a podium finish at the Indianapolis
Motor Speedway with a pair of
third-place FBMWUSA results at the 2006
U.S. Grand Prix
|
2011 IRL
Results (Grid/Finish/Qualifying
Speed/Laps
Completed/Status)
|
|
Date
|
Track
|
Start
|
Finish
|
Laps
|
Status
|
|
Mar 27
|
Streets
of St. Petersburg
,
FL 1.8-mile street course
|
17
|
4
|
200
|
Running
|
|
Apr 10
|
Barber Motorsports Park,
Alabama 2.38-mile road course
|
13
|
9
|
90
|
Running
|
|
Apr 17
|
Streets
of Long Beach
Long Beach, CA 1.968-mile street
course
|
18
|
20
|
82/85
|
Running
|
|
May 1
|
Streets of San Paulo,
Brazil
|
13
|
20
|
46/55
|
Running
|
|
May 29
|
Indianapolis
Motor Speedway
IN, 2.5-mile oval
|
23
|
31
|
44/200
|
Handling
|
|
Jun 11
|
Texas
Motor Speedway
1 Fort
Worth,
TX 1.5-mile oval
|
29
|
26
|
111/114
|
Running
|
|
Jun 11
|
Texas
Motor Speedway
2 Fort
Worth,
TX 1.5-mile oval
|
22
|
27
|
111/114
|
Running
|
|
Jun 19
|
Milwaukee
Mile
,
West Allis, WI 1-mile
oval
|
26
|
25
|
58/225
|
Handling
|
|
Jun 25
|
Iowa
Speedway, .875-mile oval
Newton, IA .875-mile oval
|
|
|
|
DNS
|
|
Jul 10
|
Streets of Toronto, 1.721-mile
street course
|
17
|
10
|
85/85
|
Running
|
|
Jul 24
|
JAGflo
Speedway
at City Centre Airport, Edmonton,
AB 1.973-mile airport course
|
16
|
24
|
54/80
|
Out
|
|
Aug 7
|
Mid-Ohio
Sports Car Course
,
Lexington, OH, 2.258-mile road
course
|
14
|
12
|
85/85
|
Running
|
|
Aug 14
|
New Hampshire
|
26
|
16
|
209/215
|
Running
|
|
Aug 28
|
Infineon
Raceway
,
Sonoma, CA 2.245-mile road
course
|
|
|
|
DNS*
|
|
Sep 4
|
Baltimore
|
10
|
12
|
75/75
|
Running
|
|
Sep 18
|
Twin
Ring Motegi
,
Japan 1.5-mile oval
|
26
|
15
|
63/63
|
Running
|
|
Oct 2
|
Kentucky
Speedway
Sparta, KY 1.5-mile
oval
|
13
|
25
|
141/2000
|
Mechanical
|
|
Oct 16
|
Las Vegas
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Cancelled
|
* Home Land Security prevented
her from entering the country.
2010 IRL Results
(Grid/Finish/Qualifying Speed/Laps
Completed/Status)
|
Date
|
Track
|
Start
|
Finish
|
Laps
|
Status
|
|
3/14
|
Streets of San Paulo,
Brazil
|
11
|
16
|
58/61
|
Running
|
|
3/28
|
St Pete
|
14
|
16
|
99/100
|
Running
|
|
4/11
|
Barber Motorsports Park
|
13
|
21
|
89/90
|
Running
|
|
4/18
|
Long Beach
|
13
|
17
|
85
|
Running.
|
|
5/1
|
Kansas
|
18
|
21
|
197/200
|
Running
|
|
5/30
|
Indianapolis
|
22
|
14
|
200/200
|
Running
|
|
6/12
|
Texas
|
26
|
24
|
97/228
|
Contact
|
|
6/20
|
Iowa
|
21
|
20
|
128/250
|
Handling
|
|
7/4
|
Watkins Glen
|
15
|
24
|
38/60
|
Contact.
|
|
7/18
|
Toronto
|
21
|
9
|
85/85
|
Running
|
|
7/25
|
Edmonton
|
7
|
22
|
87/95
|
Off course
|
|
8/8
|
Mid-Ohio
|
10
|
8
|
85/85
|
Running
|
|
8/22
|
Infeneon
|
11
|
13
|
75/75
|
Running
|
|
8/28
|
Chicagoland
|
27
|
23
|
150/200
|
Mechanical
|
|
9/6
|
Kentucky
|
19
|
25
|
78/200
|
Contact
|
|
9/18
|
Japan
|
24
|
23
|
85
|
Mechanical
|
|
10/2
|
Homestead-Miami
|
25
|
23
|
197/200
|
Running
|
2009 Schedule & Results -
Formula Atlantic
|
Date
|
Track
|
Finish
|
|
Mar 20
|
Sebring
|
5
|
|
May 17
|
Miller Park
|
1
|
|
Jun 13
|
New Jersey
|
2
|
|
Jun 14
|
New Jersey
|
1
|
|
Jul 18
|
Lime Rock
|
1
|
|
Jul 25
|
Edmonton Race 1
|
2
|
|
Jul 26
|
Edmonton Race 2
|
3
|
|
Aug 8
|
Mid Ohio
|
2
|
|
Aug 16
|
Trois-Rivieres, Quebec
|
1
|
|
Aug 30
|
Mosport
|
10
|
|
Sep 25
|
Road Atlanta
|
2
|
|
Oct 11
|
Laguna Seca
|
DNS*
|
* If she had started
the last race, she only need 6 points to
tie the winners and 7 points to win the
championship.
2008 Schedule
& Results
|
Date
|
Track
|
Start
|
Finish
|
|
Apr 20
|
Long Beach
|
2
|
1
|
|
May 18
|
Monterey
|
12
|
10
|
|
Jun 29
|
Mont Tremblant
|
14
|
9
|
|
Jul 25
|
Edmonton
|
.
|
.
|
|
Jul 26
|
Edmonton
|
.
|
.
|
|
Aug 9
|
Elkhart Lake
|
.
|
.
|
|
Aug 10
|
Elkhart Lake
|
.
|
.
|
|
Aug 17
|
Trois-Rivieres, Quebec
|
.
|
.
|
|
Sep 14
|
New Jersey
|
.
|
.
|
|
Sep 21
|
Salt Lake City
|
.
|
.
|
|
Oct 4
|
Road America
|
.
|
.
|
2007 Schedule
& Results
|
Date
|
Track
|
Start
|
Finish
|
|
Apr 8
|
Las Vegas
|
8
|
17
|
|
Apr 15
|
Long Beach
|
19
|
28
|
|
Apr 22
|
Houston
|
13
|
15
|
|
Jun 09
|
Portland
|
8
|
16
|
|
Jun 10
|
Portland
|
14
|
16
|
|
Jun 24
|
Cleveland
|
8
|
11
|
|
Jul 1
|
Mont Tremblant
|
6
|
7
|
|
Jul 8
|
Toronto
|
9
|
18
|
|
Jul 21
|
Edmonton
|
13
|
13
|
|
Jul 22
|
Edmonton
|
12
|
22
|
|
Jul 29
|
San Jose
|
14
|
10
|
|
Aug 12
|
Road America
|
7
|
22
|
|
.
|
.
|
.
|
19
|
Photo
Gallery
Photos: San Jose
Grand Prix, July 27-29, 2007 by Gordon
Clay
Photos: San Jose
Grand Prix, July 29-30, 2006 by Gordon
Clay
* * *
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Clay
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