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Simona started 21st again this week at San Paulo
and finished 20th. 
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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: 1/9/1988
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
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.
* * *
A January 9 -
* * *
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.
|
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.
News
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 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: http://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-2010-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
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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