DE SILVESTRO TAKES QUALIFYING EFFORT TO THE LIMIT
Long Beach, CA (April 17, 2010) - In its 36 year history, the Toyota Grand Prix at Long Beach has provided its share of exciting racing over the years. Team Stargate Worlds/HVM Racing’s driver Simona De Silvestro arrived at the track today looking to put her name on a list of those drivers before her that have found success at the challenging track, but first she was going to have to contend with qualifying.
With a picture postcard beach background greeting her, De Silvestro climbed into her No. 78 Stargate Resistance Honda Dallara prepared to compete in the first qualifying group. Being part of this qualifying session was a challenge when competing with the likes of seasoned veterans Dario Franchitti,
Scott Dixon, and Ryan Briscoe. De Silvestro took the green flag and soon began her race to the front of the qualifying order. Her lap times stayed
consistently strong, ranging from 1st on the timesheets to as low as 8th, among the 13 cars on track. With seconds left in the session, and being back in the 8th position, De Silvestro put in a last lap effort that saw her leap to 5th on the timesheets with a time of 01:10.3722, before dropping to 7th place in the last seconds, missing the last remaining transfer spot by a mere .200 seconds. While it may not have resulted in her transferring to the next round, De Silvestro’s effort was enough to once again display her talent and the team’s consistent performance, which will serve her well tomorrow as she steps back into the cockpit to race in tomorrow’s event and starts in the 13th spot.
Simona De Silvestro- Driver No. 78: “I think we had a really good qualifying session. I may not have transferred to the next group but, the Team Stargate Worlds/HVM Racing crew gave me a fast car and one that I am confident will be there for me tomorrow. I made a mistake on my final lap, on the hairpin, but it was only because I was pushing and I think that that kind of mistake is okay because I’m really pushing and trying to figure out what my limits are. I’m hopeful that tomorrow we can put everything together and have a great result.”
Keith Wiggins, HVM Racing Team Principal - “Those two hundredths keep eluding us and it’s pretty frustrating, but we are consistently fast and she continues to impress. We are now focusing on the race.”
Imran Safiulla, Team Stargate Worlds Principal - “This better be the lucky 13. The team and Simona have done a fantastic job in once again showing our overall capabilities. We just missed moving into the next group, and that’s certainly frustrating, but we are growing with every lap. It’s going to be a tough race and we hope to have a much deserved, strong finish”
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. For 2010 HVM Racing has partnered
up with Team Stargate Worlds and driver Simona De Silvestro for its IndyCar
program and also enters the Firestone Indy Lights with driver Junior Strous.
You can follow HVM Racing on twitter at www.twitter/HVMracing.com and on
facebook at www.facebook.com/HVMRacing
About Team Stargate Worlds:
Team Stargate Worlds enters the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series in collaboration with
HVM Racing. Simona De Silvestro will be the driver for the team, referred now
as Team Stargate Worlds/HVM Racing. In the 2009 Atlantic Championship season De
Silvestro won four races and four poles in the Atlantics, and led the most
laps, thereby becoming the first woman in series history to lead those
categories in a single season. The 2010 season marks the team’s 6thyear of
competition in North American open wheel. For more information about Team
Stargate Worlds please visitwww.teamstargateworlds.com. The Team Stargate
Worlds Twitter page can be found athttp://twitter.com/TeamSGWwhile the team’s
Facebook page can be found athttp://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=70120788804
CONTACT:
David Martinez
Team Stargate Worlds/HVM Racing Public Relations
Cell: 213-973-8980
Email: press@hvminc.net
