Simona de Silvestro Shows Saavy On Streets Of Sao Paulo

Sao Paulo, April 30, 2011: Only one year ago, Simona de Silvestro took to the streets of Sao Paulo for her first-ever IZOD IndyCar race and stunned the crowd when she lead laps. This year, she's back on a track she loves and aims to show why she's a top contender in her sophomore season.

Despite a broken rear drive flange that ended the team's first practice session early on Saturday, de Silvestro would not be deterred. She finished the second session in P2 with a time of 1:24.2310.

"I think we can be happy and the car feels pretty good," said de Silvestro. "Now we're just going to have to do it in qualifying. It'll be a little more pressure but I think our team has worked hard and I think we can be up front. I really enjoyed it out there. I love this track."

Although she ended up just outside of the top six in her qualifying group, she looks ahead confidently and will start Sunday's race in P13.

"For the race tomorrow, I think we're going to be alright," she said. "The track is a lot of fun and there's plenty of straight-a-ways so we'll be able to pass. If the car is solid for the race, I think we can definitely drive it to the front."

De Silvestro will pilot the #78 Nuclear Clean Air Energy car for Sunday's Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle, a 2.536-mile temporary street circuit, airing on Versus at 12 p.m. ET.