Top Indy Rookie Looking to Regain Momentum After Fiery Crash in Texas

Indianapolis, June 17, 2010: Team Stargate Worlds/HVM Racing’s Simona De Silvestro arrives this weekend at Iowa Speedway looking to regain her Indy Rookie of the Year momentum after one of the worst crashes in recent IndyCar history at Texas two weeks ago.

After her successful Indy 500 debut, in which she finished 14th, on the lead lap, and clinched Indy 500 Rookie of the Year honors, Simona ventured onto her third oval of her career at the 1.5 mile Texas Motor Speedway two weeks ago. After a promising start in which she climbed 14 positions, the race for Simona came to a fiery and premature end on lap #99. The fire destroyed the team’s primary car and left Simona with second degree burns to her hand/arm. However, she is ready to race again and the team has leveraged the 2 week period to prepare its sole backup car for this Sunday’s race where the team hopes to regain momentum for the “Rookie of the Year” campaign. .

The Iowa Corn Indy 250 race will be broadcast this Sunday, Father’s Day, on Versus at 1:30 pm (EST). Live Timing and Scoring, along with Video feeds, will be provided at www.indycar.com. In addition, the IMS Radio Network and XM Channel 145 and Sirius Channel 221 will be airing the race.

Simona De Silvestro, Driver No. 78 - “It's great to be back in the car this weekend after an eventful Texas race. The Team Stargate Worlds/HVM Racing crew have done an amazing job prepping the car for this race and I am very appreciative of how hard they have worked. I'm excited about my debut at Iowa and I am hoping that we have a positive and incident free race."

Keith Wiggins, HVM Racing Team Principal – “We have had a roller coaster three weeks, from the high of the Indy 500 to a fiery Texas Speedway and now the build up to another new event for Simona. Although our inventory is somewhat reduced, we will continue to progress through the season and expect a solid finish in Iowa to put us back on track.”

Imran Safiulla, Team Stargate Worlds Principal - “We look forward to getting back on track after a tough weekend in Texas. Simona and the team have proven to be tenacious all season long and we hope to continue our forward progress. I would like to thank everybody that has reached out to us with their kind thoughts and concern for Simona and the team; we are humbled by all the support we have received."