Contact Spoils Great Performance From De Silvestro

EDMONTON, July 27, 2010: Under perfect weather conditions and starting in her best qualifying position this year, 7th, Simona De Silvestro and the Team Stargate Worlds/HVM Racing crew were eager to begin the Honda Indy Edmonton on a positive note in her quest for the 2010 “Rookie of the Year” award.

As the green flag dropped Simona immediately picked up a position and by lap # 7 she had a 2.3 second gap between her and the 7th spot of E.J. Viso. Simona continued carving the No. 78 Stargate Resistance Dallara/Honda entry around the 1.96 mile temporary street/airport course and settled into a fast race pace. By lap # 17 her gap had increased to 6.7 seconds. She pitted on lap # 32 and after a perfect pit stop Simona exited and rejoined the race back in the 11th spot. After a complete round of stops, Simona returned back to the 6th spot. She and Ryan Hunter-Reay enjoyed an on-track battle and she soon settled herself into the 7th spot. The race took an ugly turn for Simona on lap # 49 as she was forced into the tire barrier in turn # 11, as a result of contact from behind by E.J. Viso. After having been restarted, Simona was able to make it back on track; however, she lost valuable positions and ended back in the 20th spot. Keeping her composure and showing incredible maturity, Simona kept her focus and throughout the race continued to make steady progress and by the last round of pit stops Simona’s efforts had paid off and she found herself in the 11th position. After having had a strong race; having raced all the way to the 11th spot after a disappointing incident, Simona’s circumstances came to another unfortunate turn when she came to a stop off-track on lap # 87. Simona would end up finishing the race in the 22nd spot. The IndyCar Series will take a 2-week break and return on August 8th for the Honda Indy 200 presented by Westfield Insurance at the Mid-Ohio race complex.

Simona De Silvestro, Driver No. 78: “Well it’s certainly a disappointing finish considering how hard we all had worked to get here. Racing has its valleys and its peaks and I’m sure we will rise up once again and have the great results I know this team is capable of. My thanks, as always, go to my hard working team, my wonderful sponsors, and of course those who continue to support me.”

Keith Wiggins, HVM Racing Team Owner: “We had the speed today, a top 6 to 8, so the result was a big disappointment. Being taken out by another driver’s error is frustrating, but it just means we will have to do it again next time.” Imran Safiulla, Team Stargate Worlds Team Principal: “Simona and the team have displayed what we are capable of. It’s a shame that our strong performance was halted by a knuckle head maneuver by E.J. Viso. Simona did a tremendous job all weekend and should keep her chin up. We will take some positives and move on to Ohio.”