IndyCar - De Silvestro Finds Speed for Edmonton Indy Qualifying

Edmonton, July 24, 2011: 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."