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IndyCar
DE SILVESTRO: Pinch Me!
I'm at the airport waiting to leave for Indy as I write this and I really have to pinch myself...the fact that I completed my first IZOD IndyCar Series race blows my mind.
Simona De Silvestro  |  Posted March 16, 2010  
De Silvestro led her first IndyCar Series race in her debut, thanks to some crafty strategy by her team. (LAT)
I'm at the airport waiting to leave for Indy as I write this and I really have to pinch myself. It's still sinking in. All of it. The fact that I completed my first IZOD IndyCar Series race blows my mind. In case you (reader) don't know, I finished 16th. “I was racing with Dario and Ryan for the lead”, I keep telling myself. And while it might have only been for a couple of laps that I enjoyed my lead, at the end of the day, I did lead and we did put on a pretty good show for the fans. There was so much that happened before that. Let me rewind back a bit.

When we decided to partner up with HVM Racing and created Team Stargate Worlds/HVM, the first thing I did was to start spending more time in Indianapolis. I did so to be closer to the Team Stargate Worlds/HVM Racing team. I have an apartment in Scottsdale, Arizona but it is so much easier to race in this series when you can go back and forth to the team's shop. During the preseason there was a lot of time when I had to be at the shop like a seat fitting, meetings, and overall just to be around my team. The crew that I have are an awesome bunch. I have known Keith (Keith Wiggins) for a few years, as Imran (my manager & team principal) and him go way back. In fact, I had gone to the shop in my rookie year in the Atlantics and remember Imran telling me that if I did well, I would probably drive one of their Champcars. We've gone full circle and I'm so happy to be with the organization.

So the days leading up to the race were very hectic. Between my physical conditioning, dieting, daily meetings, and doing all the press after I made my announcement (that I would be racing with Team Stargate Worlds/HVM Racing). It was a blur when I look back on it. So many things happened in such a small amount of time that it did not hit me. Here I was, a week away from my first race of the season, the most important moment of my career, and it still had not sunk. It finally did hit me though about 2 days before I left Indy. I could not sleep. Tossing and turning and thinking, “wow, this is it. It's finally going to happen”. The nervousness appeared, but it didn't take away from my excitement. There was a smile on my face that was permanent!

On Wednesday the team and I flew down here. It was neat to have all the teams traveling together and staying at the same hotel. It was my first time in Brazil and it was mayhem at the airport. After waiting for about 45 minutes, we finally got on a double-decker bus and headed to the hotel. I'd like to tell you how different and pretty everything was that I was seeing on the road, but I was fast asleep (sorry!). We got to the hotel and settled in. The preparations were on full swing. It's my first fly away race and it was cool too see how all our cars and equipment showed up and was being set up.

On Thursday I met up with my family, who traveled all the way from Switzerland to be at my first ever IndyCar race. It was really nice to have them there with me. We got just enough time to sneak off and get lunch in the city before I had to come back and start preparing. We ended up at this excellent churrascaria (Brazilian steakhouse); for those of you that haven't had this experience, it's a must. It was fun.
Swiss IndyCar rookie Simona De Silvestro will file exclusive post-race columns for SPEEDtv.com throughout the 2010 season, (LAT)

Friday started quite early and we did our track walk and other preparations. The track was evolving every minute, as they were still putting curbs in and tire walls, etc. We were quite comfortable with the set up we had brought there after we got our first impressions. I went out to dinner (you guessed, same restaurant) with the team. There was an on site magician that was performing some crazy tricks. He stole my BRM watch right off my hand and I didn't even know it. It was a real fun evening.

Now it gets all serious. We had to go to our first practice session on Saturday and the track is as slick as can be, but I was thrilled to be back in the car. It is so bumpy that my feet were flying off the pedals. The start/finish stretch was like driving on ice (I felt I was doing the samba) as I drove down it at 50% throttle, slipping and sliding. Our set up seemed to be a good start and we built from there. I ended up 12th fastest in that session and 13th in the second one. The conditions were so bad that they had to cancel qualifying so they could grind the track over night. I also felt a bit like a rock star, as the team had one of our social media partners from Europe and they were filming me behind the scenes.

With everything already being new to me, I now had to contend with qualifying on race day. We had a fifteen minute warm-up before qualifying and I was pretty quick and comfortable with the car. I was in the first round of 12 drivers and it was loaded with a bunch of fast cars. I felt confident and went out on the red-option tyre for the first time; we were quick. The times kept coming down and I found myself in a surprising P2 within my group, just behind Justin Wilson. I had made the fast 12 and it was all happening very fast. We made a few changes between sessions and I was pushing quite hard and made a slight mistake on my last lap bringing an end to the session. I ended up 11th on the starting grid. Luckily, the car wasn't too damaged and the guys still did an amazing job putting it back together in time for the race. I might have cost them their lunch time so I'm very grateful for their commitment in getting us ready for the start.

Before I knew it, I was rolling down getting ready to take the green flag. It was mayhem in turn one; Helio, Takuma and a couple of others spun in front of me and I barely made it into turn one. I got everything but the kitchen sink, thrown at me during this race. We had a tyre go down, Michael made a great call to get me into the lead, I lead a few laps, and I'm hoping you saw the rest (ha ha). For those of you who did not see it, I got stuck out on the race track with the slicks out in the pouring rain, the race was red flagged for a while and when we finally got going, I had a problem on my rear suspension. The team managed to get me back out, but I lost a few laps as a result. I finished the race in 16th. In the last stint, I had a blast. I really enjoyed the car, and the "push to pass" button and I got to know each other (I had 80% of it left).

Its all happened so fast; my flight is boarding in a few minutes, but just a couple of hours ago I was still getting tossed around in my debut race. Somebody please pinch me; it feels like I'm dreaming.

~Simona

In 2010 Simona De Silvestro makes her debut in the IZOD IndyCar Series aboard the # 78 Stargate Resistance entry as part of the Team Stargate Worlds/HVM Racing entry. Prior to that she stunned the North American open-wheel world in 2009. De Silvestro won 4 races In dominant fashion. In addition to her wins she also earned 4 pole positions, and an extraordinary 9 podium finishes in the 2009 Atlantic Championship Season. Her success was not only impressive but it was also record breaking.

De Silvestro, who is often referred as “the Swiss Miss” because of her Swiss upbringing, was the first woman is series history to have earned the most wins, pole positions, and led the most laps all in a single season. At the end of the season De Silvestro also had an extraordinary 9 podium finishes in the season. The results of her effort led to her finishing the season in 3rd place, proving to observers that she is on par to becoming open wheel racing's next shining star.

Learn more about Simona and her team at www.teamstargateworlds.com, www.simonadesilvestro.com, and www.hvmracing.com.

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The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEED.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or SPEED
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