HVM Racing has confirmed that Swiss driver and former Atlantics contender Simona de Silvestro will be a full-time competitor for their team in the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series championship. De Silvestro ran laps in HVM’s No. 78 entry at last week’s Open Test in Birmingham, Alabama.
She will continue to carry backing from Team Stargate Worlds and according to Robin Miller of SPEED Channel, she has sponsorship set for all 17 events on the schedule. Her addition to the grid will make for two full-time female competitors in herself and Danica Patrick of Andretti Autosport.
“Racing in the [IZOD IndyCar Series], alongside the class of competition that I will be racing with is a true honor,” De Silvestro said in a team press release. “I am very grateful for this opportunity and for the type of team that I will have alongside me. I am equally grateful for the support that I have from my sponsors, family, friends and fans. I am very eager for my debut in the 2010 IZOD IndyCar [Series] season.”
“From the first day of the first test, we knew she could drive,” said team owner Keith Wiggins. “The longer we worked with her, the more she impressed us. I think she has a great future in this series. She made a lot of history in the Atlantic Championship and we expect her to make some waves in IndyCar now that she’s here.”
De Silvestro’s move to IndyCar seems to be a highly anticipated one amongst the fanbase, which hopes, among other things, to see a rivalry blossom between her and Patrick, the league’s most popular star. But while that would be nice to see, the fact of the matter is that we may be getting ahead of ourselves. She’s an up-and-coming driver with a team that’s trying to rebuild and move back up the pecking order after a dismal 2009.
However, there’s no doubt that at least the road and street course events just got more interesting with her arrival. Let’s see what happens with her. She certainly holds a lot of promise.
