Indycar – Texas Firestone 550 Race Report

It was a very disappointing night for Simona de Silvestro and the Lotus HVM Racing team.

After strong practice and qualifying runs this weekend, the team came to Texas full of hope with an updated exhaust system that offered a promise of more speed and competitiveness. Unfortunately, the car was unable to start the race.

At 8:50 pm (ET), when the command was given to start the engines, two cars did not start on grid, Rubens Barichello’s #8 machine (KV Racing Technology) and Simona’s #78 car. “No fuel pressure” were the words that resounded over the HVM radio. The team rushed the car back to the garage to see what could be done to get the #78 machine to join the field. Unfortunately, this was not something that could be fixed in a short time. Twenty minutes later, they called it a night.

Simona de Silvestro: “We have one update finally, and then something like this happens, and it’s annoying. But that’s kind of how the whole season has been going with our program. The guys are working their butts off and we’re trying to make things happen, but we just don’t have the pieces all put together right now.”

Olivier Picquenot, Lotus IndyCar Manager: “I have no words. Everyone at Lotus was so happy with the improvement on Simona’s car this weekend. The HVM Racing team had worked so hard, but who would have known the fuel regulator would fail.”