Kv Racing Technology Continues Test Program For Race;

[Mark H]

VISO CLEARED TO RETURN TO ACTION THURSDAY

 

Moraes, Sato Post 224 MPH Laps As Team Limits Runs

 

SPEEDWAY, Ind. (May 19, 2010) —  The KV Racing Technology organization was happy to see E.J. Viso back at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Wednesday during practice runs.

        

The 25-year-old Venezuela driver was cleared by the IMS/IZOD IndyCar Series medical team Wednesday after Viso spun and hit the outside turn one wall Tuesday afternoon .  Viso was released from Methodist Hospital late Tuesday evening and greeted the media and fans in the KVRT garage area Wednesday.

        

Viso is expected to be in his backup No. 8 PDVSA — KV Racing Technology Honda/Dallara/Firestone machine on Thursday.

        

Due to the cooler conditions, KVRT limited its on-track action Wednesday with Mario Moraes leading the team with 44 laps and best speed of 224.740 miles per hour.  Moraes, in the No. 32 KV Racing Technology Honda/Dallara/Firestone car, recorded the tenth fastest speed of the day.

        

IZOD IndyCar Series rookie Takuma Sato, a third place finisher in Formula One race at Indy in 2004, posted his fastest speed of the week in the No. 5 Lotus - KV Racing Technology Honda/Dallara/Firestone car at 224.255 m.p.h. Sato, preparing for his second oval race, turned in 25 laps Wednesday.

        

Veteran Paul Tracy drove only seven laps in the No. 15 GEICO — KV Racing Technology Honda/Dallara/Firestone entry, as his team decided to save its Firestone tires for warmer conditions on Thursday and Friday.

        

Practice is scheduled Thursday, May 20, from noon to 6 p.m.

 

DRIVER QUOTES:

 

MARIO MORAES, #32 KVRT HONDA/DALLARA/FIRESTONE: “We continued the work on our setups.  My engineer Iain (Watt) has been very good with me on working through the team’s program here at Indy.  We have worked on race trim and I ran with Dario (Franchitti) this afternoon to get an idea of the conditions.  It’s still very cold weather right now.  We believe the temperatures are going to get hotter.  So we didn’t run very much.”

 

PAUL TRACY,  #15 GEICO - KVRT HONDA/DALLARA/FIRESTONE: “We had planned to run quite a bit today, but the cool conditions were not what we were expecting.  The overcast skies did not heat up the track for race conditions.  So we decided to save our tires and get ready for Thursday.  Actually, I was able to wax my ‘64 Lincoln Continental that I brought from Las Vegas. I hope to get in many laps Thursday with the GEICO car.”

 

TAKUMA SATO,  #5 LOTUS - KVRT HONDA/DALLARA/FIRESTONE: “It was another productive day for the Lotus-KV Racing Technology team. It's a step by step process. The changes we made did make a positive change to the car, so we are moving in the right direction. Unfortunately the weather and temperature didn't improve as much as we had hoped. Tomorrow it is looking much better so I am looking forward to a busy day on track.”

 

E.J. VISO, #8 PDVSA-KVRT HONDA/DALLARA/FIRESTONE: “I want to thank the Indianapolis Motor Speedway safety team and medical staff for the fantastic job they did getting me out of the car and providing the initial diagnosis and treatment.  The safety and medical personnel at IMS and in the IZOD IndyCar Series are the best in the business.  I also want to thank the staff and doctors at Methodist Hospital and Dr. Trammell for providing me with such outstanding care.  They were extremely thorough and keep me informed of everything that was happening which made the whole process a lot easier.  To everyone at KV Racing Technology, thank you for your support and concern, and to the drivers that stopped by, Davey Hamilton, Rafa Matos and Dan Wheldon, I want you to know that I very much appreciated you taking the time to come and see me.”

 

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