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Pagenaud To Sub for Simona De Silvestro Today

 
359 views Aug 26, 2011


Simona de Silvestro was unable to get to Sonoma in time for Friday practice

Simon Pagenaud will stand in for de Silvestro in Friday's practice
Photos: Courtesy INDYCAR

After testing at Infineon Raceway Sears Point in Sonoma, CA with the rest of the IZOD IndyCar Series drivers, HVM Racing driver Simona de Silvestro took a quick holiday home to Switzerland .  Unfortunately, on her return to the US to partake in the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma this weekend, de Silvestro was detained by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) as she attempted to re-enter the USA.

On Thursday, HVM was forced to make a quick decision prior to Friday's beginning practice for this race and smartly decided to enlist Simon Pagenaud to pilot the No.78 Nuclear Clean Air Energy Dallara/Honda/Firestone machine in Friday afternoon's practice session.

"It's an unfortunate situation," Keith Wiggins, HVM team owner explained.  "We could never have imagined this kind of an issue going into a race weekend and it just adds more challenges to our 2011 season.  It's in the team's best interest to continue our program and we're lucky to have another world-class driver like Simon Pagenaud, who is willing to step up and work with us to achieve a successful result."

Pagenaud has two starts in the IndyCar Series thus far this season, at Barber Motorsports Park where he started 23rd and finished eighth while driving in relief of Ana Beatriz.  He also subbed for Justin Wilson at MId-Ohio Sports Car course, starting 18th and finishing 13th.  

De Silvestro has had a tough sophomore year in the Indy cars, experiencing grand results of fourth and ninth in the first two races but suffering from fire and contact injuries, mechanical difficulties throughout the racing year.  She's currently 20th in the points standings.

© 2011 Anne Proffit




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