HVM Racing Loudon qualifying report

The Sky's the Limit for Simona De Silvestro at New Hampshire Motor Speedway

Simona de Silvestro, HVM Racing

Photo by: IndyCar Series

Loudon, New Hampshire - August 13, 2011 - Simona De Silvestro has seen adversity and risen to the challenge. She and her team at HVM Racing arrived at New Hampshire Motor Speedway this week with two goals in mind: be smart and be safe.

The Swiss driver's sophomore season hasn't been without challenges, including a massive crash during practice at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and another during qualifying at The Milwaukee Mile. The incidents affected De Silvestro both physically and emotionally. Since June, she's been working hard to overcome her issues and regain her position as one of IndyCar's rising stars.

De Silvestro has made a strong comeback, completing some solid runs on the various road courses on the IZOD IndyCar schedule. With a background in road course racing, the comeback came naturally. However, returning to an oval for the first time since the incidents has been a challenge. One that De Silvestro is determined to conquer, one step at a time.

"I think we're making improvements," says De Silvestro, "but honestly, I think it's really about my confidence. It's going to be a tough weekend and a busy race tomorrow, but the important thing is to finish and for me to get comfortable because that's the only way we're going to get better. I think that if you take too big of a risk and something happens, you just take ten steps back and that's really not what I want to do. I really want to look forward, so that's the goal."