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IndyCar – Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix
Lotus driver Simona de Silvestro (#78 – Lotus
HVM Racing) scored her best season finish in
Sunday’s Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix. After
starting at the back of the field because of an
engine change penalty, she’d worked her way up
to 13th position by the time the checker flag
flew.
“I think we can be pretty happy because we
finished the race,” said the Swiss driver. “The
guys worked really hard the whole weekend just
to get the car turned around and we had a really
strong race car.”
Simona drove a solid race and kept up with the
rest of the field. Strategy and good driving
were the keys to Lotus HVM Racing’s great
finish. The team engineers called for an early
pitstop on lap 11, setting the stage for De
Silvestro’s race. She ran as high as 11th at one
point and was running 13th when the team
completed their second pitstop of the day on lap
37.
Lotus HVM Racing team owner, Keith Wiggins was
pleased with the team’s performance. “It was
hard work for a 13th place finish,” he said,
“but on the good side, the crew did a really
good job on the strategy even though we had less
fuel consumption than the other guys. Simona
drove a really great, intelligent race. The
reliability was better so that’s a step forward.”
Claudio Berro, Director of Lotus Racing,
commented: “We are very proud of Simona’s
performance in the Detroit Grand Prix. She was
consistent and had a strong finish. The Lotus
HVM Racing team did a great job and came up with
a really good strategy. We thank her and the
team for all their hard work. We, at Lotus
Racing, will keep working hard to give her and
HVM Racing what they need to obtain good results."
Britcar MSA British Endurance Championship
Race - Brands Hatch
Team Bullrun had a text book weekend at Brands
Hatch for Round 4 of the MSA Britcar Endurance
Championship.
Qualifying was tight, but a last minute run
sealed pole position by 2 hundredths of a second
giving an all important track position on the
tight Indy circuit. Martin Byford started the
race which saw a number of safety cars in the
first hour, but costly safety cars at the last
round at Snetterton were replaced by lady luck
this time round. After the hour mark, the Evora
was comfortably in front.
With some skilful driving through traffic,
Martin handed over the car with over a thirty
second lead, leaving David Green a comfortable
drive to victory. Byford’s efforts were also
rewarded with the Sunoco Driver of the Day award.
The win stretches Team Bullrun's lead to 2
points at the halfway point in the Championship.
David Green commented: "It was a great weekend
for the team. We did feel a slight bit of
pressure to maintain the Championship lead,
however, an amazing drive from birthday boy
Martin in the first stint set us up nicely for
the win. The car was faultless all weekend and
seems to be getting stronger as we all get used
to it and tweak the set up. We are looking
forward to the second half of the season,
especially as we are front of the pack." |
