HVM Racing entered last year looking to improve on its 2008 results with Venezuelan driver E.J. Viso. Despite reportedly receiving some of the worst equipment of the transitioning Champ Car teams, they still managed to score one top five and seven top-10s.
Last year, however, everything that could have gone wrong for HVM did. Viso failed to finish his first seven races, and even though he only had one DNF after that, the damage was done; Viso brought up the rear of all full-time IZOD IndyCar Series drivers last year. He scored 38 fewer points in 2009 than he did in 2008, and only have one top-10 placing, a seventh at Watkins Glen.
Adding Robert Doornbos to a second car for the last five races didn't help the team, which was already suffering. The former HVM driver in Champ Car failed to finish better than 10th in his five events with the team. Worse, his supposed deal to run for the team in 2010 fell through, and he will not be in Brazil.
Instead, HVM rescued Swiss talent Simona de Silvestro from the dying Atlantic Championship. She won four races in the series last year and finished third in the title hunt, having led the points for most of the year. She has already been hailed as the series' biggest female competition to Danica Patrick for her developmental series success. Like Viso, who brought PDVSA checks and the No. 13 to HVM, de Silvestro brings her Atlantic sponsor, Stargate Worlds, and her Atlantic number, No. 78, to the team.
The first year will likely be an uphill battle, however, as de Silvestro still has not been cleared to run on ovals (owing to her lack of oval experience), and HVM remains one of the series' backmarkers. As talented as de Silvestro has proven herself in Atlantics, she can only be as good as the equipment she is given.
If the team adds a second car later on for Firestone Indy Lights driver Junior Strous, as is hoped, the team may struggle even more, perhaps running beyond its capacity. The advantage to potentially moving up Strous, however, is the return of major sponsor Shell to the sport. Shell used to back some of the best drivers in open-wheel racing as a CART sponsor, but ended its program in the early 2000s to focus on NASCAR. The addition of a major partner may be the push HVM needs to run towards the front of the pack.
HVM Racing has two of the most talented young drivers in all of IndyCar right now, and a plan in place to move up the standings in 2010 and beyond. The only question is if that plan will eventually come to fruition. As long as the checks keep coming, and the drivers keep progressing, the team has an excellent chance at moving up in the next few years. In the meantime, however, patience is a virtue.
Showing posts with label Robert Doornbos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Robert Doornbos. Show all posts
Thursday, March 11, 2010
IndyCar Season Preview: Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing
For a team that once looked to field three cars in the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series season, Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing is beginning to look a little gaunt.
During last year's season finale at Homestead, reporters suggested that Alex Lloyd would drive the team's second car in 2010. Nothing suggested that Graham Rahal would move on from his seat in the No. 02 car, and November reports even claimed that Hideki Mutoh would join the team in an unprecedented third car.
Mutoh signed with the team in February, but sponsorship fell through for both Rahal and Lloyd, requiring both to move on. This means that the team will likely focus all of its efforts on Mutoh for 2010, instead of running a second car with shaky sponsorship as it did last year.
Mutoh was, for his part, decent during Barber testing in February, consistently putting the car in the top 10. But the loss of one of the best American drivers in the series is definitely being felt, both in the NHL garage and around the paddock. Rahal was one of the series' most marketable drivers, and failing to retain him will hurt both the team and the series.
Rahal led NHL last season, finishing seventh in points after scoring two poles and podium finishes at Richmond and Motegi. He improved over his 2008 rookie standing by ten positions and 97 points, although he failed to win a race, as he had in his first career IndyCar start at St. Petersburg. Oriol Servia scored the best finish for the team in its other car, a fourth place run at Motegi. Robert Doornbos also ran a dozen races for the team, with four ninth place finishes to show for it.
NHL is one of the teams considered the "best of the rest" in IndyCar - that is, the teams that won't win a championship, but should fight for a race win or two. Focusing all of their efforts on Mutoh may only strengthen their program, but Mutoh needs to step up his driving efforts. He has two podium finishes in two Iowa starts, his four top fives in 2009 were a personal best, and he had fewer DNFs in 2009 than his 2008 rookie year. If he continues his upward progress, the team may contend in 2010.
During last year's season finale at Homestead, reporters suggested that Alex Lloyd would drive the team's second car in 2010. Nothing suggested that Graham Rahal would move on from his seat in the No. 02 car, and November reports even claimed that Hideki Mutoh would join the team in an unprecedented third car.
Mutoh signed with the team in February, but sponsorship fell through for both Rahal and Lloyd, requiring both to move on. This means that the team will likely focus all of its efforts on Mutoh for 2010, instead of running a second car with shaky sponsorship as it did last year.
Mutoh was, for his part, decent during Barber testing in February, consistently putting the car in the top 10. But the loss of one of the best American drivers in the series is definitely being felt, both in the NHL garage and around the paddock. Rahal was one of the series' most marketable drivers, and failing to retain him will hurt both the team and the series.
Rahal led NHL last season, finishing seventh in points after scoring two poles and podium finishes at Richmond and Motegi. He improved over his 2008 rookie standing by ten positions and 97 points, although he failed to win a race, as he had in his first career IndyCar start at St. Petersburg. Oriol Servia scored the best finish for the team in its other car, a fourth place run at Motegi. Robert Doornbos also ran a dozen races for the team, with four ninth place finishes to show for it.
NHL is one of the teams considered the "best of the rest" in IndyCar - that is, the teams that won't win a championship, but should fight for a race win or two. Focusing all of their efforts on Mutoh may only strengthen their program, but Mutoh needs to step up his driving efforts. He has two podium finishes in two Iowa starts, his four top fives in 2009 were a personal best, and he had fewer DNFs in 2009 than his 2008 rookie year. If he continues his upward progress, the team may contend in 2010.
Monday, March 1, 2010
De Silvestro Set For 2010
Confirmed via the Twitter accounts of both driver and team, Swiss driver Simona de Silvestro will contest the entire 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series schedule for HVM Racing. She will drive the No. 78 Team Stargate Worlds Dallara-Honda.
De Silvestro, 21, has spent the past three years in the Atlantic Championship, with a best finish of third last year. In 34 career Atlantic starts, she has five wins, four of them coming last year with US RaceTronics (operating under the Stargate Worlds banner). She was in the championship hunt for most of last season, before a retirement on the first lap of the season finale knocked her from contention. Her performance helped her earn a handful of IndyCar tests this offseason, in which she performed respectably.
HVM ran one car for E.J. Viso for most of last season before taking on Robert Doornbos just over halfway in. Viso failed to finish his first seven races, while the best finish Doornbos could muster in five events for the team was 10th place. This came in stark contrast to Doornbos' 2007 season with the team in Champ Car, where he finished third in the championship and won rookie of the year for the team, then known as Minardi Team USA.
Doornbos was originally to run for HVM again in 2010, but funding did not come through. Doornbos' uniform in 2009 carried patches for energy drink maker Red Bull and financial institution ING, although the car itself did not. Red Bull gave Doornbos three starts in Formula 1 in 2006 and ING, like Doornbos, is Dutch. It appears, however, that a difficult season marred by feuding with onetime teammate Graham Rahal and poor performance on ovals ended those sponsorships.
Stargate Worlds is an online role-playing video game that is part of the Stargate science fiction franchise. Still in production, it will be the second Stargate video game to be released. 2010 will be the second season of open-wheel sponsorship for Stargate Worlds and developer Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment.
De Silvestro, 21, has spent the past three years in the Atlantic Championship, with a best finish of third last year. In 34 career Atlantic starts, she has five wins, four of them coming last year with US RaceTronics (operating under the Stargate Worlds banner). She was in the championship hunt for most of last season, before a retirement on the first lap of the season finale knocked her from contention. Her performance helped her earn a handful of IndyCar tests this offseason, in which she performed respectably.
HVM ran one car for E.J. Viso for most of last season before taking on Robert Doornbos just over halfway in. Viso failed to finish his first seven races, while the best finish Doornbos could muster in five events for the team was 10th place. This came in stark contrast to Doornbos' 2007 season with the team in Champ Car, where he finished third in the championship and won rookie of the year for the team, then known as Minardi Team USA.
Doornbos was originally to run for HVM again in 2010, but funding did not come through. Doornbos' uniform in 2009 carried patches for energy drink maker Red Bull and financial institution ING, although the car itself did not. Red Bull gave Doornbos three starts in Formula 1 in 2006 and ING, like Doornbos, is Dutch. It appears, however, that a difficult season marred by feuding with onetime teammate Graham Rahal and poor performance on ovals ended those sponsorships.
Stargate Worlds is an online role-playing video game that is part of the Stargate science fiction franchise. Still in production, it will be the second Stargate video game to be released. 2010 will be the second season of open-wheel sponsorship for Stargate Worlds and developer Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment.
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