IZOD IndyCar Series - Simona De Silvestro

Oriol Servia Panther DRR
8th
10th
Charlie Kimball Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing
Simona de Silvestro
Simona  De Silvestro
KV Racing Technology
  • 78_Nuclear
  • Swiss
9th
Simona de Silvestro
Driver Info
Simona de Silvestro
All-Time Career Statistics - IZOD IndyCar Series
  • Championship
    0
  • Indy 500 Wins
    0
  • Total Poles
    0
  • Race Wins
    0
78
Biography of Simona De Silvestro

When she was young, Simona De Silvestro’s future looked to include anything but motorsports, especially because racing had been banned in her native Switzerland since 1955.

But De Silvestro excelled at every sport she’s played growing up. She won her first ski race when she was 3 years old, was a top regional fencer and played championship youth tennis. So it wasn’t a surprise that she took to racing quickly, winning her first kart race.

"When I was a baby, my dad says I was quiet only when I watched Formula 1 on TV," she said. "When I was 4, he did a go-kart demonstration, but I couldn't reach the pedals, so I cried the whole day. By the time I was 9 or 10, I knew that racing was what I wanted to do, and my whole life has been about it. Driving open-wheel race cars has always been my goal. I really never had anything else in my head."

De Silvestro spent her early career honing her racing skills in European karting and junior formula series while racing under the Italian flag. In 2006, she crossed the Atlantic Ocean to pursue her open-wheel racing dreams.

From success in the Formula BMW USA championship and the Atlantic Championship, De Silvestro joined the IZOD IndyCar Series in 2010 and was runner-up in Rookie of the Year standings.

IZOD INDYCAR SERIES HIGHLIGHTS

First start: March 14, 2010 (Streets of São Paulo, Brazil)

2012
• Finished 24th in IZOD IndyCar Series standings for HVM Racing.
• Recorded best finish of 13th at Belle Isle.

2011
• Finished 20th in IZOD IndyCar Series standings for HVM Racing.
• Recorded career-best fourth-place finish in season opener at St. Petersburg and posted three top 10s overall.

2010
• Finished 19th in IZOD IndyCar Series standings for HVM Racing.
• Recorded two top-10 finishes, with a best of eighth at Mid-Ohio.
• Started season-best seventh at Edmonton.
• Named Chase Rookie of the Year for 14th-place finish at Indianapolis.

ROAD TO THE IZOD INDYCAR SERIES

2009
• Finished third in Atlantic Championship for Team Stargate Worlds with four wins, four poles and nine podium finishes in 12 starts.
• Claimed wins at Utah, New Jersey2, Lime Rock and Trois-Rivieres to become winningest female driver in series history.
• Led a series best 172 laps.

2008
• Finished eighth in Atlantic Championship for Newman Wachs Racing with a win at Long Beach, becoming the second woman in series history to win a race. 
• Earned a total of four top-five results and eight top-10 finishes. 

2007
• Competed in the the Atlantic Championship with Walker racing, earning two top-10 results as a rookie.
2006
• Finished fourth in Formula BMW USA withwin at Lime Rock
• Recorded six podiums and 11 top-10 finishes en route.
• Scored two third-place finishes at the U.S. Grand Prix and became the first woman to ever earn a podium result at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

2005
• Finished 21st in the Formula Renault 2000 Championship in Italy.

|2004
• Raced in the French Formula A Championship and finished 15th overall.

Early career
• Earned a second-place finish in the Trofeo Industria Parma, finished fifth in Wintercup Lonato and was third in Primavera Lonato. Also finished seventh in the Swiss Championship, 13th in Kart-Cup Monaco and second in the Bridgestone-Cup Switzerland.
Year Series Starts Wins Poles** Top 5 Top 10 Laps Led RAF
2013 IZOD IndyCar Series 4 0 0 0 3 0 4
2012 IZOD IndyCar Series 15 0 0 0 0 0 6
2011 IZOD IndyCar Series 15 0 0 1 3 1 11
2010 IZOD IndyCar Series 17 0 0 0 2 4 10
Total 51 0 0 1 8 5 31
Year Series Starts Wins Poles** Top 5 Top 10 Laps Led RAF
* Under INDYCAR sanction RAF = Running at Finish
** Includes all poles, including those awarded based on entrant points
KV Racing Technology

The team was formed in January 2003 as a single-car operation under the banner of KV Racing. In 2004, the Indianapolis-based team expanded to a two-car effort when Jimmy Vasser joined as a driver in addition to co-owning the operation with Kevin Kalkhoven, becoming PKV Racing.

Vasser, the 1996 CART champion, also raced with the team in the Champ Car finale at Long Beach in 2008. The team joined the IZOD IndyCar Series in 2008.

Kalkhoven, who was also a co-owner of the Champ Car World Series, is a successful venture capitalist. International industrialist Imran Safiulla joined the ownership group in 2013.