Lotus HVM Racing St. Pete qualifying report

Lotus HVM Racing Looking Forward

St. Petersburg, FL (Saturday, March 24, 2012) - After a great practice Friday afternoon, the team experienced a bit of a setback today when the Nuclear Clean Air Energy Lotus HVM Racing #78 driver Simona De Silvestro got stuck in traffic during qualifying. Unable to get a clean lap, De Silvestro will start tomorrow's Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on the outside of row 11.

Simona de Silvestro, HVM Racing

Photo by: IndyCar Series

Clearly disappointed, De Silvestro said, "I think qualifying could have gone a little bit better. We struggled a bit with traffic, so we'll have a long race tomorrow starting from the back. But we'll keep fighting to go forward."

De Silvestro was the fastest of the Lotus engine teams in yesterday's practice and the team had high hopes for a good qualifying run and a good starting position on tomorrow's grid.

Team Manager Shane Seneviratne is still optimistic about tomorrow's race. "We didn't have the best qualifying session with the traffic, but I think we have a decent car to race with tomorrow. The team's done a great job. The engine side of things is picking up progress. We're looking forward to having a good race tomorrow.

While the team isn't starting as close to the front as they'd like, Team Owner Keith Wiggins summarized the situation nicely. "It's a work in progress. We didn't get the best out of the car in qualifying. We're still working with the car and engine and we didn't get our fastest lap. There are a number of areas where we just have to work and improve."