Simona de Silvestro

[beachgirl]

Tags did a pretty good job with that too - too bad he had a crappy car for the race.

BZ

I was impressed when Tags did that, too. He had the complete track shape exactly right. He just made the track a little bigger than it was!

Racers who can do this are more than special. Having raced in a previous lifetime, I know just how important this is to success. I enjoy watching this segment of the coverages, and I'm glad the racers are game to do it in front of a camera.

[beachgirl]

Give it up Vintage, the personality worship on this board transcends any interest in the actual racing that takes place on the track. Simona will be the new hero of the message boards after the first time she poses in a bikini for Maxxim or does some lame commercial for Go Daddy.

BZ

If she would ever lower herself to do this (and I just cannot imagine it), I will immediately stop being a fan of hers, and find someone else who cares more about racing than they do about stripping and doing stupid juvenile ads.

[NickFalzone]

Kind of off-topic, but I agree with Tony that she's more attractive than Danica. Put some makeup and good lighting on her, and she would also be a better print and tv model. And there's no competition in the personality department.

[vintage]

That backmarker has consistanly posted top 5 runs in practice sessions, including a number of P1's.

Are you talking Indycar? She has ONCE had a top 6 in a split group - half the field - she was second, ended up qualifying 11th.

At the Barber test she was 18, 19, 16

At Sao Paulo she was 12, 13, 16 in practice, Q11, R16

St. Pete 22, 17, 21 Q14, R14

Barber 13, 15, Q13, 8th in warmup, R21

Lon Beach 15, 15, 10, Q13, warmup 15, R17

I've probably missed something or made a mistake here somewhere, but where are all these top 5 an P1?

Good (but not shockingly good) job for a rookie, but as I said, let's wait for an oval.

[Lousada]

Good (but not shockingly good) job for a rookie, but as I said, let's wait for an oval.

Her team is on par with Coyne and Conquest in my opinion. But she did a whole lot better than them, and beating some other better-funded teams.

[elis]

Are you talking Indycar?
I've probably missed something or made a mistake here somewhere, but where are all these top 5 an P1?

I was talking generally throughout the sessions not the actual finishing place. Don't know about you but I follow every practice & quali sessions & see the times via T&S, so have seen her post top 5 & P1 several times, jockying with & 'beating' the 'big boys', including at LB where at one point she posted a P1, in effectively a shoestring budget car (& no she wasn't first out on track). Sure her times were eventually knocked down, but my point was she has raw speed, ability, & importantly she keeps the car on the island.. If you are going simply off the final quali positons, likewise with the race placings you don't really get to see the full story.

jmo

[beachbum]

Her team is on par with Coyne and Conquest in my opinion. But she did a whole lot better than them, and beating some other better-funded teams.

Add in the fact that she is a rookie, and the performance is pretty impressive. But the true tell is how the people in the paddock talk about her. People like AJ and others have openingly expressed the opinion that they are very impressed.

Bringing out limited numbers to support a bias reminds me of the saying "Statistics Don't Lie; Statisticians Do". If the numbers are restricted to those that only support a particular position, they present a false picture. She has regularly been in the top 10 during practices. While Simona "only" made the top 12 once in qualifying, she has been amazingly close and very consistent every time. She qualified ahead of Ryan Hunter-Reay at Barber. Even Franchitti missed the top 12 at St Pete. Watching the qualifying on TV at Long Beach, she really hustled the car. The announcers mentioned how hard she was running and how she used every inch of the track. The only others who looked to be running that hard were TK and Power.

HVM is a very low budget team. Some have suggested their budget is similar to an IPS program. Yet with a rookie driver with very limited big car experience, they are challenging the "big boys". That is impressive. The fact that Simona is female is less important than the fact she is a rookie. As for Simona on an oval, she did test an IPS car at the Homestead test and was apparently quicker than most of the other regulars. She will do just fine on the ovals.

IMHO, there are some "fans" who are upset that she is getting very positive press while some other "celebrity" driver is basically being ignored because they are running at the back. Rather than acknowledge that "their" driver is struggling, they attack someone who is doing better than expected. As a rookie, Simona is running better than a number of veterans. She deserves accolades as one of the best rookie drivers to come into the series in the past few years.

[bzcam]

Kind of off-topic, but I agree with Tony that she's more attractive than Danica. Put some makeup and good lighting on her, and she would also be a better print and tv model. And there's no competition in the personality department.

Not off topic at all. In fact, its right on topic. The entire topic is about the new blond chick who's hot and has a great personality. There's some lip service being given to the racing part, but that's way secondary to being blond and hot.

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to see Simona in the grid. She brings a little excitment and hopefully some new fans and the IRL needs new fans if it is to grow and prosper.

BZ

[garyshell]

Not off topic at all. In fact, its right on topic. The entire topic is about the new blond chick who's hot and has a great personality. There's some lip service being given to the racing part, but that's way secondary to being blond and hot.

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to see Simona in the grid. She brings a little excitment and hopefully some new fans and the IRL needs new fans if it is to grow and prosper.

BZ

Who besides you is trying to make the topic be about "the new blond chick". It was started as a topic about her ABILITY until someone decided to try to make it about something else. Pathetic.

Gary

[vintage]

Bringing out limited numbers to support a bias reminds me of the saying "Statistics Don't Lie; Statisticians Do".

HVM is a very low budget team. Some have suggested their budget is similar to an IPS program. Yet with a rookie driver with very limited big car experience, they are challenging the "big boys".

As a rookie, Simona is running better than a number of veterans. She deserves accolades as one of the best rookie drivers to come into the series in the past few years.

Look, my reply was an effort to support your first quote above - lying with statistics. I believe most teams would agree that where you are at the end of the session is most indicative of your pace. In the middle of the session, some have run reds, some not, blah blah blah. I believe that is a better statistic than when someone pops up to the top based on a big lap on reds with low fuel in the middle of the session, or whatever. Picking out one moment of a session is, imho, a better example of lying with statistics.

I am also pretty sure none of us know what kind of budget Simona brings. Maybe you do, but I doubt it.

I will agree she is doing well for a rookie, and is likeable.