Sunday
HVM Racing / E.J. Viso Honda Indy Toronto Race Report
Press ReleaseHVM Racing Honda Indy Toronto Race Report
Venue: Streets of Toronto, 1.77-mile temporary street course, Toronto, Ontario
No. 13 PDVSA HVM Racing Honda Dallara – E.J. Viso
Starting Position: 16th
Finishing Position: 13th
Notes:
- HVM Racing’s second Top-10 finish of the season was in sight with just 13 laps remaining in Sunday’s Honda Indy Toronto. But E.J. Viso and the No. 13 PDVSA HVM Racing Honda Dallara suffered a flat tire after being bumped off the course, and subsequently finished 13th.
- The 13 car had been running well throughout the race after starting 16th, running as high as fourth early on. HVM’s pit strategy kept the 13 car competitive, with the plan to pit just twice for fuel and tires. The first stops were quick and the car stayed within or close to the Top 10 for much of the race.
- Viso was in seventh position on Lap 72 when he was knocked off course as Mario Moraes tried to dive inside Viso on Turn 3. The contact gave the 13 car a right rear flat tire, forcing the team to make an unscheduled third stop. Despite falling back to 14th position as a result of the incident, Viso pushed on and advanced one position over the remaining laps to finish 13th.
- Viso and Moraes had additional interaction after the checkered flag waved. After the race ended and the cars were cooling down on the back straightaway, Moraes once again hit Viso from behind and spun him into the wall.
- The team will use the upcoming off week to prepare to cross the northern border again. The series’ next race is in Edmonton on July 26.
Comments from HVM Racing Team Principal and Owner Keith Wiggins after the Honda Indy Toronto:
“We worked on developing the set-up of the car over the course of the weekend and we were confident we would have a good car for the race. "Once again, we were focusing on the race strategy, which was playing out well until the incident with Moraes. That, unfortunately, took us out of a Top-6 finish.”
“We were having a very good race. We were a bit scared at the start of the race because we didn’t test (in the warm-up) and we had plenty of changes to the car because we had a little mechanical failure. I need to say that the changes were all positive, everything was going good and we had a good strategy. Everything was paying off.
“Then I had a big hit on the rear tire, and I got a flat tire because Moraes got into me in the braking of Corner 3. That’s disappointing. That’s what put me in Position 13.
“Then when the race was over, I already had my visor open, I was drinking water and – you can see it in the video – he came once more. He just hit me and spun me in the back straight. I can’t understand what he was thinking. The race was over.”
HVM is based in Indianapolis, Indiana. In its eight years of competition, the team has earned six wins, two pole positions, and an additional 16 podiums since 2001. The team finished fourth and third, respectively, in the Champ Car championship standings in 2006 and 2007, and earned its drivers Mario Dominguez and Robert Doornbos Rookie of the Year honors in 2002 and 2007, respectively. In 2008 with driver E.J. Viso, the team earned seven top-10 finishes, including a fourth at St. Petersburg in its inaugural year in the IRL Championship.
- HVM Racing Press Release
Article Tags: Champ Car, E.J. Viso, Honda Indy Toronto, HVM, Keith Wiggins, Mario Dominguez, Mario Moraes, No. 13 PDVSA HVM Racing Honda Dallara, PDVSA HVM Racing, Robert Doornbos, Rookie of the Year, Team Principal
