After spending three seasons competing without a teammate in the IZOD IndyCar Series, Simona De Silvestro (pictured) will finally receive the benefit of having one when she teams up with past series champion Tony Kanaan in the KV Racing Technology stable in 2013.
De Silvestro will drive the no. 78 Chevrolet-powered Dallara which will continue to carry the colours of the Nuclear Clean Air Energy campaign, her primary sponsor for each of the past two seasons.
“It’s definitely exciting to be joining KV Racing (Technology). I’ve had a lot of good results in the past and I think this will help me get more (results). Having a teammate like Tony is really cool. I’m just really looking forward to the season,” she said in a statement released on Tuesday.
The 24-year old native of Thun, Switzerland logged some impressive results in her first two seasons with her former team, HVM Racing – three top tens in 2010, two in 2011 – but she struggled in 2012 while saddled with an underpowered Lotus engine. Her best results were two 14th place finishes (Detroit, Iowa). She placed 24th in the drivers’ championship.
After competing as a three-car team for each of the past three seasons, KV Racing Technology will return to a two-car effort in 2013. While Kanaan is returning for his third season with the team, its other 2012 drivers – Rubens Barrichello and E.J. Viso – are moving on. Their plans have yet to be revealed.
KV has also confirmed Imran Safiulla has joined Kevin Kalkhoven and Jimmy Vasser as team principal. Safiulla, an international industrialist, has supported De Silvestro’s racing career since 2006.
