With 3 races left in the 2009 Formula Atlantic Championship Simona de Silvestro has tightened her grip on first place in the drivers’ classification.
The Swiss girl scored another victory on Sunday on the Trois Rivières circuit in Quebec, and has increased her lead over her nearest rival to 21 points. The day before, Simona set pole and a new outright record for the track, which was celebrating its 40th anniversary.
The fastest lap till then had been held by Christiano da Matta (Indy Lights) since 1998. Simons thus became the first woman driver to start from pole in the history of the Trois Rivières circuit, all categories combined. By winning Sunday’s race Simona again shattered another record. After being the woman driver with the highest number of victories, pole positions and the greatest number of laps in the lead in the Atlantic Championship, her four 2009 victories broke the one held by Katherine Legge.
Since the start of the season Simona has scored 7 podium finishes in 8 races. Next round in Canada on 30th August. “A perfect weekend” Simona, the weekend began with pole.
Was that a boost to your morale? “
Yes, it was really important to bag pole here as the Newman Sachs team was quicker in qualifying in the last few races. We really did a great job. We managed to modify the setup during the session and that helped me to improve my performance a little more. The car was very quick and consistent so I was hoping for great things in the race.”
How did the race go?
“I made a good start and I managed to open up a small gap. I pushed really hard during the opening laps to give myself a cushion in relation to my nearest rivals. Then in the middle of the race there were a few yellow flags, which upset me a bit as I couldn’t see what was going on. I had to slow down a lot and that was when Edwards was able to catch me. After that there were ten minutes left and I nursed my car as I wanted to finish above all.” You have a 21-point lead and there are three races left.
Are you starting to think about the title?
“I’m trying not to, as it would put too much pressure on both the team and myself. I’m just going to take the remaining races as they come with the same philosophy – try and win. This weekend we thought we’d have a few problems and we were the front- runners. I’m very happy. The crowd was great and the ambience was fantastic. I almost felt like an F1 driver!”
