The HVM team repairs E. J. Viso's car at the Milwaukee Mile in 2009
HVM Racing was an auto racing team owned by Keith Wiggins that competed in the IndyCar Series. It competed in the Champ Car World Series in 2007 as Minardi Team USA when it was co-owned by Paul Stoddart.[1] It has a long history of changes of ownership, including a previous incarnation as CTE-HVM Racing, co-owned by actor/comedian Cedric the Entertainer.
In the first race of the season, the 2007 Las Vegas Grand Prix, Robert Doornbos made the most successful debut since Nigel Mansell in 1993, finishing second on the podium.
They also made the distinction of being the only team willing to run a car numbered 13 full-time, with driver E. J. Viso, when they did so for the 2009 IndyCar Series season, despite negative superstitions from the past about running it in any form of motorsport.
Before the 2000 season started, Bettenhausen, his wife and two business associates were killed in a plane crash on their way home from vacation in Florida. The team was renamed Herdez Competition as Michel Jourdain Jr. came aboard with Wiggins taking over as co-owner and managing director. Two uncompetitive seasons followed and Mario Dominguez was brought into the team in 2002. A fortunate victory came at Surfers Paradise in a water-logged event, as Dominguez started last and failed to pass a single car on track but benefited from pit strategy.
The win boosted his confidence and the team recorded a 1-2 result at Miami, Dominguez leading Roberto Moreno, was the highlight of a much-improved 2003 season, finishing fifth in the championship. Ryan Hunter-Reay came into the team in 2004 and led all 250 laps at The Milwaukee Mile from the pole position. Herdez sponsorship faded at the end of the year and for 2005, with the team now called HVM, Wiggins was forced to take on pay-drivers Björn Wirdheim and Ronnie Bremer. Despite Wirdheim's impressive performances in the 2003International Formula 3000 season, his subsequent championship title, and Jaguar F1 testing experience, he failed to regularly beat Bremer during the season. Both of their funds dried up, however, before the end of the season and several other drivers had chances in the team's two cars.
Cedric the Entertainer became a co-owner late in the season and added a celebrity presence to the field. The cars that year ran a distinctive gunmetal gray livery with Cedric's A Bird and A Bear entertainment company on the sidepods. Nelson Philippe won in Australia and the team recorded their best season with a fourth place in the championship by Philippe.
Minardi Team USA
In 2006, Paul Stoddart, former owner of the MinardiFormula One team, bought an interest in the team and renamed it Minardi Team USA. For the 2007 season, Stoddart and Wiggins lined up the services of Dan Clarke and Red Bull F1 Racing test driver Robert Doornbos. With Doornbos the team began competing for podium positions regularly. The team scored its first win under the Minardi Team USA banner at the 2007 Champ Car Grand Prix de Mont Tremblant. Doornbos went on to capture another win at San Jose, and his tally for 2007 was 2 wins and 6 podiums. Doornbos went on to finish 3rd in Championship standings, earn Rookie of the Year, and was the highest finishing Rookie in the Champ Car World Series since Juan Pablo Montoya in 1999. Doornbos also won the award for Hard Charger, improving the most positions during the race.
HVM's 2008 IndyCar Series entry driven by E. J. Viso
Dan Clarke had a season plagued with bad luck, but had a bright spot when he finished 2nd at Road America, though he was involved in a high-speed incident with Doornbos, which hurt the Dutchman's championship hopes. Clarke later triggered a multi-car pile-up during free practice at Zolder, and was suspended from competition for the race weekend.
HVM in IndyCar
In 2008, following American open wheel unification, the team moved to the IRL IndyCar Series with E. J. Viso as its driver. The team also participated in the Long Beach Grand Prix with two more cars under the Minardi Team USA name for Nelson Philippe and Roberto Moreno.[2] Viso finished the 2008 season with seven top-10 finishes and a season-best fourth-place finish at St. Petersburg.
Viso stayed in the team in 2009 and the team aligned itself with the Indy Lights team Michael Crawford Motorsports, renaming it HVM Indy Lights. The Indy Lights team ran its first race at Infineon Raceway in August 2009 with driver Juan Pablo Garcia. Ryan Hunter-Reay tested the team's IndyCar at Sebring two weeks before the 2009 season opener at St. Petersburg and appeared to become the second driver for the team, but signed with Vision Racing instead. Nelson Philippe joined the team as its second driver for the Indianapolis 500.[3] Robert Doornbos returned to HVM in August 2009, piloting the #33 for the remainder of the 2009 season.
2011 HVM Entergy-sponsored entry on the starting grid for the season opener.
On October 6, 2010, just four days after the 2010 season concluded, HVM Racing announced that they would be bringing de Silvestro back to the team in 2011 in the #78 entry.[4]
On October 30, 2012, de Silvestro signed on to KV Racing Technology for 2013,[5] leaving HVM without a driver or a sponsor. However, former KV driver E. J. Viso had intended to run his own team for 2013, but had little luck. HVM and Viso joined forces with Andretti Autosport to run Viso as a satellite team for Andretti. On 11 November 2015 the team was listed as up for auction officially listing the team as defunct.[6]
List of Drivers for Bettenhausen/Herdez/HVM/CTE-HVM/Minardi Team USA
