| E. J. Viso | |
|---|---|
E. J. Viso at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May 2009. |
|
| Nationality | Venezuelan |
| Born | March 19, 1985 |
| 2012 IndyCar Series | |
| Debut season | 2008 |
| Current team | KV Racing Technology-Lotus |
| Car no. | 59 |
| Former teams | HVM Racing |
| Starts | 49 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Poles | 0 |
| Best finish | 18th in 2008 |
| Previous series | |
| 2001 2002 2002 2003-04 2005-07 |
Skip Barber Formula Dodge British Formula Renault FR 2000 Eurocup British F3 Championship GP2 Series |
| Championship titles | |
| 2003 | National Class British F3 Champion |
Ernesto José Viso Lossada (born March 19, 1985) is a Venezuelan race car driver. He is commonly referred to as Ernesto Viso or, since his move to American racing, E. J. Viso.
Viso was born in Caracas, Venezuela. He has raced in the 2005 and 2006 GP2 Series seasons, and has also driven the third car for Spyker MF1 Racing. In 2007 he competed in the GP2 Series for Racing Engineering. Since 2008 he has raced for HVM Racing in the IndyCar Series.
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Viso's career started in karting back in 1993, where he stayed until 2001 when he moved to US Barber Formula Dodge East, becoming champion with confidence. He also raced in the Italian Formula Renault Winter Series at the end of that year, moving to British Formula Renault for 2002. In 2002 he also drove in one race of Formula Renault 2000 Eurocup, and at the end of the year in the British Formula Three Winter Series.
2003 saw a move to British Formula Three, where he raced in the B-Class and became champion after a controversial collision with his main rival during the final race of the season. He then moved to the main class in 2004, racing part of the season for the P1 team, his performances attracting the attention of F3000 team Durango who lured him to the series for the remainder of the season.
In 2005, he raced in the inaugural season of the GP2 Series for the BCN Competicion team, alongside Hiroki Yoshimoto. In 2006, he again raced in the GP2 Series for the iSport team. He won the San Marino Sunday race and the Spain Sunday race. He also drove the third Spyker MF1 Team car in the Friday practice sessions of the Brazilian Grand Prix.[1]
Before the 2007 French Grand Prix, it was confirmed that Ernesto Viso would replace the underperforming Sérgio Jimenez at Racing Engineering.[2] His race ended on the first lap in a spectacular collision with Michael Ammermüller and Kazuki Nakajima in which his car somersaulted over the barriers at tremendous speed, smashing through an advertising hoarding and narrowly missing a bridge (as luck would have it, hitting the board saved him from clouting the bridge and probably more severe injuries.), leaving him only a severe concussion and painful arm. This crash was very similar to the one of Marco Campos that happened on the same track in 1995, leading to Campos's death. Campos died of severe head trauma after hitting his head on the concrete barrier. Viso was only inches away from the same fate. For the British round, he was replaced by Filipe Albuquerque.[3] Viso took part in the following race meeting, but was then replaced by Marcos Martinez.
Viso competed in the newly united IndyCar Series in 2008 for HVM Racing. He made his first series start in the first oval race of his career on March 29. His next start, at St. Petersburg, was a superb performance ending with a 4th place finish. At Milwaukee he ended with an 8th place. Shortly after the Watkins Glen race (in which he finished 10th but forced Vitor Meira off the track, causing Meira to run back onto the track to confront Viso on the next lap) he was diagnosed with the Mumps and was forced to withdraw from the next race.[4] Viso finished 18th overall in the 2008 series and has signed a contract to drive for HVM in 2009. On February 21, 2010 KV Racing confirmed that Viso would drive the #8 car for the team for the entire 2010 season.
For the 2011 Indycar campaign, Viso remains with KV Racing. He has shown flashes of speed, particularly in Brazil where he was in contention for a win. Unfortunately, he remains one of the more accident prone drivers in the series, leading to questions about his seat for 2012.
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Durango Corse | IMO | CAT | MON | NUR | MAG 8 |
SIL 11 |
HOC 7 |
HUN 6 |
SPA 10 |
MNZ 8 |
12th | 7 |
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | BCN Competicion | SMR FEA 10 |
SMR SPR DNS |
ESP FEA Ret |
ESP SPR Ret |
MON FEA DSQ |
EUR FEA Ret |
EUR SPR 11 |
FRA FEA 11 |
FRA SPR 8 |
GBR FEA 15 |
GBR SPR 13 |
GER FEA DSQ |
GER SPR 12 |
HUN FEA 6 |
HUN SPR Ret |
TUR FEA 14 |
TUR SPR 12 |
ITA FEA Ret |
ITA SPR Ret |
BEL FEA 2 |
BEL SPR 3 |
BHR FEA 8 |
BHR SPR 2 |
12th | 21 |
| 2006 | iSport International | VAL FEA 8 |
VAL SPR 2 |
SMR FEA 6 |
SMR SPR 1 |
EUR FEA 6 |
EUR SPR 11 |
ESP FEA 8 |
ESP SPR 1 |
MON FEA Ret |
GBR FEA Ret |
GBR SPR 8 |
FRA FEA 10 |
FRA SPR Ret |
GER FEA 5 |
GER SPR 4 |
HUN FEA 4 |
HUN SPR 4 |
TUR FEA Ret |
TUR SPR 13 |
ITA FEA Ret |
ITA SPR 10 |
6th | 42 | ||
| 2007 | Racing Engineering | BHR FEA |
BHR SPR |
ESP FEA |
ESP SPR |
MON FEA |
FRA FEA Ret |
FRA SPR DNS |
GBR FEA |
GBR SPR |
EUR FEA 14 |
EUR SPR 8 |
HUN FEA |
HUN SPR |
TUR FEA |
TUR SPR |
ITA FEA |
ITA SPR |
BEL FEA |
BEL SPR |
VAL FEA |
VAL SPR |
29th | 0 |
(key)
| Yr | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Spyker MF1 Team | Midland M16 | Toyota V8 | BHR |
MAL |
AUS |
SMR |
EUR |
ESP |
MON |
GBR |
CAN |
USA |
FRA |
GER |
HUN |
TUR |
ITA |
CHN |
JPN |
BRA TD |
- | - |
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | HVM Racing | HMS 17 |
STP 4 |
MOT1 DNP |
LBH1 9 |
KAN 14 |
INDY 26 |
MIL 8 |
TXS 14 |
IOW 13 |
RIR 10 |
WGL 10 |
NSH3 WD |
MDO 22 |
EDM 15 |
KTY 13 |
SNM 6 |
DET 24 |
CHI 23 |
SRF2 6 |
18th | 286 |
| 2009 | HVM Racing | STP 17 |
LBH 23 |
KAN 21 |
INDY 24 |
MIL 18 |
TXS 24 |
IOW 20 |
RIR 12 |
WGL 7 |
TOR 13 |
EDM 12 |
KTY 15 |
MDO 15 |
SNM 22 |
CHI 17 |
MOT 15 |
HMS 16 |
18th | 248 | ||
| 2010 | KV Racing Technology | SAO 12 |
STP 17 |
ALA 16 |
LBH 15 |
KAN 27 |
INDY 25 |
TXS 11 |
IOW 3 |
WGL 11 |
TOR 19 |
EDM 8 |
MDO 26 |
SNM 19 |
CHI 27 |
KTY 26 |
MOT 15 |
HMS 19 |
17th | 262 | ||
| 2011 | KV Racing Technology | STP 19 |
ALA 23 |
LBH 25 |
SAO 13 |
INDY 32 |
TXS1 7 |
TXS2 10 |
MIL 20 |
IOW 17 |
TOR 9 |
EDM 20 |
MDO 15 |
NHM 12 |
SNM 9 |
BAL 15 |
MOT 21 |
KTY | LVS | 18th* | 229* |
| Years | Teams | Races | Poles | Wins | Podiums (Non-win) |
Top 10s (Non-podium) |
Indianapolis 500 Wins |
Championships |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 2 | 63 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| Year | Chassis | Engine | Start | Finish | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Dallara | Honda | 26 | 26 | HVM Racing |
| 2009 | Dallara | Honda | 29 | 24 | HVM Racing |
| 2010 | Dallara | Honda | 19 | 25 | KV Racing Technology |
| 2011 | Dallara | Honda | 18 | 32 | KV Racing Technology |
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