Ernesto Viso
Ernesto Viso at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May 2009.
NationalityVenezuela Venezuelan
Born (1985-03-19) March 19, 1985
Caracas, Republic of Venezuela
Stadium Super Trucks career
Years active20142016
Car number5
Starts27
Wins7
Poles5
Best finish5th in 2014
Previous series
2001
2002
2002
200304
200507
2008-13
Skip Barber Formula Dodge
British Formula Renault
FR 2000 Eurocup
British F3 Championship
GP2 Series
IndyCar Series
Championship titles
2003National Class British F3 Champion

Ernesto José "E. J." Viso Lossada (born March 19, 1985) is a Venezuelan professional racing driver. 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. In 2014 he made his season debut for the Stadium Super Trucks in the Long Beach Grand Prix. He most recently drove for Andretti Autosport in the IndyCar Series.

Career

Early racing

Born in Caracas, Viso spent time in his early career in both Europe and America. He attended Rolling Hills Prep high school in California. 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 3 Winter Series.

2003 saw a move to British Formula 3, 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.

GP2

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.

IndyCar Series

E. J. Viso in 2008.

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 fourth-place finish. At Milwaukee he ended with an eighth place. Shortly after the Watkins Glen race (in which he finished 10th but forced Vítor 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 No. 8 car for the team for the entire 2010 season.

For the 2011 IndyCar campaign, Viso remained with KV Racing. He showed flashes of speed, particularly in Brazil where he was in contention for a win. He remained one of the more accident-prone drivers in the series, which led to questions about his seat for 2012 . Viso finished 18th in the IZOD IndyCar Series championship on the strength of four top-10 finishes with a season best seventh place showing in Texas Race No. 2.[5]

For 2013 Viso remained in the IndyCar Series with Andretti Autosport,[6] in the No. 5 with sponsorship from oil company PDVSA, recording a best finish of 4th at Milwaukee and finishing 15th in the final points standings.

In 2014, Viso failed to find an IndyCar drive. In May, he was called in by Andretti Autosport to take part in practice for the Indianapolis 500 while James Hinchcliffe recovered from a concussion suffered at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis.[7] Viso drove in the first four days of practice, and led the speed charts on the third day, before Hinchcliffe was cleared to drive in time for Fast Friday practice.[8]

Stadium Super Trucks

Viso in the 2014 Stadium Super Trucks race at Long Beach

In 2014, Viso made his Stadium Super Trucks series debut in Long Beach, California where he finished 2nd after a last lap battle with series founder Robby Gordon. On May 30, Viso got his first ever win in an SST on only his second ever series appearance at the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix, where he finished 1st ahead of Robby Gordon in an eventful last lap finish. Viso also captured his second win a day later beating 16-year-old Scotty Steele. Viso swept all three Detroit events on June 1,[9] and won race 1 at Coronado. The Venezuelan finished fifth in the season standings.

Driving style

During his stay in IndyCar, Viso was known for his very aggressive driving style, which resulted in a large retirement rate due to contact, and repeated criticism from his fellow competitors.[10][11][12]

Personal life

During his racing career, Viso rode unicycles as a hobby.[10][13]

Racing record

Complete International Formula 3000 results

(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

Complete GP2 Series results

(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 Competición IMO
FEA

10
IMO
SPR

DNS
CAT
FEA

Ret
CAT
SPR

Ret
MON
FEA

DSQ
NÜR
FEA

Ret
NÜR
SPR

11
MAG
FEA

11
MAG
SPR

8
SIL
FEA

15
SIL
SPR

13
HOC
FEA

DSQ
HOC
SPR

12
HUN
FEA

6
HUN
SPR

Ret
IST
FEA

14
IST
SPR

12
MNZ
FEA

Ret
MNZ
SPR

Ret
SPA
FEA

2
SPA
SPR

3
BHR
FEA

8
BHR
SPR

2
11th 21
2006 iSport International VAL
FEA

8
VAL
SPR

2
IMO
FEA

6
IMO
SPR

1
NÜR
FEA

6
NÜR
SPR

11
CAT
FEA

8
CAT
SPR

1
MON
FEA

Ret
SIL
FEA

Ret
SIL
SPR

8
MAG
FEA

10
MAG
SPR

Ret
HOC
FEA

4
HOC
SPR

4
HUN
FEA

4
HUN
SPR

4
IST
FEA

Ret
IST
SPR

13
MNZ
FEA

Ret
MNZ
SPR

10
6th 42
2007 Racing Engineering BHR
FEA
BHR
SPR
CAT
FEA
CAT
SPR
MON
FEA
MAG
FEA

Ret
MAG
SPR

DNS
SIL
FEA
SIL
SPR
NÜR
FEA

14
NÜR
SPR

8
HUN
FEA
HUN
SPR
IST
FEA
IST
SPR
MNZ
FEA
MNZ
SPR
SPA
FEA
SPA
SPR
VAL
FEA
VAL
SPR
29th 0

Complete Formula One participations

(key)

Year 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 Racing Spyker M16 Toyota V8 BHR MAL AUS SMR EUR ESP MON GBR CAN USA FRA GER HUN TUR ITA CHN JPN BRA
TD
   

American open–wheel racing results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

IndyCar Series

Year Team Chassis No. Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Rank Points Ref
2008 HVM Racing Dallara IR-05 33 Honda HMS
17
STP
4
MOT1
DNP
KAN
14
INDY
26
MIL
8
TXS
14
IOW
13
RIR
10
WGL
10
NSH3
Wth
MDO
22
EDM
15
KTY
13
SNM
6
DET
24
CHI
23
SRF2
6
18th 286 [14]
Panoz DP01 Cosworth XFE LBH1
9
2009 Dallara IR-05 13 Honda 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 [15]
2010 KV Racing Technology 8 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 [16]
2011 KV Racing Technology-Lotus 59 STP
19
ALA
23
LBH
25
SAO
13
INDY
32
TXS
7
TXS
10
MIL
20
IOW
17
TOR
9
EDM
20
MDO
15
NHM
12
SNM
9
BAL
15
MOT
21
KTY
23
LVS4
C
18th 241 [17]
2012 KV Racing Technology Dallara DW12 5 Chevrolet STP
8
ALA
18
LBH
12
SAO
9
INDY
18
DET
18
TXS
19
MIL
5
IOW
24
TOR
20
EDM
16
MDO
20
SNM
16
BAL
9
FON
25
20th 244 [18]
2013 Andretti Autosport STP
7
ALA
12
LBH
22
SAO
6
INDY
18
DET
17
DET
17
TXS
10
MIL
4
IOW
10
POC
21
TOR
14
TOR
5
MDO
17
SNM
14
BAL
13
HOU
9
HOU
16
FON5 15th 340 [19]
1 Run on same day.
2 Non-points-paying, exhibition race.
3 Pulled out of race after contracting mumps
4 The Las Vegas Indy 300 was abandoned after Dan Wheldon died from injuries sustained in a 15-car crash on lap 11.
5 Missed race after falling ill due to eating bad oysters. Replaced by Carlos Muñoz.
Years Teams Races Poles Wins Podiums
(Non-win)
Top 10s
(Non-podium)
Indianapolis 500
Wins
Championships
6 3 99 0 0 1 23 0 0

Indianapolis 500

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
2012 Dallara Chevrolet 9 18 KV Racing Technology
2013 Dallara Chevrolet 4 18 Andretti Autosport/ HVM Racing

Complete American Le Mans Series results

Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine Tyres 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Rank Points
2012 CORE Autosport PC Oreca FLM09 Chevrolet LS3 6.2 L V8 M SEB
ovr:12
cls:1
LNB MON LIM MOS MID AME BAL VIR PET 15th 24

Complete WeatherTech SportsCar Championship

Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Rank Points
2014 Starworks Motorsport P Riley Mk XXVI DP Dinan (BMW) 5.0 L V8 DAY
17
SEB
LBH LGA DET WGL MOS IMS ELK COA PET 55th 15

Stadium Super Trucks

(key) (Bold – Pole position. Italics – Fastest qualifier. * – Most laps led.)

Stadium Super Trucks results
Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 SSTC Pts Ref
2014 STP STP LBH
2*
IMS IMS DET
1*
DET
1*
DET
1
AUS
15
TOR TOR OCF
3
OCF
10
CSS
5
LVV
10*
LVV
10
5th 280 [20]
2015 ADE
1*
ADE
4
ADE
10
STP
4*
STP
5
LBH
1*
DET
2*
DET
1
DET
5
AUS
7
TOR
8
TOR
9
OCF
Rpl
OCF
Rpl
OCF
Rpl
SRF SRF SRF SRF SYD LVV LVV 6th 344 [21]
2016 ADE ADE ADE STP STP LBH LBH DET
8
DET
C1
DET
2
TOW
10*
TOW
7
TOW
1*
TOR TOR CLT CLT OCF OCF SRF SRF SRF 14th 99 [22]
"Mad" Mike Whiddett drove Viso's truck, with all points earned by Whiddett going to Viso

1 The race was abandoned after Matt Mingay suffered serious injuries in a crash on lap three.

References

  1. "Viso and Spyker MF1". Grandprix.com. September 18, 2006. Retrieved January 15, 2007.
  2. "Viso stapt in bij Racing Engineering". GPUpdate.net. June 28, 2007. Retrieved January 30, 2011.
  3. "Silverstone: Racing Engineering preview". flagworld.auto123.com. July 4, 2007. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved July 4, 2007.
  4. IndyCar rookie Viso sidelined by case of mumps, Associated Press via USA Today, July 9, 2008
  5. EJ Viso drivers page Archived May 30, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, IndyCar.com, May 22, 2012
  6. "Ernesto José Viso firma con Andretti Autosport de Indycar". Informador (in Spanish). February 8, 2013. Archived from the original on April 21, 2013. Retrieved February 9, 2013.
  7. "Practice for Indy 500 off to a fast flying start". IndyCar.com. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  8. "Hinchcliffe: 'Vacation over, back to work'". IndyCar.com. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  9. Chengelis, Angelique (June 1, 2014). "E.J. Viso sweeps all three races on Belle Isle". The Detroit News. Archived from the original on June 2, 2014. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
  10. 1 2 "Team takes precedence in Viso's on-track outlook". IndyCar.com. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
  11. "EJ Viso on track to change reckless reputation". FOX Sports. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
  12. Autoracing1 (May 16, 2008). "Wheldon warns Viso to respect ovals". AutoRacing1.com. Retrieved December 31, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  13. HAYES, BY REGGIE. "The Indy 500, from A to Z and everything else". The Oklahoman. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
  14. "E. J. Viso – 2008 IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  15. "E. J. Viso – 2009 IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  16. "E. J. Viso – 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  17. "E. J. Viso – 2011 IZOD IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  18. "E. J. Viso – 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  19. "E. J. Viso – 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  20. "2014 Standings". Stadium Super Trucks. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
  21. "2015 Official Point Standings". Stadium Super Trucks. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
  22. "2016 Overall Point Standings". Stadium Super Trucks. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
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