MOTORSPORT: De Silvestro will earn respect

Professional Supercar driver Simona De Silvestro will let her racing speak for itself when she becomes the first full-time female driver in the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship (VASC) next year.

De Silvestro recently arrived in Australia to prepare for the Harvey Norman Supergirls team’s second appearance at the Bathurst 1000. Speaking to motoring.com.au, she stated that while she was a little surprised by 'Pussywagon' remarks about the team at last year’s event, she plans to earn the respect of her fellow drivers through her on-track racing performance.

“In my career I haven’t really had those types of comments or anything like that but you know at the end of the day, it’s always a lot of hard work as a female,” De Silvestro told motoring.com.au.

“You just really have to focus on your job. I think in Indycars and any other series I’ve raced in, I’ve gained the respect from the other drivers because I’ve had the results. I think I’m just going to have to do the same here.”

De Silvestro has spent the last two days at Winton Motor Raceway in Victoria testing in her Nissan Altima Supercar ahead of next week’s Bathurst 1000. There she will be partnered with 21-year-old Renee Gracie.

Swiss-born, De Silvestro (28) spent the last season racing Formula E electric open wheelers.

“It’s good to get back in a Supercar and get my feel back. The two days [at Winton] went quite well but there’s lots to learn and lots to improve,” De Silvestro said.

“I’ve spent all my life driving open wheelers and over the years you learn how you want the car to be set up to be quick and now this is a totally different animal and I have to adapt myself. Everything that I’ve learned in an open wheel car I can forget a little bit and really get my head around how to drive a Supercar.”

The Harvey Norman Supergirls race team has shifted from the Ford Falcon it drove in the 2015 Bathurst 1000 to a Nissan Altima prepared by Nissan Motorsport. De Silvestro expects the team to improve on last year’s result which saw the team finish in P21 after an early impact with a barrier.

“In this race anything can happen,” De Silvestro said.

“The main goal is to improve on last year and I think that’s comfortable. We had that crash, and hopefully we’ve got that monkey off our backs. The biggest thing and what I’m going to be looking at is lap time and getting as close as possible to my [Nissan Motorsport] teammates.

“As it’s only going to be the second time I’ve raced in a Supercars event, we’re going to let the race come towards us. I think if we do our job correctly and don’t make too many mistakes, I think we can have a pretty good result at the end of the day.”

When asked if being the first female full-time competitor in the VASC was the main driver for signing up to the series, De Silvestro said the real appeal was the three-year commitment.

“I think having an opportunity to come and race here for three years is quite special. Racing is usually a year [by year] deal which is really tricky. Last year at Bathurst I really enjoyed myself driving these cars and that was also a big factor. As a driver you want to have fun even though it is a lot of hard work. Having the opportunity to be able to work on something and develop something -- that really appealed to me.

“Being the only female [in the full season] there’s definitely going to be more eyes looking at what you’re doing but at the end of the day the results on track are what count. No matter if you’re a girl or a guy," De Silvestro stated.