Simona: "Daytona was unique experience".

OFF TO AUSTRALIA Two weeks ago, Simona de Silvestro experienced her first 24-hour and GT race at Daytona. Now she is turning her focus to the Australian Supercars Championship and Formula E. Caterpillar, which is also well-known in Europe, attracted a lot of attention at the Daytona 24 Hours with an all-female team. The four female drivers on [...]

Editorial - February 10, 2019

The Acura NSX GT3 of Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb-Agajanian held on to the class lead for a long time, as indicated by the light number 5. The rain was the women's team's undoing (Photo: LAT Photo).

Caterpillar, which is also well-known in Europe, attracted a lot of attention at the 24 Hours of Daytona with an all-female team. Among the four female drivers on an Acura NSX GT3 was Simona de Silvestro.

First time in a GT car
For the 30-year-old from Vaud, it was the first ever 24-hour race and also the first race with a GT car. Until her move to V8 Supercars in Australia, she only drove race cars (Formula BMW, Atlantic and IndyCars as well as F1 testing with Sauber).

Simona de Silvestro: "That was something different. I've never had to share my car with anyone else. But it was a cool thing."

Unfamiliar driving aids
The biggest change for them was not driving in traffic or in the dark, but dealing with the driving aids in a GT3 sports car.

Simona de Silvestro: "I've never had ABS and traction control at my disposal! I wasn't sure for a long time how to use it all most efficiently. I was amazed at how late you can brake with ABS, later than some sports cars."

The four women had a lot of fun at Daytona (from left): Ana Beatriz, Simona de Silvestro, Katherine Legge and Christina Nielsen.

For a long time, the four ladies held on to third position. Katherine Legge as the last driver before the stop unfortunately had an aquaplaning accident in the rain, which damaged the Acura. The repair threw the team far behind.

Simona de Silvestro: "It's a bit frustrating when you have chances for the podium for so long and then something like this happens. But the conditions in the rain were really treacherous."

Preparation for the third season in Australia
For the foreseeable future, Daytona was her only race of this kind. She is now focusing on the Australian Touring Car Championship and her role as a simulator driver for the Venturi Formula E team.

The first showdown with the V8 Supercars will take place from February 14 at the official tests in Sydney. Simona will tackle her third season in Australia with a Nissan Altima V8. Although Nissan Motorsport has withdrawn from the factory, the Swiss driver still has reason to be confident.

Simona de Silvestro: "We're getting some updates to the car, which sounds good. The most important thing is that I have the same race engineer at Kelly Racing as I did in 2018. Last year it took us almost half a year before we really clicked. Now we can seamlessly build on the good end to the 2018 season and know what to expect and do at every track. It should be positive in 2019 for sure. But where we stand, especially compared to the new Ford Mustang, we won't see until after testing and the first few races."