» VASC: Nissan confirms De Silvestro

Swiss import Simona de Silvestro will race for Nissan Motorsport in the 2017 Australian Supercars Championship.

The factory wasted little time in the wake of terminating the services with driver Dale Wood to confirm the former IndyCar Series and Formula E Championship driver, who will become the first full-time female racing driver in the Supercars’ modern-era history.

De Silvestro has contested the last two Bathurst 1000 endurance races in a ‘Supergirls’ wildcard entry, the most recent being with Nissan Motorsport where she and co-driver Renee Gracie finished a creditable 14th overall.

Simona de Silvestro and Renee Gracie, Harvey Norman Supergirls Nissan

De Silvestro finished 14th overall in the 2016 Bathurst 1000.

“I’m really excited to be joining the team, and I can’t wait for next season,” De Silvestro said in a team media release published this morning.

“In joining Nissan Motorsport, I think the biggest thing is being a factory driver. It’s great to have the trust from Nissan Motorsport to give me the chance to drive for them.

“I really enjoyed driving for them at Bathurst, I really enjoyed the car, so there were a lot of things I really liked. And the team as well, it’s a great team, you see there’s a lot of potential in the team. So working with them hopefully will bring a lot of success.”

“This is a big day for Nissan Motorsport,” added team co-owner/driver Todd Kelly. “Simona’s performance at Bathurst this year was outstanding. You could see in the data the amount of potential in Simona. So next year will be very exciting.”

De Silvestro completes the team’s four-car driving line-up alongside incumbent owner/driver siblings Todd and Rick Kelly, and factory-backed driver Michael Caruso.

Images via Motorsport.com and Nissan Motorsports