Supercars import Simona De Silvestro is ready to take off the handbrake in 2018.
The Swiss driver last year became the first female full-time driver in Australian touring cars since Christine Gibson in 1975.
By her own admission 2017 was all about getting comfortable with her Nissan Altima and racing in Australia.
De Silvestro finished without a top-10 result last year on her way to a 24th-place finish in the championship standings.
For a former Formula One test driver, competing in a restricted mode was frustrating and the 29-year-old says 2018 will see a more aggressive approach.
« I love being here in Australia and the racing is a lot of fun but, for sure, you want results, » De Simona told AAP.
« That’s a bit of pressure just to get it done but it’s good pressure.
« Not like last year where you were just ‘OK, let’s see how it goes’, it’s definitely more focused on really trying to really get there now. »
De Simona says her first aim is matching and beating her Nissan teammates, including former championship winner and team owner Rick Kelly.
« If we’re right there with them those are good results, » she said.
« The field is so tight when we look at it, a couple of tenths is like five positions most of the time. It makes it really hard to nail that.
« The guys who are in the team have a lot of experience so I think those are really good benchmarks. »
http://www.espn.com/v8-supercars/story/_/id/22624690/de-silvestro-aims-rev-supercars
