SUPERCARS: De Silvestro signs three-year deal

Former Verizon IndyCar Series and Formula E driver Simona De Silvestro will join the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship in 2017 after signing a three-year agreement, Supercars chief executive James Warburton said.

The former Sauber Formula 1 test driver made her debut in the series in last year's Bathurst 1000, in a wild card Ford Falcon run by the title-winning Prodrive team, alongside local Renee Gracie. She will return to Mount Panorama for the October race as part of the Harvey Norman Supergirls with Australian driver Renee Gracie racing for Nissan Motorsport.

"This is an exciting announcement for the sport and a major coup for Supercars," Warburton said. "We said we wanted to have a full-time female driver in our championship and in Simona we have secured a world class driver.

"Along with Danica Patrick and Sarah Fisher she is one of only three female drivers to have stood on the podium in IndyCar and she will be a brilliant addition to Supercars.

"I have had my first taste of driving these cars last year at the Bathurst 1000. It was such an incredible experience and I knew this could be a goal for the future," she said. "That this goal became reality so quickly is fantastic and I have to thank James Warburton for believing in me and wanting me in Supercars. This is going to be my first full-time year with a closed top car and there a lot of new things for me to learn and adapt to.

"I am very respectful towards this new challenge but at the same time I am very excited about driving in such a competitive championship. I can't wait to jump in the car to work towards getting the most out of these cars. "I also have to thank Harvey Norman for their support as without them this incredible opportunity would not have been possible. To have the trust from somebody like Katie Page is giving me a lot of confidence and I look forward to my new adventure in Australia."