De Silvestro counting on more Supercar seat time to boost form

Simona De Silvestro is hopeful more precious time behind the wheel of her new Nissan Altima will boost prospects for her first full season in the Australia-based Supercars series.

The former IndyCar and Formula E driver completed her rookie test day last week and will take part in a series tire test at Sydney Motorsport Park Feb. 21 – an invaluable opportunity for the Swiss native before the season starts in Adelaide next month.

"Unfortunately, there's not many test days, so for me every time I get in the car is important," de Silvestro, who made her Nissan debut at last October's Bathurst 1000 (pictured), told the series website. "It's always good to get back in the car after a while because the last time I drove was at Bathurst. So it was really good to be back and get working on some things... my driving style and all that. It felt pretty good and the day went pretty well.

"There's a lot of things I have to change in my driving style a little bit and that was my main focus, trying it out without the pressure of any lap time or anything.

"I was the only car out there, so I could really take my time and try a few different things through the corner and I think that was the key thing about it. The guys have been running these cars for a while, and I've only had a few days in these type of cars. There's so much to learn and to adapt from what I do.

"I grew up in open-wheelers and throughout the years I grew my driving style and started to understand what I needed in a racecar to be fast. Now it feels a little bit like I'm starting from scratch. First I have to find the way I drive this car. Only then can I start working on the details, the small things."